The Dutch Dakota Association or DDA Classic Airlines , known by many just as the DDA , is a small foundation dedicated to the preservation and operation of classic aircraft, especially the Douglas DC-3 Dakota. They are located on the east side of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands .
154-617: The DDA was founded in 1982 and acquired its first aircraft, a Douglas DC-3 from Finland , in 1983. A second DC-3 was purchased in 1987 and in 1995 two Douglas DC-4 aircraft were added to the fleet. On 25 September 1996, their first DC-3 aircraft was lost in an accident. In 1998, a former Dutch government aircraft [ nl ] Dakota was donated to the DDA. In 2005, the Dutch Dakota Association changed its name to DDA Classic Airlines. The following aircraft are owned by
308-615: 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
462-628: A Russian people desiring modernisation. The Tsar's power was transferred to the State Duma (Russian Parliament) and the left-leaning Provisional Government , but this new authority was challenged by the Petrograd Soviet (city council), leading to dual power in the country. In Finland, mass meetings and local strikes of early 1917 escalated to a general strike in support of the Finnish state's power struggle and for increased availability of foodstuffs. The Second Period of Russification
616-578: A climax in 1917. The "Law of Supreme Power" incorporated a plan by the socialists to substantially increase the authority of Parliament, as a reaction to the non-parliamentary and conservative leadership of the Finnish Senate between 1906 and 1916. The bill furthered Finnish autonomy in domestic affairs: the Russian Provisional Government was only allowed the right to control Finnish foreign and military policies. The Act
770-507: A consequence, export to the free market of the Petrograd area increased. Food supply, prices and, in the end, the fear of starvation became emotional political issues between farmers and urban workers, especially those who were unemployed. Common people, their fears exploited by politicians and an incendiary, polarised political media, took to the streets. Despite the food shortages, no actual large-scale starvation hit southern Finland before
924-787: A contest for leadership of the Finnish state during the ten years before the collapse of the Russian Empire. The main factor behind the Finnish Civil War was a political crisis arising out of World War I. Under the pressures of the Great War, the Russian Empire collapsed, leading to the February and October Revolutions in 1917. This breakdown caused a power vacuum and a subsequent struggle for power in Eastern Europe . The Grand Duchy of Finland became embroiled in
1078-468: 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
1232-481: A domestic policy that tackled social problems and responded to the demand for democracy . This was a reaction to the domestic dispute, ongoing since the 1880s, between the Finnish nobility- bourgeoisie and the labour movement concerning voting rights for the common people. Despite their obligations as obedient, peaceful and non-political inhabitants of the Grand Duchy (who had, only a few decades earlier, accepted
1386-547: A historic opportunity to gain national independence. After the October Revolution, the conservatives were eager for secession from Russia in order to control the left and minimise the influence of the Bolsheviks. The socialists were skeptical about sovereignty under conservative rule, but they feared a loss of support among nationalistic workers, particularly after having promised increased national liberty through
1540-412: 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
1694-522: A long-term culture of moderate politics and religion and a post-war economic recovery. The war has been assigned several designations according to different political and ideological viewpoints. War of Independence ( Finnish : vapaussota ) was used during the war by both sides to express the fight for liberation from capitalism for the Reds and freedom from Soviet Russian influence by the Whites; Civil War
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#17327646656771848-533: 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
2002-404: A narrow majority to start a revolution on 16 November, but the uprising had to be called off the same day due to the lack of active revolutionaries to execute it. At the end of November 1917, the moderate socialists among the social democrats won a second vote over the radicals in a debate over revolutionary versus parliamentary means, but when they tried to pass a resolution to completely abandon
2156-517: A period called Pax Russica , the peripheral authority of the Finns gradually increased, and relations between Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland were exceptionally peaceful for a many years. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War in the 1850s led to attempts to speed up the modernisation of the country. This caused more than 50 years of economic, industrial, cultural and educational progress in
2310-626: A policy of integration through the Russification of Finland . The strengthened, pan-slavist central power tried to unite the "Russian Multinational Dynastic Union" as the military and strategic situation of Russia became more perilous due to the rise of Germany and Japan . Finns called the increased military and administrative control, "the First Period of Oppression", and for the first time Finnish politicians drew up plans for disengagement from Russia or full sovereignty for Finland. In
2464-431: A power struggle and social disintegration interacted. The collapse of Russia induced a chain reaction of disintegration, starting from the government, military and economy, and spreading to all fields of society, such as local administration, workplaces and to individual citizens. The social democrats wanted to retain the civil rights already achieved and to increase the socialists' power over society. The conservatives feared
2618-486: 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
2772-581: A result, Svinhufvud's delegation won Lenin's concession of sovereignty on 31 December 1917. By the beginning of the Civil War, Austria-Hungary , Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland had recognised Finnish independence. The United Kingdom and United States did not approve it; they waited and monitored the relations between Finland and Germany (the main enemy of the Allies ), hoping to override Lenin's regime and to get Russia back into
