120-404: [REDACTED] Finland (1918) The Red Guards ( Finnish : Punakaarti , IPA: [ˈpunɑˌkɑːrti] ; Swedish : Röda gardet ) were the paramilitary units of the labour movement in Finland during the early 1900s. The Red Guards formed the army of Red Finland and were one of the main belligerents of the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The Red Guards were first established during
240-615: A presidential republic , with K. J. Ståhlberg elected as its first president on 25 July 1919. A liberal nationalist with a legal background, Ståhlberg anchored the state in liberal democracy , promoted the rule of law and initiated internal reforms. Finland was also one of the first European countries to strongly promote women's equality , with Miina Sillanpää becoming the first female minister in Finnish history in Väinö Tanner's cabinet in 1926–1927. The Finnish-Russian border
360-548: A clear command structure. Local commanders developed plans of their own, which did not always coincide with the ones composed by general staff in Helsinki. As there were very few trained officers, battlefield tactics had to be kept basic. As the war started on 27 January, the Red Guards occupied the capital, Helsinki, and the largest towns of industrialized southern Finland. The front line was soon established, stretching from
480-468: A diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over 70 fish species, and 11 reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago. Large and widely recognized wildlife mammals found in Finland are the brown bear , grey wolf , wolverine , and elk . Three of the more striking birds are
600-822: A few dozen officers. Most of the Russian troops simply wanted to leave the country and return home. In addition to the Finland-based troops, the Saint Petersburg Bolsheviks supported the Reds in some battles on the Karelian Front. The Red Guards were composed of industrial workers, landless rural workers and crofters . Most of them were members of the Finnish Trade Union Federation. The number of middle-class people
720-589: A general strike in November 1905. The strike began in reaction to the Russification of Finland and was a joint effort between the Social Democratic labour movement and the political right. The strike lasted only a week, but in the final days differing views created a deep gap between the two parties. The National Guard, which was established for law enforcement as the police began to participate,
840-412: A land area of 303,815 square kilometres (117,304 sq mi), and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns . The official languages are Finnish and Swedish ; 84.9 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue and 5.1 percent the latter. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in
960-533: A mutual security pact with the United Kingdom. On 12 May, Finland's president and Prime Minister called for NATO membership "without delay". Subsequently, on 17 May, the Finnish Parliament voted 188–8 in favour of Finland's accession to NATO. Finland became a member of NATO on 4 April 2023. Lying approximately between latitudes 60° and 70° N , and longitudes 20° and 32° E , Finland
1080-564: A nationwide organization. In many places, they were actually leading the strike, instead of the strike committees. The guards were acting on their own, searching for food supplies and weapons from wealthy houses. As the right-wing Protection Corps were rather weak, the Workers' Order Guards could usually act without any resistance, although, in some places, the Protection Corps took up arms, which resulted in violent clashes, prefiguring
1200-526: A new People's Militia was organized in late March in the seventeen largest Finnish towns. The political right did not accept the new arrangement and the Senate formed a committee to solve the dispute. On 18 July, the so-called "power law" was passed in the Social Democratic majority parliament . The power to enact laws was to be transferred from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki and from the Senate to
1320-486: A result of the two wars, Finland lost 12% of its land area, 20% of its industrial capacity, its second largest city, Vyborg ( Finnish : Viipuri ), and the ice-free port of Liinakhamari ( Finnish : Liinahamari ). The Finns lost 97,000 soldiers and were forced to pay war reparations of $ 300 million ($ 4.1 billion in 2023). However, the country avoided occupation by Soviet forces and managed to retain its independence. Along with Great Britain, Finland emerged from
SECTION 10
#17327757197171440-705: A violent time in the northern Baltic Sea. The Livonian Crusade was ongoing and the Finnish tribes such as the Tavastians and Karelians were in frequent conflicts with Novgorod and with each other. Also, during the 12th and 13th centuries several crusades from the Catholic realms of the Baltic Sea area were made against the Finnish tribes. Danes waged at least three crusades to Finland, in 1187 or slightly earlier, in 1191 and in 1202, and Swedes , possibly
1560-581: Is now Finland was settled in, at the latest, around 8,500 BC during the Stone Age towards the end of the last glacial period . The artefacts the first settlers left behind present characteristics that are shared with those found in Estonia , Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers , using stone tools. The first pottery appeared in 5200 BC, when the Comb Ceramic culture
1680-664: Is often seen as the beginning of the events which finally led to the Civil War in January 1918. After the Huittinen riot, the right-wing farmers in the Satakunta province started forming Protection Guards and were soon followed in other parts of the country. The labour movement responded by establishing Workers' Order Guards . By the early October, guards were formed in seventeen towns and twenty rural municipalities, mostly in
1800-613: Is one of the world's northernmost countries. Of world capitals, only Reykjavík lies more to the north than Helsinki. The distance from the southernmost point – Hanko in Uusimaa – to the northernmost – Nuorgam in Lapland – is 1,160 kilometres (720 mi). Finland has about 168,000 lakes (of area larger than 500 m or 0.12 acres) and 179,000 islands. Its largest lake, Saimaa , is the fourth largest in Europe. The Finnish Lakeland
1920-720: Is shared between the Arctic, central European, and northern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom . According to the WWF , the territory of Finland can be subdivided into three ecoregions : the Scandinavian and Russian taiga , Sarmatic mixed forests , and Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands . Taiga covers most of Finland from northern regions of southern provinces to
