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| Republic of Finland Suomen tasavalta Republiken Finland | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Helsinki |
| Official languages | Finnish Swedish |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Leaders | |
• President | Alexander Stubb |
• Prime Minister | Petteri Orpo |
| Area | |
• Total | 338,455 km² |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 5,536,146 |
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic social democratic country in Northern Europe. To the northwest, it borders Sweden and to the north, Norway. Its entire eastern frontier borders the Russian Federation. Finland's maritime borders include the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.
The country has a total area of 303,815 square kilometers and a population of 5.6 million people with most being ethnic Finns.[1] Finland's official language is Finnish and Swedish.
History
The area in which we now know as Finland was first inhabited around 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age.
As the Bronze Age came to Finland, the use of agriculture and animal husbandry was slowed by the changing climate.[2]
Grand Duchy of Finland
Finland was part of Sweden for 600 years until being ceded to the Russian Empire in 1808 as an autonomous Grand Duchy and approved by the Diet of Porvoo.[3] It became a Russian protectorate under the Diet of Finland (valtiopäivät) - an institution that consisted of 4 Estates (the nobility, the clergy, the burghers and the peasants). Finland at this point had no military or independent foreign or economic policy.[4] In 1854, Finland was dragged into the imperialist war in the Crimea and was bombarded by the French and British navies in the Åland War.
In the wake of a deadly famine that killed of 15% of the population during the 1860s[5], a strong nationalist movement gained momentum that seeked to establish a Finnish identity despite Russification. This campaigne to assimilate the Finns rose to a high point after the Tsar's February Manifesto - a document restricting the autonomous rights of Finns in the Russian Empire which had major opposition in all strata of Finnish society.
During the 1905 revolution in Russia, the socialist organized general strikes among workers to demand for parliamentary reform. Finally, Finland gained its own parliament - the unicameral Parliament of Finland (Suomen eduskunta) of 200 MPs, although it was still controlled by Russia. In 1906, universal suffrage (including for women) was introduced to Finland and its first election was organized the next year in 1907. Finnish bourgeois and nobility worked with the tsar to oppose the Finnish independence movement, which was led by proletarians.[4]
In 1916, socialists gained a majority in the Finnish parliament and passed the Power Act, declaring that the Finnish government was sovereign from Russian involvement.[4]
Russian revolution
The Finnish government allied itself with Kerensky's provisional government after the February Revolution of 1917.[4]
The Bolsheviks, who took power in Russia in November 1917, supported Finnish independence.[6][7] Finland declared independence from Russia on 6 December 1917 and was recognized on 2 January 1918. A communist revolution began in Finland in 1918 but was defeated by Carl Mannerheim with German support. Mannerheim supported foreign intervention against the Red Army and allowed Western countries to launch military operations from Finland. In 1920, the Soviets were forced to sign the Treaty of Tartu, which moved the Finnish border to only 18 miles from Petrograd.[3]
Second World War
Negotiations
At the beginning of the Second World War, the Soviet Union negotiated with Finland in an attempt to reduce the threat of Nazi Germany. It offered a mutual defense pact with Finland and cession of the Karelian Isthmus and the Rybachi and Sredni Peninsulas to the USSR in exchange for territorial and trade compensations for Finland. The Finnish government initially supported the proposal but changed its mind after meeting with the kings of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. A group of Finnish soldiers fired on the Red Army at the border, leading the Soviet Union to propose that Finnish troops withdraw a short distance from the Soviet border. There were no Finnish cities or strategic points in the proposed withdrawal area. Finland refused to withdraw its troops and the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Finland.[8]
NATO
In May 2022, the Finnish government announced that it planned to join the imperialist organization NATO. The Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism, opposes this action and wants Finland to remain a neutral country.[9]
Politics
The right-wing populist and nationalist Finns Party received 13.8% of votes in the most recent Finnish election. Until recently, it governed in a coalition with the Center Party and center-right National Coalition Party. The Finnish Resistance Movement is the Finnish branch of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement and has attacked LGBT and anti-racist demonstrations.[10] The Finns Party controls the ministries of Economy, Finance, Interior, Justice, and Social Affairs.[11]
References
- ↑ Various. "Finland Population 2024" World Population Review.
