A LONG WAY FROM WHERE WE NEED TO BE

These entries are pretty much me figuring out what might be driving current events. When it comes to geography the US has it so good and doesn't even really realize it. 

In an early episode of World at War there's some footage of the USSR's attempt to conquer Finland at the beginning of the war. Well I could understand keeping the Germans out. That was probably part of it but it turns out that Finland used to be the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Russian Tsar was the Grand Duke. Partly strategic and I suspect partly "it used to be ours and we want it back." Countered with "in your dreams a$$hats." Anyway.

The Russian navy has several fleets. None of them have a straight shot at open water. The oldest is probably the Baltic Fleet. Most of the fleet seems to be headquartered on or near the Gulf of Finland. I’m not sure how many months of the year waters are open. But check out the map. Your ships start out from the bases near Saint Petersburg. Then it’s down the Baltic past territory on both sides that you do not control. Threading past islands, past Sweden, past Denmark and then it’s either the English Channel or into the North Sea heading north around Scotland and Ireland. And finally the North Atlantic and open ocean. Looking at the map it looks like a ship has to travel at least a thousand miles before it can actually do anything. No wonder Russia has spent several hundred years trying to get control of something resembling open ocean with year round ice free ports. And we actually believe that’s changed? NBL. (not bloody likely