2040-500: Is the area with the most lakes in the country; many of the major cities in the area, most notably Tampere , Jyväskylä and Kuopio , are located near the large lakes. The Finnish coastline is speckled with the world's largest archipelago, encompassing more than 50,000 islands, greatest concentration of which is found in the southwest, in the Archipelago Sea between continental Finland and the main island of Åland . Much of
2160-427: Is the highest point in Finland. It is found in the north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The highest mountain whose peak is entirely in Finland is Ridnitšohkka at 1,316 m (4,318 ft), directly adjacent to Halti. The retreating glaciers have left the land with morainic deposits in formations of eskers . These are ridges of stratified gravel and sand, running northwest to southeast, where
2280-487: Is the largest producer of wood in Europe and among the largest in the world. The most common type of rock is granite . It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. Podzol profile development is seen in most forest soils except where drainage is poor. Gleysols and peat bogs occupy poorly drained areas. Phytogeographically , Finland
2400-788: The 1905 general strike but disbanded a year later until they were re-established after the February Revolution in 1917. The combined strength of the Red Guard was about 30,000 at the beginning of the Civil War, peaking at between 90,000 and 120,000 during the course of the conflict, including more than 2,000 members of the Women's Guards . The Red Guards were defeated in Finland by the Whites in May 1918 and around 80,000 were captured as prisoners of war , where 12,000 to 14,000 of them died in
2520-648: The Baltic Sea region grew and extended during the eighth and ninth centuries. Main exports from Finland were furs, slaves, castoreum , and falcons to European courts. Imports included silk and other fabrics, jewelry, Ulfberht swords , and, in lesser extent, glass. Production of iron started approximately in 500 BC. At the end of the ninth century, indigenous artefact culture, especially weapons and women's jewelry, had more common local features than ever before. This has been interpreted to be expressing common Finnish identity. An early form of Finnic languages spread to
SECTION 20
#17327757197172640-689: The Baltic region . From the late 13th century, Finland became part of Sweden as a result of the Northern Crusades . In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War , Finland was captured from Sweden and became an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire . During this period, Finnish art flourished and the independence movement began to take hold. Finland became the first territory in Europe to grant universal suffrage in 1906, and
2760-917: The Cold War , Finland officially embraced a policy of neutrality. Since then, it has become a member of the European Union in 1995, the Eurozone in 1999, and NATO in 2023. Finland is a member of various international organisations, such as the Nordic Council , the Schengen Area , and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The nation performs extremely well in national performance metrics , including education , economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. The area that
2880-644: The Continuation War , and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War . As a result, it lost parts of its territory but retained its independence and democracy. Finland remained a largely agricultural country until the 1950s. After World War II, it industrialised quickly and established an advanced economy, with a welfare state built on the Nordic model . This allowed the country to experience overall prosperity and high per capita income . During
3000-562: The Declaration of Independence on 4 December 1917, which was officially approved by the Finnish Parliament on 6 December. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), led by Vladimir Lenin was the first country to recognise Finland's independence on 4 January 1918. On 27 January 1918, the government began to disarm the Russian forces in Ostrobothnia . The socialists took control of southern Finland and Helsinki, but
3120-612: The European Union (green) – [ Legend ] Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic country in Northern Europe . It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia . Finland covers a total area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi), including
3240-906: The February Revolution in Russia the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division became the Chairman of the Senate. Due to the Civil War in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of Vaasa from January 29 to May 3. In 1918 the economic division became the Cabinet and the judicial division became the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court of the independent Finland. The vice chairman of
3360-785: The Gulf of Bothnia to the Karelian Isthmus , 30–50 kilometres north of Pori , Tampere, Lahti , Lappeenranta and Vyborg. The Whites occupied rural northern Finland, where the few Red strongholds fell in less than two weeks without any strong resistance. The last Red occupied town in the north was Varkaus , which the Whites seized on 21 February. In the Ostrobothnia , Central Finland , Savonia and North Karelia regions most Reds were captured, but in Lapland many were able to flee to Sweden , Norway or Soviet Russia . The Red military operations were divided into three major theaters:
3480-947: The North Russia Intervention of the Allies . The British hoped to use the Murmansk Legion to fight off the Viena expedition of the Germany -aligned White Finns into East Karelia . Red Guard units served in the 7th Red Army when it fought in the Estonian War of Independence . There, the Finnish Reds clashed with Finnish White volunteers fighting for the Republic of Estonia . Finland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
3600-613: The Onciderini also being common. The most common breeding birds are the willow warbler , common chaffinch , and redwing . Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike , perch , and others are plentiful. Atlantic salmon remains the favourite of fly rod enthusiasts. The endangered Saimaa ringed seal , one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 390 seals today. The species has become
