Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border, swiftly warned of “countermeasures”. While the president’s powers are limited, the head of state — who also acts as supreme commander of Finland’s armed forces helps direct foreign policy in collaboration with the government, meaning the changing geopolitical landscape in Europe will be the main concern for the winner. Finns headed to the polls Sunday to elect a new president, an office whose importance has grown on increased tensions with neighbouring Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. Relations between Moscow and Helsinki deteriorated following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, prompting Finland to drop decades of military non-alignment and join NATO in April 2023. DO you think that Russia has interests in Finland comapred to the west ?