Reid Standish

Journalist

Finland

Reid Standish is a Canadian-American journalist based in Finland. He covers politics, security, and culture in Northern Europe and the Baltics. Previously, he was an associate editor at Foreign Policy magazine in Washington, DC. From Helsinki, Reid also focuses on the former Soviet Union, especially Central Asia.

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POLITICO
10/30/2017
Wary of Russia, Finns take another look at NATO

HELSINKI - For decades, Finland managed its delicate relationship with Russia by avoiding any move that could provoke the "sleeping bear" on its eastern border. Now, a retired senior diplomat is pushing his country to risk angering the beast - by joining the NATO military alliance.

Foreign Policy
09/15/2017
Why Is Finland Able to Fend Off Putin's Information War?

With elections coming up this year in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and perhaps Italy, European intelligence services the Continent have been the about Russian attempts to the outcome though targeted disinformation and propaganda, as they appeared to do in the U.S. presidential election.

Foreign Policy
09/14/2017
'Our Future Will Be Violent Extremism'

AKTOBE, Kazakhstan - A quiet Sunday morning came to an end on June 5, 2016, as 27-year-old Dmitry Tanatarov led a group of 25 young men in what would become Kazakhstan's largest terrorist attack ever.

Foreign Policy
09/15/2017
A Silk Road Marriage

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - As the sun sets over the city's snowcapped mountains, Yerbolat and May Ospanov settle into the gray sofa. May slides her hands over Yerbolat's, which lie clasped on his knee. Then, with a precision honed through countless recitations, they take turns listing the dozens of places they've lived together around the world before settling in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city.

Foreign Policy
09/15/2017
How Finland Became Europe's Bear Whisperer

HELSINKI - When Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for the first time since April elections, Lavrov was prepared. Word had already reached the Russian diplomat that the new government in Helsinki was preparing a report on whether to join NATO.

Foreign Policy
09/15/2017
Where the War on Terror Lives Forever

Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's first and only president, is dead. After six days of official silence following a stroke on Aug. 28, the death of the 78-year-old Central Asian leader was confirmed by the Uzbek government; he will be enshrined in history and buried in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand as the founding father of independent Uzbekistan.

Foreign Policy
09/15/2017
Finland's Santa-Industrial Complex

HELSINKI - With just five hours of daylight in the south and perpetual night in the north, December may be the darkest month in Finland, but it's when the country gets its chance to shine.

Foreign Policy
09/14/2017
Scenes From Central Asia's Forever War

OSH, Kyrgyzstan - Tall and slender, "Muhammad" sits underneath a fast-spinning ceiling fan in a small teahouse in southern Kyrgyzstan as he nervously asks to be identified with a pseudonym. Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan's security service, the GKNB, and local police officers detained and questioned him and some of his friends.