3720-591: The Protestant Reformation , the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism . In the 16th century, a bishop and Lutheran Reformer Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish; and Finland's current capital city, Helsinki , was founded by King Gustav Vasa in 1555. The first university in Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku , was established by Queen Christina of Sweden at
Red Guards (Finland) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-638: The Russian Empire , as recognised by the Diet of Porvoo . This situation continued until the end of 1917. In 1812, Alexander I incorporated the Russian province of Vyborg into the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1854, Finland became involved in Russia's involvement in the Crimean War when the British and French navies bombed the Finnish coast and Åland during the so-called Åland War . Although Swedish
3960-559: The Senate to demonstrate that it was equal to rather than inferior to its Russian equivalent . The Senate was headed by the Governor-General of Finland . The members of the Senate had to be Finnish citizens. The Senate was divided into the economic division and the judicial division. In 1822 both divisions were given a Finnish vice-chairman. From 1858 and onwards the members of the senate were formally known as senators. After
4080-636: The Social Democratic Party . The development of trade with the Western powers, such as the United Kingdom, and the payment of reparations to the Soviet Union led to Finland's transformation from a primarily agrarian society to an industrialised one. Valmet , originally a shipyard and then several metal workshops, was established to produce materials for war reparations. After the reparations were paid, Finland continued to trade with
4200-623: The Social Democrats , passed the so-called Power Act to give the parliament supreme authority. This was rejected by the Russian Provisional Government , which decided to dissolve the parliament. New elections were held in which the right-wing parties won by a small majority. Some social democrats refused to accept the result, claiming that the dissolution of parliament and the subsequent elections were extra-legal. The two almost equally powerful political blocs,
4320-757: The Sveaborg rebellion , a revolt of the Russian Bolshevik sailors in the Sveaborg Fortress in Helsinki. As the mutiny started, the Helsinki Red Guard , led by Johan Kock , joined the rebellion by conducting sabotage in the mainland. In the final day of the revolt, Johan Kock declared a general strike on his own, without permission from the Social Democratic Party, which was leading the Finnish labour movement in
4440-412: The World Bank , the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade . During the Cold War , Finland officially embraced a policy of neutrality . The YYA treaty (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance) recognized Finland's desire to remain outside great-power conflicts. From 1956 president Urho Kekkonen had a virtual monopoly on relations with
4560-409: The general strike in November 1917. More workers were still joining the Order Guards, as the strike ended on 20 November, the number of members was 40,000–50,000. The newspaperman Ali Aaltonen , who had served as a lieutenant in the Imperial Russian Army , was named the first commander-in-chief of the Workers' Order Guards. The general strike was the first time the Workers' Order Guards were used as
4680-474: The post-war prison camps due to disease, malnutrition , and execution . Most Red Guards were pardoned by the Government of Finland in late 1918. Approximately 10,000 to 13,000 Red Guards fled to Soviet Russia where some fought against the Finnish Whites in the Russian Civil War , including the North Russia intervention and the Estonian War of Independence . The Red Guards ceased to exist as an organized force by 1920. The Red Guards came about during
4800-454: The whooper swan , a large European swan and the national bird of Finland; the Western capercaillie , a large, black-plumaged member of the grouse family; and the Eurasian eagle-owl . The latter is considered an indicator of old-growth forest connectivity, and has been declining because of landscape fragmentation. Around 24,000 species of insects are prevalent in Finland some of the most common being hornets with tribes of beetles such as
4920-451: The 1917 Russian Revolution as a result of disputes over law enforcement and the general turmoil in the Grand Duchy of Finland . After the February Revolution , the Russian-controlled police force lost its status in Finland. The role of law enforcement was first transferred to the Russian military, which turned it over to local labour organizations. The established unarmed units were temporary and had no further revolutionary goals. Finally,
Red Guards (Finland) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-418: The Baltic Sea region approximately 1900 BC. Common Finnic language was spoken around Gulf of Finland 2000 years ago. The dialects from which the modern-day Finnish language was developed came into existence during the Iron Age. Although distantly related, the Sami people retained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle longer than the Finns. The Sami cultural identity and the Sami language have survived in Lapland ,
5160-445: The Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714–1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742–1743). It is estimated that almost an entire generation of young men was lost during the Great Wrath, due mainly to the destruction of homes and farms, and the burning of Helsinki. The Swedish era ended with the Finnish War of 1809. On 29 March 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia , Finland became an autonomous grand duchy within
5280-408: The Helsinki Workers' Order Guard declared itself independent from the Social Democratic Party. The unit was renamed the Helsinki Red Guard. Three days later, the guard occupied the residence of the Governor-General of Finland . It was now called as the Smolna , like the Bolshevik headquarters in Saint Petersburg . On the same day, the Helsinki Guard sent 200 men to Sipoo to search for guns hidden by