- ↑ Georg Haggren; Petri Halinen; Mika Levanto; Sami Raninen; Anna Wessmen (2015). Muinaisuutemme jäljet (pp. 199, 210 - 211). Helsinki.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Victor Vaughn (2011-10-08). "The Communist League: The Soviet-Finnish War" The Espresso Stalinist. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 TheFinnishBolshevik (2018-04-03). "The Finnish Communist Revolution (1918) PART 1: Finnish Independence" ML-Theory. Archived from the original on 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ↑ M. Eric Gershwin; J. Bruce German; Carl L. Keen (2000). Nutrition and immunology: principles and practice. Humana Press. ISBN 0-89603-719-3
- ↑ Antti Hyvönen (1977). The Great Events of 1917-18 (Finnish: Suurten tapahtumien vuodet 1917-18). Kansankulttuuri. ISBN 9516151469
- ↑ “To The Finnish People.
The Finnish Parliament has on 15th day of the last November, in support of Section 38 of the Constitution, declared to be the Supreme holder of the State Authority as well as set up a Government to the country, that has taken to its primary task the realization and safeguarding Finland's independence as a state. The people of Finland have by this step taken their fate in their own hands: a step both justified and demanded by present conditions. The people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national duty and their universal human obligations without a complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now; The People of Finland has to step forward as an independent nation among the other nations in the world.
Achieving this goal requires mainly some measures by the Parliament. Finland's current form of government, which is currently incompatible with the conditions, requires a complete renewal and therefore has the Government now submitted a proposition for a new Constitution to the Parliament's council, a proposition that is based on the principle that Finland is to be a sovereign republic. Considering that, the main features of the new polity has to be carried into effect immediately, the Government has at the same time delivered a bill of acts in this matter, which mean to satisfy the most urgent renewal needs before the establishment of the new Constitution.
The same goal also calls for measures from the part of the Government. The Government will approach foreign powers to seek an international recognition of our country's independence as a state. At the present moment this is particularly all the more necessary, when the grave situation caused by the country's complete isolation, famine and unemployment compels the Government to establish actual relations to the foreign powers, which prompt assistance in satisfying the necessities of life and in importing the essential goods for the industry, are our only rescue from the imminent famine and industrial stagnation.
The Russian people have, after subverting the Tsarist Regime, in a number of occasions expressed their intention to favour the Finnish people the right to determine their own fate, which is based on their centuries-old cultural development. And widely over all the horrors of the war is heard a voice, that one of the goals of the present war is to be, that no nation shall be forced against its will to be dependent on another (nation). The Finnish people believe that the free Russian people and its constitutive National Assembly don't want to prevent Finland's aspiration to enter the multitude of the free and independent nations. At the same time the People of Finland dare to hope that the other nations of the world recognizes, that with their full independence and freedom the People of Finland can do their best in fulfilment of those purposes that will win them an independent position amongst the people of the civilized world.
At the same time as the Government has wanted to let all the Finnish citizens to know these words, the Government turns to the citizens, as well as the private and public authorities, calling everyone on their own behalf with rapt attention to follow the (law and) order by filling their patriotic duty, to strain all their strength for achieving the nation's common goal in this point of time, which has such an importance and decisiveness, that there have never before been in the life of the Finnish people.”
P. E. Svinhufvud; E. N. Setälä; Kyösti Kallio; Jalmar Castrén; Onni Talas; Arthur Castrén; Heikki Renvall; Juhani Arajärvi; Alexander Frey; E. Y. Pehkonen. (December 4, 1917). Finland's Declaration of Independence. Helsinki. - ↑ Alter Brody, et al. (1940). War and Peace in Finland: 'Origins of the Conflict' (pp. 6–8). [PDF] New York City, United States: Soviet Russia Today.
- ↑ "Eight reasons why Finland should not join NATO" (2022-05-16). In Defense of Communism. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
- ↑ Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis (2019-07-22). "Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group" CovertAction Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- ↑ NPA Antifascist Commission (2024-05-19). "The resistible rise of the far right in Europe" International Viewpoint. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29.