Finland celebrates its 100th birthday today, gaining its independence from Russia on 6.12.1917. It was a largely autonomous state within the Czarist empire prior to that, and even earlier in its history had been part of the Swedish empire. The political process to independence was swift: it took just two days from the vote in the senate to the gaining of independence, the nascent communist regime in St. Petersburg being pre-occupied with weightier matters.
If the route to independence was quick and easy, however, the aftermath was anything but. A civil war broke out at the beginning of the following year, and this would leave deep divisions in society for a generation or more. The war didn't last too long, just a bit over three months, but was marked by a viciousness that continued once fighting was over. Some 38000 people, well over 1% of the entire population of the day, died during this period, of which fewer than 10000 could be counted as combatants in action. The largest number were lost in prison camps through illness, starvation, neglect, mistreatment, executions and murder. The Whites won the actual war, but the Finland that has emerged since then is closer to what the Reds were fighting for than what the White leadership were fighting for.
The start of the healing process of these self-inflicted wounds came courtesy of our eastern neighbour. Stalin, in his bid to keep up with the nazis, absorbed the Baltic States outright and demanded chunks of Finland. The White leader during the civil war, Mannerheim, was appointed head of the army, and his main strategy was to fight the enemy hard, both to dissuade it and also to buy time for foreign assistance to come to the Finns' aid. The latter never materialised, and the Finns fought the Winter War alone but with a ferocity that shocked the Soviets. Aided by some poor Soviet equipment and training, and some spectacularly inept Soviet tactics and leadership, the Finns put up a defence that left one, ultimately victorious, Soviet general to comment bitterly that they had conquered just enough territory in which they could bury their dead. Defeat was defeat, however, and the Finns were in no position to resist Soviet demands for further territory: The whole of the Karelian isthmus and the second city of Viipuri were lost, as well as the northern port of Petsamo.
The Continuation War that followed in 1941 on the back of Barbarossa brought, at first, substantial Finnish victories and gains, but once the Red Machine started rolling back the German army then a second defeat for the Finns was inevitable. As a sign of shifting alliances, by the end of hostilities the Finns had fought against both the Soviets and Germans with equipment supplied by the British, Americans, Soviets and Germans. The peace negotiations forced the Finns to cede even more territory, as well as acknowledging that they were responsible for starting the conflict with the Soviets, and the payment of hefty reparations.
If the birth and infancy of this nation was violent, then that that followed was peaceful. The mid-fifties saw the publication of Väinö Linna's magnum opus Tuntematon Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier), a work that has been widely credited as helping healing the wounds of Finland's earlier days. The original film of the book is a magnificent piece of cinema, and is shown on national television on this day every year. Reparations were paid in full and on time, the country slowly industrialised and by the 1970s the economy was prosperous and near full employment. President Kekkonen kept Finland loosely aligned with the Soviet Union while remaining outside the Warsaw Pact. The break up of the Soviet Union, by far Finland's largest trading partner at the time, brought disaster to the economy here, and by the late '80s very early '90s the country was near bankrupt. Then came Nokia.
For my part, it's difficult to believe that I've lived here for the very thick end of 25 years. I first arrived on 2.3.1992 out of idle curiosity as to what kind of country this was. A year earlier Nokia had bought our company, Technophone, as the first step on the road that would take it first to mobile phone world domination and then its own rapid destruction. It was still a culture shock, though, to be told on my arrival at the hotel that my compatriot was singing in the cabaret there that very night. Upon asking the identity of the crooner, I got the reply "Eddie Edwards". Much has changed over the past quarter century. Unemployment was at about 22% nationally when I arrived, and numerous people were in dire financial difficulty. Crime was very low though: for example, in those days women would almost routinely leave their handbags unattended at a restaurant or night club table while they went to the toilet, secure in the knowledge that it would remain there intact for their return. Most shops except for the largest were routinely shut on Saturdays during the summer. The Christmas season never started proper until Independence day was out of the way. The country has gradually westernised during this period, a process undoubtedly accelerated by our joining the EU. Where MiG-21s used to scream down the runway at Oulu airport, nowadays F18 Hornets do the same thing. Christmas begins in October and shops opening hours are indistinguishable from those elsewhere in the EU. Crime remains low by international standards, though the days of seeing handbags being left on tables are long gone, as are the days of Eddie Edwards singing in night clubs.