5400-430: The Middle Ages, Finland gradually became part of the kingdom of Sweden and the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church . Under Sweden, Finland was annexed as part of the cultural order of Western Europe . Swedish was the dominant language of the nobility, administration, and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry , clergy, and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. During
5520-401: The Protection Corps and the Red Guards, supported by a squad of Russian sailors. The riot was finally disrupted by the Russian cossacks , ending with two Reds and seven Protection Corps members dead. 200 people were arrested, but only one Red Guard platoon leader was convicted, as there was not enough evidence against the others. The funeral of the slain Reds became a mass demonstration against
5640-439: The Red Guard general staff left Helsinki for Vyborg. The Red units in the western provinces of Satakunta and Finland Proper were given the order to retreat to eastern Finland. The intention was to re-organize the troops behind the river Kymijoki , but the plan was never realized. Instead, the order caused a mass exodus of refugees as tens of thousands of Red Guard fighters, their family members and other Red supporters fled towards
5760-453: The Red Guards in the party congress held in Oulu in late August. Some delegates opposed the decision and had a secret meeting where an underground organization was established to preserve the Red Guards. The organization was soon revealed to the party leaders but the underground Red Guards were active until the 1907 general election . Their task was to be prepared for the possible revolution in Russia. The Red Guards were re-established during
5880-408: The Red military. A large number of units were organized and trained there before they were sent to the eastern fronts in Savo and Karelia. The Reds launched three major offensives; in the beginning of February, 21 February and 10 March. The goal was to take the east–west railways connecting Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Karelia. From there the Reds could strike at the strongest White strongholds as well as
6000-416: The Russian town of Kandalaksha of the Reds who had fled from Lapland. Two other Finnish Red Guards were formed in Knyazhaya Guba and Kem . In mid-March, these units comprised up to 2,500 men. Ahava managed to stop the Whites and he was also eager to attack their rear in the northern Finland. However, the Red leaders were not interested in supporting him as they considered that the war would be determined in
6120-581: The Soviet Union as part of bilateral trade . In 1950, 46% of Finnish workers were employed in agriculture and a third lived in urban areas, but new jobs in manufacturing, services and trade quickly attracted people to the cities. The average number of births per woman fell from a baby boom peak of 3.5 in 1947 to 1.5 in 1973. As the baby boomers entered the workforce, the economy failed to create jobs fast enough and hundreds of thousands emigrated to more industrialised Sweden, with emigration peaking in 1969 and 1970. Finland participated in trade liberalisation in
SECTION 50
#17327757197176240-409: The Soviet Union, and a global economic downturn caused a deep recession in Finland in the early 1990s . The recession bottomed out in 1993 and Finland enjoyed more than a decade of steady economic growth. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland began to integrate more closely with the West. Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and the euro zone in 1999. Much of the economic growth of
6360-450: The Soviet Union, which was crucial to his continued popularity. In politics, there was a tendency to avoid any policy or statement that could be interpreted as anti-Soviet. This phenomenon was dubbed " Finlandisation " by the West German press. A market economy was maintained in Finland. Various industries benefited from trade privileges with the Soviets. Economic growth was rapid in the post-war period, and by 1975 Finland's GDP per capita
6480-496: The Sun set, the men returned to the base. On the Tavastia Front, some troops even spent the nights in Tampere, returning to the front by train in the morning. The Red Guards' major problems were a lack of equipment, poor leadership and training, and food shortages at the front. The practice of electing officers democratically made discipline lax. Sometimes this led to a general unwillingness to go on offensive operations or to operate outside their local areas. The Red Guards did not have
6600-411: The Western Front ( Satakunta and Häme provinces), the Middle Front ( Savo province ) and the Eastern Front (the Vyborg province ). The northernmost area of the Western Front, located north of Tampere, was often known as the Northern Front. The Red Guard general staff worked in Helsinki, with major subordinate staffs in Tampere and Vyborg. As a major railway junction, Lahti was also an important town for
6720-438: The White capital of Vaasa . However, the offensives failed and the front line remained in the same position from early February to mid-March. On 15 March, the Whites launched their major offensive against the Reds in the northern Häme where the Red front collapsed in a couple of days. The Whites were now able to besiege Tampere, militarily the most important Red town. The Battle of Tampere was fought from 23 March to 6 April. It
6840-438: The Workers' Guards attacked the Protection Corps in order to take the guns back. Finally, on 25 January, the Senate declared the Protection Corps to be government troops. The Social Democrats and the labour movement interpreted this as a declaration of war against the working class. As a result, the Workers' Order Guards and the Helsinki Red Guard were merged into the paramilitary Red Guard of Finland (Suomen Punainen Kaarti) and
6960-418: The Workers' Order Guards and the Protection Corps occurred in eastern Finland in Vyborg and Luumäki and in the western part of the country in Kiikka . In Vyborg, the second largest city in Finland, the Protection Corps was trying to seize control but was expelled from the town. Another serious incident was in Luumäki, as the Protection Corps seized 200 rifles at the Taavetti railway station. Two days later,
7080-408: The absence of any central trade union. The strike was joined by thousands of Helsinki workers. The bourgeoisie opposed the strike and sent the Protection Corps to the Hakaniemi working-class district in order to keep the city's tram traffic rolling. At Hakaniemi Square the Protection Corps was surrounded by an angry mob of local people throwing stones. The incident escalated into a gunfight between
