Finland, a Country Built on Military Self-Reliance, Prepares for NATO Collective Defense

HELSINKI—In the 1960s, Finnish families regularly stockpiled food at home—called kotivara—as part of a broader philosophy that everyone in the country should be ready for a possible war.

Now, some six months after Russia invaded Ukraine and with Finland on the verge of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of nonalignment, many in the country are looking to revive these Cold War practices.