The overall body of research is developed in accordance with the National Defence University Strategy and the Finnish Defence Forces’ research program. The Russia Group participates in and leads international and national research projects. The current research topics include the following:

  • Russian military policy and strategy
  • The Russian art of war and the use of the Armed Forces
  • The buildup of Russia’s military capabilities and strategic foresight
  • Hybrid methods in the Russian military thought
  • Military sociology and the study of the Russian Armed Forces
  • Russian strategy in the Baltic Sea and Arctic
  • Strategic and conventional deterrence of the Russian Armed forces
  • Threats to national security in Russian military thought
  • Conceptualization of war and warfare in Russian military thought

RESEARCH THEMES

Russia’s Military Security – Armed Forces 2040

The Armed Forces 2040 project examines the development of Russia’s military policy and armed forces through six distinct work packages: Russian military strategy including China–Russia cooperation in the Arctic region, Russia’s strategic deterrence, Russia’s military development, Russian conventional and unconventional art of war, Russia’s military technology and defence industry, and the relationship between the Russian Armed Forces and society (see below). The project increases knowledge of Russia’s military thinking and actions to support military education and allied and national defense planning. It provides expert insight into Russia’s military activities to support strategic decision-making and public discussion. The project is partly funded by Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation (2025-2027).

Russian Armed Forces and Society: Short- and Long-Term Effects of the War on Military Development

The project examines how Russia’s war against Ukraine affects the internal coherence of Russian society, which is likely to complicate the reorganization and utilization of the Russian Armed Forces’ personnel resources in both the near and distant future. The sociological approach focuses on intangible factors—such as the formation of human resources, morale, societal cohesion, cultural narratives, and civil-military relations—and how these shape military capabilities and effectiveness. The project seeks to deepen understanding of these dynamics while providing predictive insights into the future use and operational capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces in conflict scenarios.

Russian Strategy – Russia as an Actor in 2035 world

Russia’s war against Ukraine and subsequent increase in tensions in Europe underlines the need to explore under what conditions and in what ways Russia uses military force and other instruments of power to promote its strategic interests in Europe and beyond. The research conducted in this framework focuses, although is not limited to, the following major themes: political and normative assumptions of Russia’s security policy; the justification of war in Russian political and military thinking; theoretical and normative assumptions about threats to Russian national security and their change since the early 2000’s to the present day.

The Mannerheim Professorship Working Group on Russian Security Studies

Professor Pynnöniemi leads the Mannerheim professorship working group at the University of Helsinki that carries out research on ideological, normative and conceptual basis of Russian strategy. The research projects conducted by the group include: Enemization in Russian public discourse; Russian state-church relations and justification for war; Strategic Islam; Wartime violence in Russian Armed Forces. The working group is funded by Maanpuolustuksen kannatussäätiö, Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun tukisäätiö, Mannerheim-säätiö, Stratu, Urlus and Wihuri Foundation (2022-2027).

You can read more about the project and familiarise with the group’s research publications here.

PhD RESEARCH

The Russia Research Group provides PhD supervision as a part of its research.

PhD STUDENTS

Juha Wihersaari

Colonel (ret.), Juha Wihersaari is a doctoral researcher and member of the Russia Research Group at the Finnish National Defence University. He has the General Staff Officer’s Degree from 1993 and he served in the Finnish Defence Forces until 2015. Wihersaari’s military experience includes positions mainly in military intelligence, where he served 26 years. During his career Wihersaari served two times as a defence attaché: the first time in Eastern Europe (incl. Ukraine) and the second time in the Middle East. He also served five years as the director of Finnish Signal Intelligence. Since 2016, Wihersaari has been the owner and director of a small intelligence and security company.

Marzia Cimmino

M.Sc. Marzia Cimmino’s background is in political affairs and conflict prevention in Eastern Europe, Western Balkans and Central Asia. She worked for almost ten years as an Italian secondee for the political affairs units of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Belgrade (Serbia) and, most recently, in Kiev (Ukraine). Prior to joining the OSCE, she worked in the Russian Federation for Human Rights Watch and Carnegie Moscow Centre. Her papers and analyses on Russian foreign policy appeared on several think tanks’ online publications—the Aspen Institute and Carnegie Endowment, among others. She holds an M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Marzia is fluent in English, Italian and Russian. 

Her dissertation at the Finnish National Defence University focuses on the effects of the OSCE conflict prevention early warning mechanisms on official negotiations regarding the crisis in and around Ukraine. 

Essi Tarvainen

M.A., M.Ed., Lt. Sgt. (res.) Essi Tarvainen is a doctoral student in the Russia Research Group at the Finnish National Defence University. In her dissertation she studies Russia’s geopolitical interests in the Baltic Sea Region and how it secures its national interests in both peacetime and during crises. Understanding the Russian perspective is her main focus.

DOCENTS

Petteri Lalu

Adjunct professor, D. Mil.Sc., M.Th., Lt.Col (ret.) Petteri Lalu is the former head of the Russia Research Group at the National Defence University.

His current academic interests include the guidance of doctoral researchers of the Russia Research Group, and he regularly publishes book reviews and articles from the perspective of theology and military science in the Vartija-lehti.

Hanna Ojanen

Dr. Hanna Ojanen is Adjunct Professor (docent) of international security organisations at the Finnish National Defence University, as well as Adjunct Professor of international relations at the University of Helsinki. An expert in European security and defence policy, she works as Senior Research Fellow in the Horizon2020 research project ENGAGE at Tampere University.

She holds a doctorate in political and social sciences from the European University Institute (EUI, Florence). Her previous positions include the Jean Monnet Professorship at Tampere University (Faculty of Management), Head of Research at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and Programme Director of the Research Programme on the European Union at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Her recent research has focused on inter-organisational relations (particularly EU-NATO-UN relations) and her publications include The EU’s Power in Inter-Organisational Relations, and ‘The EU’s engagement with international organisations: the impact of NATO on the making of EU security policy’, in The Making of European Security Policy. Between Institutional Dynamics and Global Challenges.

Vladimir Panschin

Kati Parppei

Kati Parppei, PhD, is a historian and expert on image studies, Russian history and borderland issues (the latter especially in the context of Karelia).

She has published widely on uses of the political past in Russia from the Middle Ages to the present, including the formation and maintenance of enemy images.

She is a Senior Lecturer in Department of Geographical and Historical Studies in University of Eastern Finland, and holds a title of docent in the said department (Russian history) and in the Department of Warfare in National Defence University (Russian history politics and historical images of threats and enemies).

Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen

Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen is a Professor in Russian Environmental Studies at the Finnish Centre for Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies (Aleksanteri Institute),  University of Helsinki and holds the title of a Docent in Russian energy and natural resource policies at the Finnish Defence University. He leads a research group focusing on energy and environmental policies, energy security, and political power in Russia and Europe. Since 2011, he has led 13 research projects (five with an Arctic focus) and received 3,5 million euros in research grants from the Research Council of Finland, Kone Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office and Business Finland.

He unfolds Europe’s relations with Russia through the prisms of energy, violence and the environment in his latest book ‘How Europe got Russia wrong’ (E. Elgar 2024). In his previous book “The Energy of Russia. Hydrocarbon Culture and Climate Change” (E. Elgar 2019), he explores the impact of significant oil and gas dependence on Russia’s politics, identity, and approach to climate change and renewable energy. “The Energy of Russia” is also published in Finnish and Russian.

Professor Tynkkynen has a wide track-record in teaching at Finnish and European universities. He has delivered tens of public talks, is frequently giving expert statements for authorities as well as is an oft-asked commentator at media.