Demilitarisation of Åland

Åland is demilitarised, meaning that no military forces may be stationed on the islands and that they may not be fortified. Åland is also neutralised, and must therefore be kept outside armed conflict in the event of war. The demilitarisation of Åland is based on multiple international treaties as well as on customary international law.

Åland is situated in a strategically important location in the Baltic Sea. It dominates the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, while also lying in close proximity to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

The demilitarisation of Åland was first imposed on Russia after the Crimean War through the Åland convention of 1856, which was incorporated as an appendix to the 1856 Paris Peace Treaty. At that time, Åland formed part of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

During the First World War, Russia fortified Åland with consent of the other Entente powers. After the October Revolution, various armed forces were present on the islands. After the Finnish independence in 1917, a dispute over Åland arose between Finland and Sweden. In 1921, the League of Nations decided that the islands would remain under Finnish sovereignty as an autonomous region. Following this decision, the Åland Neutralisation Convention (or Åland convention of 1921) was signed, in which Finland reaffirmed the 1856 convention, now expanded to include neutralisation of the islands.

During the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union, Finnish troops were deployed on the islands without protest from the states party to the 1921 convention. After the war, the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty required Finland to again demilitarise the islands, and also granted the Soviet Union (later Russia) the right to maintain a diplomatic office in Åland to monitor the demilitarisation. After the Continuation War, the demilitarisation was reaffirmed in the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.

In 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Finland and Russia affirmed that the provisions of the 1940 treaty concerning Åland remain in force.