Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilström shakes his head in frustration. Fortunately, it’s not me he’s tired of, but rather Russia.
He has been asked by Swedish media, Finnish media and now NRK whether he has a comment on Russia’s claim that Sweden will establish a NATO base on Gotland.
“Russian propaganda,” he says. Sweden has no plans for a NATO base on Gotland.
The Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers pose together with Harald VI, a gutebagge (buck) who is Gotland’s regimental mascot.
Photo: Joakim Reigstad / NRK
But there is no doubt that Gotland is strategically important for Sweden. And that there has been an increased military presence. No doubt. Because it is not the first time that a threat from the east has been felt here.
The jewel in the crown
Almost every time security policy is to be discussed in Sweden, the meeting is moved to Gotland. To paraphrase a slightly worn expression. Gotland is the real jewel in the three kroner defense of Sweden.
A Danish military analyst described it as simply as this:
And this week there was another important meeting on Gotland. The foreign ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries.
One cannot help but be fascinated by this special place. So I thought I’d learn a bit more about Gotland’s military history while I was here anyway.
The ring wall around Visby was built due to conflicts between townspeople and farmers in the Middle Ages. The wall is approx. eleven meters high and the best-preserved city wall in all of Scandinavia.
Photo: Joakim Reigstad / NRK
The first thing I found out was that Gotland, during the Viking Age, was among the richest places in Northern Europe. 170,000 silver coins and 270 gold coins from this time have been found on Gotland. The island must have functioned almost independently of the rest of the Swedish kingdom.
Bloody Danish occupation
The first threat came not from the east but from the south. From someone who is now a friend. In 1361, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag attacked Gotland. The battle was among the bloodiest in Nordic history. Probably thousands of people were killed and those who survived were threatened to pay high taxes to the king.
Valdemar Atterdag demanded a so-called fire tax. That is, he threatened to burn down Visby if the inhabitants did not pay money to the Danes. Painting by Carl Gustaf Hellqvist (1882)
Only at the peace of Brömsebro, which ended the war between Denmark-Norway and Sweden in 1645, Gotland became Swedish again.
Incidentally, the same peace negotiations where Norway lost Jämtland and Härjedalen to Sweden.
During the Great Nordic War at the beginning of the 18th century, Gotland was attacked by Russia several times. “Ryssherjingarna” is what the Swedes call the terror the Russians subjected the coastal population to.
The Russians come – and go
In the shadow of the Napoleonic Wars, where Sweden was fighting on several fronts, in 1808 Russian forces landed on completely unguarded Gotland. The Russians wanted a naval base in the Baltic Sea and now they saw the opportunity there.
The governor of Gotland thought it was better to surrender and the Russians took Visby. But the Swedes sent large numbers of naval vessels to the sea area off Gotland. With the help of British ships, they were able to cut the supply lines from Russia.
The Russians were chased out of this port here, Österport, and failed to establish a naval base on Gotland in 1808.
Photo: Joakim Reigstad / NRK
Without food and equipment, the Russians saw themselves forced to capitulate after three weeks. They were chased out of Österport in the city wall. Not a single shot was fired.
The incident could easily have become a comma in Gotland’s history. But this was the start of conscription in Sweden. Gotland was the first to do so. All men between the ages of 18 and 50 should now be able to take up arms.
Conflict-filled time
Towards the end of the 19th century, the tense situation between the central power in Russia and the Grand Duchy of Finland meant that the defense of Gotland was intensified again and a new fortress was built on Gotland.
The unrest and the prelude to what was to become the First World War also worried Sweden. 30,000 farmers went on a demonstration train on a February day in 1914. They protested against a passive Swedish defense policy.
King Gustav gave support to the farmers during the Borggård speech in 1914. The statements led to a government crisis, but also an escalation of the Swedish defence.
Photo: Unknown photographer
In a speech outside the palace in Stockholm, King Gustaf V said he agreed with the protesters. It ended in a government crisis and Hjalmar Hammarskjöld became prime minister. Under him, Sweden built up the armed forces, but remained neutral after the outbreak of war, in Swedish fashion.
Although it is a poorly kept secret that Hammarskjöld sympathized with the Germans.
Build down – build up – build down
After the end of the war in 1918, the defense presence on Gotland was reduced. But then there was unrest in Europe again. It is in this period, the interwar period, that the role of “aircraft carrier” begins. The Swedish Air Force establishes itself in several places. In addition, you get coastal artillery.
Although still in its own way, Sweden is neutral during the Second World War as well. At the same time, investments are being made in new military infrastructure on Gotland. Bunkers are being built all along the coast, trenches are being dug and barbed wire is being laid out in several places to prevent the landing of foreign forces.
The Swedes like to show off their military capabilities when they have guests visiting Gotland. Here during a summit in October last year.
Photo: Reuters
During the Cold War, the airspace and waters are constantly violated by what are most likely Russian aircraft or vessels. Although it is seldom possible to determine with certainty where the vessels come from, the proof needed in 1981 is obtained.
On course or off course?
Then U137 from the Soviet Baltic Fleet runs aground just outside Karlskrona, in the very south of Sweden. What the Swedes believed was true:
U137 grounded outside Karlskrona in 1981. The proof the Swedes needed that the Russians were patrolling Swedish waters. The submarine was looked after by Swedish naval vessels for weeks before it was towed to the Baltijsk naval base in Kaliningrad.
Photo: NTB
The Russians patrolled Swedish waters.
But from the Russian side, they have claimed for over 40 years that a faulty navigation system was the reason why they were so close to Sweden and ran aground.
At most, there were 25,000 soldiers on Gotland during the Cold War. There are roughly as many as the entire Norwegian defense consists of today.
But the feeling of peace also led to a sharp reduction in the military presence on Gotland – once again.
It caused no small amount of unrest and wonder when Swedish soldiers suddenly started patrolling the streets of Visby in the winter of 2022.
Photo: AFP
In 2004, Gotland’s regiment was closed down. But as early as 2008, when Russia attacked Georgia, a gradual rebuilding of the military presence on Gotland began. In 2019, a regiment was once again put in place.
And in January 2022. Increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea and not least along the Ukrainian border. Swedish soldiers from all over the country were sent to Gotland.
The images of patrolling in Visby went around the world.
And that is where you stand now. The aircraft carrier guards both Sweden and the other NATO countries around the Baltic Sea. Gotland is an important piece for maintaining security here.
But ideally, the islanders would probably want Gotland to be best known for beaches, natural phenomena and sheep.
Rauker is among the special rock formations found on Gotland. Erosion by the weather or the sea breaks down the soft rocks and the hard core remains. Gotland is also known for that.
Photo: Joakim Reigstad / NRK
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Published 14.04.2024, at 19.52