Russian senator mocks Swedish war warnings to its citizens

On January 7th, Swedish Defense Minister Carl Oskar Bohlin warned citizens that war could come to the country and that they needed to be prepared. However, the comments did not go over well with politicians in Russia. 

"For a nation for whom peace has been a pleasant companion for almost 210 years, the idea that it is an immovable constant is conveniently close at hand," Bohlin said during a speech at a security conference in Sälen. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Tom Samuelsson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bohlin went on to say that believing conflict could come to Sweden was an idea that had become dangerous to believe and had been so for a long time. But the defense minister said it was possible according to Newsweek. 

“Many have said it before me,” Bohlin explained, “but let me do so in an official capacity, more plainly and with naked clarity: There could be war in Sweden,” Bohlin continued. It was a shocking message but not one without its merit. 

On January 8th, Sweden’s Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén agreed with the Defense Minister when asked about his comments during a television interview, saying that it was time for the country’s citizens to begin preparing themselves. 

“On an individual level, you have to prepare yourself mentally,” Bydén said according to a report from Euractiv, adding that the situation was serious and that the next move for Sweds was “about moving from words and understanding to action.”

“Look at the news from Ukraine and ask yourself the simple questions: If this happens here, am I prepared? What should I do?” Bydén explained. “The more people who have thought, considered, and prepared, the stronger our society will be.”

While Bohlin and Bydén’s comments might have worried many citizens of Sweden, they did not go unnoticed in Moscow and earned the ridicule of Russian Senator and Chairman of the Information Committee, Alexei Pushkov. 

Pushkov downplayed the worries and mocked the Swedish warnings as “nonsense” in a post on his official Telegram channel. He also cited Sweden as a leading anti-Russian nation and one that led Europe when it came to paranoia about Russia. 

“Sweden is one of the first countries in Europe in terms of the level of anti-Russian paranoia. Russian submarines have been fishing there for many years, and for some, this has become the main occupation in life”, Pushkov explained according to Euractiv. 

“Apparently, this is how they try to give Sweden a geopolitical importance that it does not have. Sometimes it seems that some Swedish military personnel, as well as journalists, are almost dreaming of war,” Pushkov wrote before adding in more mockery. 

“Apparently, they can’t calm down since the defeat at Poltava,” the senator continued, which was a reference to Sweden's defeat to Russia at Poltava in 1709 that swung the moment of the Great Northern War in Russia’s favor. 

Euractiv noted that Pushkov has been previously criticized for his strong support of the Russian government’s “authoritarian and repressive policies” and that the senator has been accused of pushing the Kremlin’s propaganda in the past. 

Pushkov has been on a US list of sanctioned Russian individuals since 2014, and following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sanctions against the Russian senator were expanded to several other Western countries based on his support for the conflict. 

The recent comments from Sweden’s Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief come as the country is well on its way to joining NATO following a formal application submission in May 2022 alongside Finland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Since that time, Finland was accepted as a member but Sweden’s application has been held up by Turkey and Hungary. However, Turkey approved Sweden’s bid in December 2023 and is now only waiting on Hungary’s approval.