FINLAND'S NATO: ACCESSION THROUGH THE LENS OF DEMILITARIZATION OF THE ÅLAND ISLANDS: RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA BY SIGNALING.

The article examines Russian propaganda by signaling--published in the government daily Rossiiskaia Gazeta (Russian Gazette)--about the demilitarization of Finland's Åland Islands. Due to historical agreements, it is Russia that supervises the demilitarization process, a particular flashpoint for Finns in light of the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Following Finland's accession to NATO, the two topics became tied together in Russian official discourse. Russian narratives have sought to balance reminding the world of Russian military might with avoiding expressing outright dissatisfaction with Finnish accession to NATO--a sentiment that is instead channeled through objections to the militarization of the Åland Islands. The analysis draws on Maton's Legitimation Code Theory, specifically Chubb and Wang's theorization of propaganda by signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]