If the route to independence was quick and easy, however, the aftermath was anything but. A civil war broke out at the beginning of the following year, and this would leave deep divisions in society for a generation or more. The war didn't last too long, just a bit over three months, but was marked by a viciousness that continued once fighting was over. Some 38000 people, well over 1% of the entire population of the day, died during this period, of which fewer than 10000 could be counted as combatants in action. The largest number were lost in prison camps through illness, starvation, neglect, mistreatment, executions and murder. The Whites won the actual war, but the Finland that has emerged since then is closer to what the Reds were fighting for than what the White leadership were fighting for.
The start of the healing process of these self-inflicted wounds came courtesy of our eastern neighbour. Stalin, in his bid to keep up with the nazis, absorbed the Baltic States outright and demanded chunks of Finland. The White leader during the civil war, Mannerheim, was appointed head of the army, and his main strategy was to fight the enemy hard, both to dissuade it and also to buy time for foreign assistance to come to the Finns' aid. The latter never materialised, and the Finns fought the Winter War alone but with a ferocity that shocked the Soviets. Aided by some poor Soviet equipment and training, and some spectacularly inept Soviet tactics and leadership, the Finns put up a defence that left one, ultimately victorious, Soviet general to comment bitterly that they had conquered just enough territory in which they could bury their dead. Defeat was defeat, however, and the Finns were in no position to resist Soviet demands for further territory: The whole of the Karelian isthmus and the second city of Viipuri were lost, as well as the northern port of Petsamo.
The Continuation War that followed in 1941 on the back of Barbarossa brought, at first, substantial Finnish victories and gains, but once the Red Machine started rolling back the German army then a second defeat for the Finns was inevitable. As a sign of shifting alliances, by the end of hostilities the Finns had fought against both the Soviets and Germans with equipment supplied by the British, Americans, Soviets and Germans. The peace negotiations forced the Finns to cede even more territory, as well as acknowledging that they were responsible for starting the conflict with the Soviets, and the payment of hefty reparations.
If the birth and infancy of this nation was violent, then that that followed was peaceful. The mid-fifties saw the publication of Väinö Linna's magnum opus Tuntematon Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier), a work that has been widely credited as helping healing the wounds of Finland's earlier days. The original film of the book is a magnificent piece of cinema, and is shown on national television on this day every year. Reparations were paid in full and on time, the country slowly industrialised and by the 1970s the economy was prosperous and near full employment. President Kekkonen kept Finland loosely aligned with the Soviet Union while remaining outside the Warsaw Pact. The break up of the Soviet Union, by far Finland's largest trading partner at the time, brought disaster to the economy here, and by the late '80s very early '90s the country was near bankrupt. Then came Nokia.
For my part, it's difficult to believe that I've lived here for the very thick end of 25 years. I first arrived on 2.3.1992 out of idle curiosity as to what kind of country this was. A year earlier Nokia had bought our company, Technophone, as the first step on the road that would take it first to mobile phone world domination and then its own rapid destruction. It was still a culture shock, though, to be told on my arrival at the hotel that my compatriot was singing in the cabaret there that very night. Upon asking the identity of the crooner, I got the reply "Eddie Edwards". Much has changed over the past quarter century. Unemployment was at about 22% nationally when I arrived, and numerous people were in dire financial difficulty. Crime was very low though: for example, in those days women would almost routinely leave their handbags unattended at a restaurant or night club table while they went to the toilet, secure in the knowledge that it would remain there intact for their return. Most shops except for the largest were routinely shut on Saturdays during the summer. The Christmas season never started proper until Independence day was out of the way. The country has gradually westernised during this period, a process undoubtedly accelerated by our joining the EU. Where MiG-21s used to scream down the runway at Oulu airport, nowadays F18 Hornets do the same thing. Christmas begins in October and shops opening hours are indistinguishable from those elsewhere in the EU. Crime remains low by international standards, though the days of seeing handbags being left on tables are long gone, as are the days of Eddie Edwards singing in night clubs.
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