It’s been a big week for Finland. Just two days after an election in which the country’s most popular prime minister in years lost her reelection bid and Finnish politics moved to the right, the Nordic country finally joined NATO, adding 830 miles to the alliance’s border with Russia.

As all eyes turn to Finland, we’re revisiting our favorite stories on what makes the Nordic country unique, from a firsthand account of the art of sauna diplomacy to an analysis of the country’s reputation as a beacon of progressive politics.—Chloe Hadavas

The Finnish Art of Sauna Diplomacy

FP’s intrepid reporter Robbie Gramer joins the Finnish Diplomatic Sauna Society.

Finland Is Less Progressive Than It Seems

A debate over Indigenous issues empowered the country’s nativist right ahead of a critical election, John Last writes.

Finland Gives NATO a King in the North

The Baltic Sea was once a Russian lake. Now NATO owns the northern flank, FP’s Jack Detsch reports.

The Russia Whisperer

Finland’s envoy to Washington once shared a sauna with the Russian president. Here’s what he thinks the West got wrong about Vladimir Putin.

Finns Show Up for Conscription. Russians Dodge It.

Two seemingly similar systems produce very different militaries, FP’s Elisabeth Braw writes.