National Defence University’s Russia seminar 2026

The Finnish National Defence University is organising the 8th annual Russia Seminar in Santahamina, Helsinki on the 11th and 12th of February 2026.
The seminar will also be streamed online.

The title of the 2026 seminar is “Russia’s War against Ukraine – Russia’s Future Military Development”.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Senior Researcher Pentti Forsström (pentti.forsstrom@mil.fi) or Research Assistant Sanna Keränen (sanna.keranen@mpkk.fi)

Link to Call for Papers Announcement

National Defence University’s Russia seminar 2025

Russia Seminar 2025 “Russia’s War against Ukraine – Trends and Lessons” was held at the National Defence University on the 12th-13th of February 2025. The seminar discussed Russian military policy and the research development in the field. Please find the seminar publication here. The publication is open access and edited by FNDU senior researcher Pentti Forsström.

You can follow the seminar online stream and find recordings of all the seminar presentations and panels from the FNDU YouTube-channel.

National Defence University’s Russia seminar 2024

Russia Seminar 2024, themed Russia’s War against Ukraine Complexity of contemporary Clausewitzian war was held at the National Defence University on the 14th-15th of February 2024. The seminar discussed Russian military policy and the research development in the field. Please find the seminar publication here. The publication is open access and edited by FNDU senior researcher Pentti Forsström.

You may find the program here, and seminar recordings from the National Defence University Youtube-channel.

National Defence University’s Russia seminar 2023

Russia Seminar 2023, themed Russia’s war on Ukraine: Strategic and operational designs and implementation, was held at the National Defence University on the 15th-16th of February 2023. The seminar discussed Russian military policy and the research development in that field. Please find the seminar publication here. The publication is open access and edited by FNDU senior researcher Pentti Forsström.

You may find the programme here and seminar recordings from the National Defence University’s Youtube channel.

National Defence University’s Russia Seminar 2022

National Defence University of Finland (FNDU) organized the annual Russia-seminar on the 16th of February 2022, themed Russian Concept of War and Operation, Management, and Use of Military Power – Conceptual Change. Please find the seminar publication here. The publication is open access and edited by FNDU senior researcher Pentti Forsström.

The seminar was organized fully online due to the COVID-19 situation. The seminar recordings can be found from National Defence University’s Youtube channel. The seminar programme and schedule can be found here.

The event was supported by the Mannerheim Foundation.

Russia Seminar 2021

National Defence University of Finland (FNDU) organized the annual Russia-seminar on the 26th of January and 2nd of February 2021. The seminar was themed Russian Concept of Deterrence in Contemporary and Classic Perspectives.Please find the seminar publication here. The publication is open access and edited by FNDU senior researcher Pentti Forsström.

The seminar recordings can be found from National Defence University’s Youtube channel. The seminar programme and schedule can be found here.

Russia Seminar 2019

The National Defence University’s Russia Seminar was organised in the Santahamina Building on 25 April 2019. The main speakers were Michael Kofman (Russian threat perceptions) and Kati Parppei (Enemy images in Russian national narrative). The topics discussed included Russia’s security policy and the development of research in the field for example in the Security Policy I Session with Olli-Matti Mikkola (chairman), Katri Pynnöniemi, Elina Sinkkonen and Jussi Lassila as speakers.

The National Defence University organised the seminar in cooperation with the University of Helsinki and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. The Mannerheim Foundation granted financial support that enabled the organising of the seminar.

You can watch the seminar recording here.