Borderlands and Battles: A Finnish Town’s Cold War Story

Timo takes us to the remote Finnish border town of Kuusamo. He paints a vivid picture of a childhood overshadowed by his grandparent’s memories of their home lost during World War II and their proximity to the Soviet Union.

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As a child, he was fascinated by the invisible line that marked the end of the world— the heavily guarded border with the USSR. Timo recounts a tense encounter with border guards while visiting his grandparents, and his meeting with a Soviet escaper.

He travels to Moscow and Eastern Europe as a young man which further fuels his curiosity about life on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Timo recalls the austere streets of Prague to the bureaucratic maze in Budapest and a harrowing night at the Romanian border.

Timo’s book “Tanks & Roaches” is only currently available in Finnish, Estonian and Slovak and can be purchased on the links below:

Details of Timo’s book in English via (Bonnier Rights Finland)

https://www.bonnierrights.fi/books/tanks-and-roaches/

Finnish Original (Tammi)

https://www.tammi.fi/kirja/timo-laine/torakoita-ja-panssarivaunuja/9789513177447

Estonian Translation (Varrak)

https://varrak.ee/raamat/tankid-ja-tarakanid/

Timo can be contacted at [email protected]

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