7200-399: The ancient edge of the glacier once lay. Among the biggest of these are the three Salpausselkä ridges that run across southern Finland. Having been compressed under the enormous weight of the glaciers, terrain in Finland is rising due to the post-glacial rebound . The effect is strongest around the Gulf of Bothnia, where land steadily rises about 1 cm (0.4 in) a year. As a result,
7320-416: The authority of the Social Democratic Party or the Trade Union Federation. In order to keep the labour movement united, the party leadership was forced to negotiate with the revolutionary guards. Many of the leading Social Democrats, such as Väinö Tanner , Taavi Tainio and Evert Huttunen , were moderate and opposed armed revolution and the acts of the Order Guards. In 19–23 January, violent clashes between
SECTION 60
#17327757197177440-537: The beginning of the war to govern Finland after Soviet conquest. There was widespread international condemnation of the unprovoked attack and it led to the Soviet Union being expelled from the League of Nations . The Red Army was defeated in numerous battles, most notably the Battle of Suomussalmi . After two months of negligible progress on the battlefield, as well as heavy losses in men and material, Soviet forces began to advance in February and reached Vyborg ( Finnish : Viipuri ) in March. The Moscow Peace Treaty
7560-408: The change. The Seima-Turbino phenomenon brought the first bronze artefacts to the region and possibly also the Finno-Ugric languages . Commercial contacts that had so far mostly been to Estonia started to extend to Scandinavia. Domestic manufacture of bronze artefacts started 1300 BC. In the Iron Age , population grew. Finland Proper was the most densely populated area. Commercial contacts in
7680-454: The coastal areas such as Helsinki, snow often covers the land from late December to late March. Even in the south, the harshest winter nights can see the temperatures fall to −30 °C (−22 °F) although on coastal areas like Helsinki, temperatures below −30 °C (−22 °F) are rare. Climatic summers (when mean daily temperature remains above 10 °C or 50 °F) in southern Finland last from about late May to mid-September, and in
7800-432: The commander-in-chief Ali Aaltonen had purchased from the Bolsheviks. The Reds also had six armoured trains and a couple of aeroplanes which were flown by Russian pilots. The general staff was located in Helsinki, with major subordinate staffs in Tampere and Vyborg. The infantry was divided into regiments and battalions but in practice, the largest commanded units were companies . A Red Guard company usually consisted of
7920-455: The country as the striking workers and the Workers' Order Guards clashed with the Protection Corps and right-wing bourgeoisie. Unemployed demonstrators surrounded the town hall for two days in Vyborg and in Tampere the city council was captured by the local Workers' Order Guard. In Turku , the Order Guard occupied town offices and captured the chief of police. The Protection Corps attacked the labour activists in some places too. On 6 January,
8040-402: The decade. Sauli Niinistö was elected President of Finland from 2012 until 2024, when Alexander Stubb took over. Finnish support for NATO rose sharply after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 . Before February 2022, opinion polls showed a narrow but decisive majority against NATO membership; by April, a supermajority was in favour of membership. On 11 May 2022, Finland signed
8160-428: The dictator's rights as head of the Red Government and the Red Guards. August Wesley served as the chief of the Red Guards general staff from 16 February to 6 April. On 25 April, Manner fled to Soviet Russia, and for the last ten days of the war, there was no commander-in-chief. The final major battle was fought in Vyborg under the command of Edvard Gylling and Oskar Rantala . Due to incomplete and destroyed records,
8280-439: The east. As the Germans seized Helsinki on 13 April, up to 8,000 local Reds surrendered. Thousands of others from the Uusimaa province joined the refugee column that was coming from the west. In two weeks, more than 100,000 Red refugees headed east, in order to flee to Soviet Russia. About 12,000 managed to cross the border, while most of the remaining were captured. In late April, up to 30,000 civilians and Red fighters fell into
8400-435: The emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. A third of Finland's land area originally consisted of moorland , about half of this area has been drained for cultivation over the past centuries. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone. In the Köppen climate classification ,
8520-427: The exact number of men who served in the Red Guards is unknown. Historians provide estimates between 80,000 and 100,000 men. As the war started, the number was about 40,000, but by the end of the war, the total strength rose to 80,000–100,000 men and women, including 2,600 female fighters and thousands of women in the unarmed maintenance units. Approximately 40,000 were at the front at any one time. The largest single unit
8640-594: The first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its independence . A civil war was fought in Finland the following year, with the Whites emerging victorious. Finland's status as a republic was confirmed in 1919. During World War II , Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and
8760-459: The functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in independent Finland from 1917 to 1918. The body that would become the Senate was established on August 18, 1809, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia summoned the Diet of Porvoo and directed the Diet to draw up regulations for a Government Council. In 1816, Alexander renamed this body
8880-411: The general staff of the cargo of 10,000 rifles and 10 artillery pieces which would be brought to Finland within a couple of weeks. At the same time, the Protection Corps was preparing to receive 60,000 rifles from Germany . Up to this point, many of the largest Workers' Order Guards were occupied by radicals who were pushing the Finnish labour movement towards an armed conflict. They were no longer under
9000-633: The general strike, the first congress of the Worker's Order Guards was held in the Tampere Workers' Hall on 16–18 December 1917. By the new rules adopted in the meeting, the guards were now under an unconditional authority of the Social Democratic Party and the Trade Union Federation. After Finland gained its independence from Soviet Russia on 6 December 1917, disagreement and discontent were still growing. Incidents occurred across
