How to survive a war: manuals distributed to citizens in Sweden, Finland and Norway

Yellow booklets with the image of a soldier armed with a machine gun are distributed to millions of citizens in Suede. The title is In case of crisis or war and its content teaches people how to protect themselves and survive in such a hostile environment.

And that’s it the invasion of Russia has Ukraine climb with great strides this is why several European governments have decided to preventively prepare their inhabitants.

Just like in Sweden, The Finnish government has made recommendations on how to survive a war. On their website, they have posted tips for “preparing for incidents and crises”.

Meanwhile, authorities Norway They also issued instructions calling for citizens can learn and prepare to survive on their own for a week “in case of extreme weather conditions, war and other threats.”

They also gave advice on how to cook in the middle of war, how to maintain mental health, prepare “mentally” for a crisis, and how to protect pets.

More than two years have passed since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in one of the worst wars of the century. Since then, as established BBC World , Different governments have been assessing how to prepare for a possible escalation of the conflict.

In this sense, Denmark began to communicate a few months ago that it would send instructions to the entire adult population of the country to guide them in their efforts. What foods, medications and fluids they need to get through an attack that lasts at least three days.

Norway, through the person responsible for preparation campaign of Civil Protection, Tore Kamfjord, announced that They sent 2.2 million paper instructions, “one for every household in Norway,” specifying what items they should keep in their homes to survive a war conflict.

On the list are foods that don’t require refrigeration, like cans of beans, energy bars and pasta. They also added medicines such as iodine tablets, in the event of a nuclear accident.

“How will you and your loved ones cope with a prolonged power outage? What would you do if the water disappeared? What happens if you can’t go shopping for a week? » are the questions that the Norwegian government asks its citizens.

For its part, Finland has decided to produce a digital brochure – not printed, like other countries due to cost – in which it specifies what a “hypothetical military conflict” would look like. how the government and president would respond to the attack and assure citizens that the country is “well prepared for self-defense.”

And in the yellow booklet of Sweden, in addition to the title In case of crisis or war and the drawing of an armed soldier, the following message is also read on the first pages.

“If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. “All reports that resistance must stop are false.”

This manual is one of many editions available to the country since World War II. In fact, it was updated during the Cold War and reprinted with useful new information.

In the guides provided by European countries, the message can be interpreted in the same way: Governments ask their citizens to prepare to “fend for themselves” in war and crisis situations, at least initially, which are often abrupt and complex.

And there are situations that can get out of control. For example, if for some reason Finland were to lose electricity for several days, people would have to be prepared to survive in extremely cold temperatures, like -20ºC.

The lists also mention include iodine tablets, foods that are easy to prepare or cook, an alternative energy source, and pet food.

For example, in the Swedish list it is recommended to store: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, cans of bolognese sauce, soups, cranberries and rose hips.

The amount of water and food This should be enough for at least 72 hours.

“There could be a war in Sweden.” It was with these words that the Swedish Minister of Civil Defense, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, began the year 2024 in the country: he wanted defense measures to be put in place more quickly, in case the war in Ukraine and Russia would intensify.

Last month, authorities said As the global context evolved, Swedish homes needed to reflect these changes, reason why they provide this preventive information.

Finland thinks so too, not least because it has a long border with Russia.

It should be noted that Sweden joined NATO in 2024 and decided, along with Finland, to apply for membership in the military organization after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

For his part, Norway is a founding member of the organization.

Recently, the President of the United States Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use its long-range projectiles to attack its targets on Russian territory.

Considering this, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by signing the nuclear doctrine of Russia, which considers the aggression of any non-nuclear-weapon state (but with the participation of a nuclear country, in this case the United States), as a “joint attack against Russia”.

SOKyiv decided to fire ATACMS missiles against the Bryansk region.

Given this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Biden of having “stoked tensions” and that this attack generated “a completely new situation.” regarding the participation of the United States.

Now, according to recent reports from Reuters , Russia has begun building mobile air raid shelters resistant to radiation from a nuclear explosion.