No Vladimir Putin in Sweden

 We’re not talking about the real Vladimir Putin (though there is that too – more later), but the name. Sweden is not apparently the land of freedom we thought, because Swedish authorities (the Tax Agency in fact) have BANNED parents from naming their baby ‘Vladimir Putin.’ Imagine that!  But lest you – and the actual Vladimir - accuse Swedes of disrespecting their villainous neighbor, for the record these names have also been banned: ‘Lucifer,’ ‘Pilzner,’ ‘Ford,’ and ‘Q.’

Not sure what this Swedish baby's name is, but it is not Vladimir Putin. 



   More seriously, the significant decision Sweden (also Finland) recently took to enter NATO is related to a real fear of Putin and his apparent ambition to restore Russia to its former Tsarist “glory.” We’ve heard this sentiment from a number of people. Sweden’s wariness of Russia has deep historic roots, with significant conflict and war between them in the 18th-19th centuries, and the loss of part of its territory (what is now Finland).  Yet, Sweden’s traditional stance of nonalignment (and criticism of both the U.S and the Soviets) was historically very popular with Swedes, linked in part to this very fear of provoking Russia. Its neutrality survived even a number of serious incidents during the Cold War including the downing of 2 Swedish planes in 1952 and the discovery of a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine close to Sweden. But the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine changed all that. Its sense of threat is now high, 2nd in Europe only to Poland. It has significantly increased military spending and provided much support for Ukraine.


The Swedish island of Gotland, lying close to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad between Lithuania and Poland and in the Baltic Sea, is particularly threatened and has been reinforced by Swedish military forces. (From Deutsche Welle)





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