PROBLEMS OF FINLAND-RUSSIA RELATIONS.

Finland-Russia relations have had a long history, but their development has not been smooth. In the second half of the 20^th century the relations between the two countries were characterized as being special, whereas today these relationships are going through certain difficulties. The present paper analyses the causes of the difficulties. Finland put its relations with Russia in line with the EU common policy. Such a position resulted into a new type of relations between the two countries. The paper is based on the recent research works and follows the development of Finland-Russia relations. Such an approach to Finland-Russia relations is mainly related to Finland's attitude to the situation inside Russia. That attitude had been formed before the country joined the European Union. A new stage of trust in the relations between the two countries may solve an important problem of the Finnish foreign policy and guarantee a connection between Finland's policy in the European Union and bilateral relations with Russia. The above-mentioned leads to the idea of reviving "special relations" between Finland and Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]