Lenin, who had been in exile in Switzerland, returned with his family to Russia through Germany, Sweden and Finland in April 1917. He crossed the border of the Empire in Tornio, like many others who returned to Russia after the revolution. What was extraordinary in Lenin’s return was that it would not have been possible […]
During the hundred years of Finnish independence, the biggest changes have been urbanisation, demographic change, rising educational levels, improved standard of living and productivity growth. When Finland became independent, its population had exceeded three million. The birth rate declined sharply in the 1920s and it looked like the population would not reach four million. However, […]
Building Finland into a modern nation was a project of the Finnish intelligentsia aimed at the Finnish people on the one hand and the international public on the other. Creating nationally important works of architecture, visual arts and music helped increase Finland’s international visibility. Finland did not have a glorious history as a nation. Arts […]
The Finnish Civil War was fought between two quickly recruited armies with mostly untrained fighters. In the early stages of the conflict, the core of the two armies was made up of volunteers who joined the troops in ideological fervour. At the beginning of the war, the White Army consisted mainly of members of the […]
Continuity is the most important feature of Finnish democracy in international comparison. The modern parliamentary system dates back to 1863 when the Diet of Finland with the four Estates started to convene. Democratic legislative procedures and the party system evolved, even though the Russian Emperor ultimately made the decisions autocratically. In 1907, the congress was […]
The People’s Delegation led by Kullervo Manner acted as the Revolutionary Government in Finland in 1918. It controlled the largest Finnish cities – Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Vyborg – and almost a third of the Finnish territory. Officially, the highest decision-making body in the Red Finland was the Workers’ General Council, and the People’s Delegation […]
In November 1917, Finland broke off from Russia, to which it had belonged as an autonomous Grand Duchy since 1809. The international status and alliances of independent Finland have changed during the past one hundred years, but the country has always remained independent and democratic and has never been occupied. War-torn years 1918–1920 Finland broke […]
When we talk about Finland gaining independence, we must distinguish five separate processes: (1) the de facto severance of the Finnish-Russian state connection; (2) Finland’s declarations of independence; (3) the reorganisation of the powers wielded by the Russian sovereign, i.e. the adoption of the constitution of Finland with regard to the mutual relations of the […]
The growth of popular movements in the late 19th and early 20th century coincides with the rapid transformation of Finnish society. The inhabitants of Finland became aware of their nationality and citizenship. Popular movements or people’s movements refer to social movements created spontaneously by people themselves without guidance or supervision from the authorities or the […]
Per capita, Finland is still among the most successful Olympic nations. However, the days are long gone when Finland took home bucketloads of medals from the Olympics. Nowadays, we mostly see Finnish motor racers and ice hockey players in the headlines. Finland is also one of the leading countries in the world in general fitness […]
The Russian Emperor and Grand Duke of Finland Nicholas II abdicated on 15 March 1917. His brother Grand Duke Mikhail refused to accept the crown. A committee set up by the Duma started to govern Russia. People began calling the committee the provisional government. The new government was chaired by Prince Georgy Lvov. The change […]
The Games of the Fifth Olympiad in Stockholm were a great success for Finland. The Finnish team of 164 athletes won 9 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals, 26 medals in total. The excellent result was largely based on athletics and wrestling. Athletes brought home 13 medals and wrestlers 7. Hannes Kolehmainen, the Finnish […]
In the Russian empire, Finland was a special case with its own national economy. Finland and Russia had a customs border, and the Russian government restricted the access of Finnish products to the Russian market by imposing duties on them. Beginning from the 1880s, the Finnish government (the Senate) had favoured the establishment of trade […]
A manifesto issued by the Russian provisional government on 20 March 1917 lifted most of the restrictions placed on Finland’s autonomy. The Russified Senate was replaced by a political multi-party government led by Oskari Tokoi, appointed by the provisional government on 26 March. The Social Democrats found it hard to accept governmental responsibility because, in […]
The newly-independent Finland was an advanced society when it declared independence on 6 December. It had its own national economy, parliament, education system and cultural life. It did not have its own army, border guard or foreign ministry. The Finnish national economy was based on the fact that the country had its own currency and […]
The Finnish Olympic dream came to fruition with the Helsinki Summer Games of 1952. For two weeks, Helsinki offered the Olympics a neutral safe haven from the storms of the Cold War. At the same time, Finland was rewarded for the “lost” 1940 Olympics that never materialised, as the world plunged instead into a second […]
In 1919, a republican form of government regained popularity after the 1918 monarchy escapade. Next year, the country made peace with Soviet Russia. Starting from the autumn of 1918, Red prisoners were gradually released. In 1921, there were some 1,000 of them left in prison. The plans to make Finland a monarchy fell through as […]
The most tragic event in Finland’s history is the civil war that took place between January and May 1918. The war was about defeating a socialist revolution and an armed rebellion. Part of it was a liberation war to expel rebellious Russian troops from the newly independent country. The war and its aftermath cost the […]
One of the greater miracles in Finland’s survival story is the nation’s quick unification after the disaster of 1918. The single most important factor in the unification was the introduction of municipal democracy the previous year. Starting from December 1918, municipal elections were held in all municipalities. Unlike in national governmental politics, at the municipal […]
In May 1917, the Finnish parliament passed a food bill prepared by the Senate. The Russian provisional government confirmed the law in early June. The law allowed for rationing and requisitions. It was applied to cereal products, which provided Finns with more than half of their total energy requirement. The Finnish Senate began to enforce […]