9120-611: The geography of Finland is a result of the Ice Age. The glaciers were thicker and lasted longer in Fennoscandia compared with the rest of Europe. The eroding effects have contributed to a mostly flat landscape in Finland, characterized by hills. However, in the northern regions, including areas bordering the Scandinavian Mountains, the terrain features mountainous elevations. At 1,324 metres (4,344 ft), Halti
9240-644: The hands of the German and White troops in Lahti. The captured were first placed at the Fellman camp , and then transferred to various prison camps across southern Finland. Although most of the women and children were released, 200–600 Red women were executed and hundreds of others moved into other prison camps. The last major battle took place in Vyborg, which the Whites occupied on 29 April. The last remaining Red stronghold
9360-601: The industrialized areas of the Turku and Pori , Uusimaa and Viipuri provinces. These units had up to 7,000–8,000 men. On 20 October, the Finnish Trade Union Federation urged the party and trade union locals to establishing Workers' Order Guards throughout the country. In the next three weeks, the number of guards increase to 237 with more than 30,000 members. The rules of the Guards were published in
9480-447: The inland, the warmest days of July can reach over 35 °C (95 °F). Although most of Finland lies on the taiga belt, the southernmost coastal regions are sometimes classified as hemiboreal . In northern Finland, particularly in Lapland, the winters are long and cold, while the summers are relatively warm but short. On the most severe winter days in Lapland can see the temperature fall to −45 °C (−49 °F). The winter of
9600-541: The largest party with 92 seats. The Senate now disbanded the People's Militia and established a police force which left-wing and labour activists were not allowed to join. The food shortage launched a large number of agricultural strikes during the summer of 1917. On 13 July, a violent clash between the striking farm workers and their employers occurred in the Western Finnish municipality of Huittinen . The incident
9720-472: The late 1990s was fuelled by the success of mobile phone manufacturer Nokia . The Finnish people elected Tarja Halonen in the 2000 Presidential election , making her the first female President of Finland. Her predecessor, President Martti Ahtisaari , later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. Financial crises paralysed Finland's exports in 2008, leading to weaker economic growth throughout
9840-580: The laws passed by the Finnish parliament. The desire for independence gained ground, first among radical liberals and socialists , partly driven by a declaration called the February Manifesto by the last tsar of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II , on 15 February 1899. After the February Revolution of 1917, Finland's position as a Grand Duchy under the rule of the Russian Empire was questioned. The Finnish parliament , controlled by
9960-475: The local Protection Corps. The operation escalated into a gunfight in which two Reds were killed. At the beginning of 1918, the Workers' Order Guards still had very few guns. For example, the largest guard in Helsinki was armed with only 20–30 military rifles. In early January, the commander-in-chief Ali Aaltonen went to Saint Petersburg to acquire weaponry from the Bolsheviks. On 13 January, Aaltonen informed
10080-519: The men of some trade union local. For example, the Helsinki Red Guard had units composed of shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, sheet metal workers, plumbers, stonemasons and so on. Also some working-class sporting clubs formed their own squads. In the rural areas, the units were assembled by the men of the same locality. The Red Guard fighters received a salary that was sometimes even bigger than what they were paid for their usual work. As there
10200-446: The moderating effects of the Baltic Sea and numerous inland lakes to explain the unusually warm climate compared with other regions that share the same latitude , such as Alaska , Siberia , and southern Greenland . Winters in southern Finland (when mean daily temperature remains below 0 °C or 32 °F) are usually about 100 days long, and in the inland the snow typically covers the land from about late November to April, and on
10320-485: The north lasts for about 200 days with permanent snow cover from about mid-October to early May. Summers in the north are quite short, only two to three months, but can still see maximum daily temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) during heat waves. No part of Finland has Arctic tundra , but Alpine tundra can be found at the fells Lapland. Senate of Finland The Senate of Finland ( Finnish : Suomen senaatti ; Swedish : Senaten för Finland ) combined
10440-547: The north of Lapland. On the southwestern coast, south of the Helsinki- Rauma line, forests are characterized by mixed forests, that are more typical in the Baltic region. In the extreme north of Finland, near the tree line and Arctic Ocean, Montane Birch forests are common. Finland had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.08/10, ranking it 109th globally out of 172 countries. Similarly, Finland has
10560-529: The northernmost province. The name Suomi ( Finnish for 'Finland') has uncertain origins, but a common etymology with saame (the Sami) has been suggested. In the earliest historical sources, from the 12th and 13th centuries, the term Finland refers to the coastal region around Turku . This region later became known as Finland Proper in distinction from the country name Finland. (See also Etymology of Finns .) The 12th and 13th centuries were
10680-471: The old sea bottom turns little by little into dry land: the surface area of the country is expanding by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi) annually. Relatively speaking, Finland is rising from the sea. The landscape is covered mostly by coniferous taiga forests and fens , with little cultivated land. Of the total area, 10% is lakes, rivers, and ponds, and 78% is forest. The forest consists of pine , spruce , birch , and other species. Finland
10800-526: The oncoming Civil War. The Workers' Order Guards were most powerful in Helsinki as they were armed by the Russian troops. The Helsinki Guard captured a couple hundred people and invaded the House of the Estates , which prevented the Senate from working. The leaders of the Social Democratic Party strictly condemned this kind of action, insisting the militant guards must be taken under the party control. Soon after
10920-474: The parliament. This law would have enabled a purely Social Democratic government to be formed in consequence of the position the party gained in the 1916 election . The Russian Provisional Government refused to approve the law and, with the co-operation of the Finnish bourgeois parties, dissolved the parliament. In the October 1917 election , the Social Democratic Party lost its majority, although it remained
11040-487: The party newspapers. The formation was very similar to a common military organization, though the commander was replaced with a five-men committee. Finland was now split into two camps; the middle and upper classes, including the wealthy farmers, against the working class, poor peasants and the landless people. The first violent incidents between the Protective Guards and the Workers' Order Guards occurred during
11160-532: The populated areas of south. A substantial number of Finnish Red Guards managed to retreat into Russian-held territories after the Whites' victory in Finland. Many of those who fled to Russia were reorganized into new fighting units and participated in the Russian Civil War and, by extension, World War I . The United Kingdom organized the Murmansk Legion from Red Guard refugees as part of
11280-549: The population, making it one of the worst famines in European history. The famine led the Russian Empire to relax financial regulations, and investment increased in the following decades. Economic development was rapid. The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was still half of that of the United States and a third of that of Britain. From 1869 to 1917, the Russian Empire pursued a policy of Russification , which
11400-495: The proportion of the population with capital. About 70% of the workforce was employed in agriculture and 10% in industry. The Soviet Union launched the Winter War on 30 November 1939 to annex Finland in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany to divide Europe into spheres of influence between the two dictatorships. The Finnish Democratic Republic was set up by Joseph Stalin at
11520-517: The proposal of Count Per Brahe in 1640. The Finns reaped a reputation in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) as a well-trained cavalrymen called " Hakkapeliitta ". Finland suffered a severe famine in 1695–1697 , during which about one third of the Finnish population died, and a devastating plague a few years later . In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia twice led to the occupation of Finland by Russian forces, times known to
11640-607: The publication of what would become Finland's national epic , the Kalevala , in 1835 and the legal equality of the Finnish language with Swedish in 1892. In the spirit of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson - "we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, so let us be Finns" - a Finnish national identity was established. Nevertheless, there was no real independence movement in Finland until the early 20th century. The Finnish famine of 1866–1868 occurred after freezing temperatures in early September devastated crops and killed around 15% of
11760-516: The revolution was proclaimed in the late evening of 26 January by lighting a red lantern as a sign on the tower of the Helsinki Workers' Hall . The order for the mobilization came on the next morning from the executive committee of the Trade Union Federation, coinciding with the spontaneous clashing of Red Guards and the Protection Corps. The first commander-in-chief of the Red Guards was the former Russian Army lieutenant Ali Aaltonen , who
11880-510: The right-wing parties and the Social Democratic Party, were deeply divided. The October Revolution in Russia changed the geopolitical situation once again. Suddenly the right-wing parties in Finland began to reconsider their decision to block the transfer of supreme executive power from the Russian government to Finland when the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia. The right-wing government, led by Prime Minister P. E. Svinhufvud , presented
12000-459: The so-called second crusade to Finland , in 1249 against Tavastians and the third crusade to Finland in 1293 against the Karelians. The so-called first crusade to Finland , possibly in 1155, most likely never occurred. As a result of the crusades (mostly with the second crusade led by Birger Jarl ) and the colonization of some Finnish coastal areas with Christian Swedish population during
12120-404: The south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes . Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age . During the Stone Age , various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and
12240-523: The summer of 1944 led to a breakthrough until the Finns finally repulsed it at Tali-Ihantala . This partial Soviet success led to a stalemate and later an armistice . This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944–1945, when Finland fought retreating German forces in northern Finland. The Armistice and treaty signed with the Soviet Union in 1944 and 1948 included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations, as well as further territorial concessions. As
12360-516: The violence of the bourgeoisie. The Protection Corps, in turn, arranged a large funeral as a protest against Red violence. Once the Sveaborg rebellion was suppressed, 900 Russian mutineers and about 100 Red Guard members were arrested. 77 Reds were convicted. As a result of the Hakaniemi riot , the Senate of Finland banned both guards. The Social Democratic Party had already decided to disband
12480-485: The war as the only European country to have taken part in hostilities that was never occupied and managed to preserve its democracy throughout. For a few decades after 1944, the Communists were a strong political party. Furthermore, the Soviet Union persuaded Finland to refuse Marshall Plan aid. However, in the hope of preserving Finland's independence, the United States provided secret development aid and supported
12600-501: The white government continued in exile in Vaasa . This led to a short but bitter civil war . The Whites , backed by Imperial Germany , prevailed over the Reds and their self-proclaimed Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic . After the war, tens of thousands of Reds were interned in camps where thousands were executed or died of malnutrition and disease. A deep social and political enmity
12720-539: The whole of Finland lies in the boreal zone , characterized by warm summers and freezing winters. Within the country, the temperateness varies considerably between the southern coastal regions and the extreme north, showing characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate . Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream . The Gulf Stream combines with
12840-403: Was elected during the general strike in November 1917. As the Civil War started, the task was given to Eero Haapalainen , with the Russian colonel Mikhail Svechnikov as his military advisor from the end of February. Haapalainen was expelled on 20 March and replaced by Eino Rahja , Adolf Taimi and Evert Eloranta . The troika stayed at the office until 10 April, when Kullervo Manner was given
12960-452: Was established in 1920 by the Treaty of Tartu , which largely followed the historical border but gave Finland Pechenga ( Finnish : Petsamo ) and its Barents Sea port. Finnish democracy survived Soviet coup attempts and the anti-communist Lapua movement . In 1917 there were three million people in the country. After the civil war, a credit-based land reform was introduced, increasing
13080-485: Was high unemployment, money was one of the reasons for joining the guards. Very few Reds had any kind of military background. The ones who had served in the Russian Imperial Army were usually voted as company leaders. The Red Guard fighters had a short military training before they were sent to the front line. The battles were usually fought like an ordinary working day. The fighting begun at the dawn and as
13200-592: Was in the Kymenlaakso province where the Reds finally surrendered to the Germans on 6 May. Between 23 March and 18 April, some clashes also occurred in the remote eastern Lapland. The Karelian nationalist Iivo Ahava was fighting against the Whites who launched the Viena expedition in order to annex the Russian White Karelia into the newly independent Finland. Ahava formed a Red Guard unit in
13320-576: Was introduced. The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in Southern coastal Finland between 3000 and 2500 BC may have coincided with the start of agriculture. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy. In the Bronze Age , permanent all-year-round cultivation and animal husbandry spread, but the cold climate slowed
13440-411: Was likewise split into the working-class Red Guards and the bourgeoisie-aligned Protection Corps . Some minor incidents followed, especially in the capital Helsinki , but violent clashes were avoided. Although the general strike was over, both guards remained active. In 1906, the number of Red Guard members was estimated at 25,000. Violence between the two sides finally burst out on 2 August 1906 during
13560-620: Was signed on 12 March 1940, and the war ended the following day. Finland had defended its independence, but ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union. Hostilities resumed in June 1941 with the Continuation War , when Finland allied itself with Germany following the latter's invasion of the Soviet Union ; the main aim was to regain the territory lost to the Soviets barely a year earlier. Finnish troops occupied Eastern Karelia from 1941 to 1944. The massive Soviet Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive in
13680-476: Was sown between the Reds and the Whites that would last until the Winter War and beyond. The civil war and the activist expeditions to Soviet Russia in 1918–1920, known as the " Kinship Wars ", strained relations with the East. After a brief experiment with monarchy , when an attempt to make Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse the king of Finland failed, a republican constitution was adopted and Finland became
13800-496: Was still widely spoken, the Finnish language began to gain recognition during this period. From the 1860s, a strong Finnish nationalist movement , known as the Fennoman movement , grew. One of the movement's most prominent leaders was the philosopher and politician J.V. Snellman , who worked to stabilise the status of the Finnish language and its own currency, the Finnish markka , in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Milestones included
13920-411: Was suspended between 1905 and 1908. In 1906, universal suffrage was introduced in the Grand Duchy of Finland. However, relations between the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government began to take steps to restrict Finland's special status and autonomy. For example, universal suffrage was virtually meaningless in practice, as the tsar did not have to approve any of
14040-597: Was the 15th highest in the world. During the 1970s and 1980s, Finland built one of the most extensive welfare states in the world. Finland negotiated a treaty with the European Economic Community (EEC, a forerunner of the European Union) that largely eliminated tariffs with the EEC from 1977. Miscalculated macroeconomic decisions, a banking crisis , the collapse of its largest trading partner,
14160-641: Was the Helsinki Red Guard with a strength of 8,000–10,000 men and women. Other major units were the Red Guards of Tampere and Vyborg and the Saint Petersburg Finnish Red Guard . The Female Guards had about 2,000–2,600 members. Russian participation remained low, although 40,000 soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army and the Baltic Fleet were still in Finland. Only a few hundred joined the Red Guards, including
14280-552: Was the fiercest battle of the Finnish Civil War, and at the time, also the largest urban battle in the world. The Battle of Tampere ended with mass executions of surrendering Reds, of whom 10,000–11,000 were captured, and thousands fled the surrounding areas. At the same time, German troops landed on the south coast of Finland and launched their campaign to support the Whites. On 6 April, the Red Government and
14400-459: Was very small. The average age was between 20 and 30, the youngest fighters were only 15 to 16-years-old. The Red military units consisted of infantry, artillery and a small unit of cavalry. Weapons and other equipment were mostly received from the Russian troops. In the beginning of February, a train commanded by Jukka Rahja arrived from Saint Petersburg, carrying a cargo of 15,000 rifles, machine-guns, artillery pieces and 2 million cartridges, which
#716283