2926-460: A socialist uprising. In this phase, Lenin and Joseph Stalin , under threat in Petrograd, urged the social democrats to take power in Finland. The majority of Finnish socialists were moderate and preferred parliamentary methods, prompting the Bolsheviks to label them "reluctant revolutionaries". The reluctance diminished as the general strike appeared to offer a major channel of influence for the workers in southern Finland. The strike leadership voted by
3080-463: A state of dual power and divided sovereignty on Finnish society. The decisive rift between the guards broke out during the general strike: the Reds executed several political opponents in southern Finland and the first armed clashes between the Whites and Reds took place. In total, 34 casualties were reported. Eventually, the political rivalries of 1917 led to an arms race and an escalation towards civil war. The disintegration of Russia offered Finns
3234-705: 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
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#17327646656773388-747: Is currently being leased to SkyClass to provide luxury safari flights in Africa and trips to Europe . They sold the, at this time non airworthy, DC-4 in 2013 to the Dutch The Flying Dutchman Foundation. They are currently looking into restoring the DC-4 in airworthy conditions together with the DDA. The DC-4 is still located in South Africa. Finland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
3542-581: 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
3696-613: 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
3850-720: 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
4004-500: 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
4158-427: 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
4312-487: 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
4466-419: Is the term increasingly employed by the reconstituted social democrats after their defeat in the war. The general terms for the conflict, Civil War ( Finnish : sisällissota ) and Citizen War ( Finnish : kansalaissota ), are synonymous and appeared mostly after the war. More ideologic names were also used including Class War ( Finnish : luokkasota ) and Revolution ( Finnish : vallankumous ) by
4620-648: 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
4774-689: 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
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4928-917: 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
5082-644: 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
5236-617: 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
5390-612: 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
5544-765: The July Days brought matters to a head. The Helsinki Soviet and the Regional Committee of the Finnish Soviets, led by the Bolshevik Ivar Smilga , both pledged to defend the Finnish Parliament, were it threatened with attack. However, the Provisional Government still had sufficient support in the Russian army to survive and as the street movement waned, Vladimir Lenin fled to Karelia. In the aftermath of these events,
5698-474: The Kola Peninsula , an area rich in raw materials for the mining industry. Finland possessed large ore reserves and a well-developed forest industry. The February Revolution removed Tsar Nicholas II . The collapse of the Russian Empire was caused by military defeats, war-weariness against the duration and hardships of the Great War, and the collision between the most conservative regime in Europe and
5852-613: 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
6006-624: The Parliament of Finland ( Finnish : eduskunta ; Swedish : riksdag ) with universal suffrage . The number of voters increased from 126,000 to 1,273,000, including female citizens. The reform led to the social democrats obtaining about fifty per cent of the popular vote, but the Tsar regained his authority after the crisis of 1905. Subsequently, during the more severe programme of Russification, called "the Second Period of Oppression" by
6160-591: 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
6314-572: 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
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6468-636: 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
6622-623: 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,
6776-617: 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
6930-479: The social democrats substantially. The party encompassed a higher proportion of the population than any other socialist movement in the world. The Reform of 1906 was a giant leap towards the political and social liberalisation of the common Finnish people because the Russian House of Romanov had been the most autocratic and conservative ruler in Europe. The Finns adopted a unicameral parliamentary system,
7084-563: 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
7238-526: The "Law of Supreme Power" was overruled and the social democrats eventually backed down; more Russian troops were sent to Finland and, with the co-operation and insistence of the Finnish conservatives, Parliament was dissolved and new elections announced. In the October 1917 elections , the social democrats lost their absolute majority, which radicalised the labour movement and decreased support for moderate politics. The crisis of July 1917 did not bring about
7392-416: The "Law of Supreme Power". Eventually, both political factions supported an independent Finland, despite strong disagreement over the composition of the nation's leadership. Nationalism had become a "civic religion" in Finland by the end of nineteenth century, but the goal during the general strike of 1905 had been a return to the autonomy of 1809–1898, not full independence. In contrast to their status under
7546-578: 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 ,
7700-438: The Bolshevik regime came into force on 6 December and peace negotiations began on 22 December 1917 at Brest-Litovsk . November 1917 became another watershed in the 1917–1918 rivalry for the leadership of Finland. After the dissolution of the Finnish Parliament, polarisation between the social democrats and the conservatives increased markedly and the period witnessed the appearance of political violence. An agricultural worker
7854-428: The Bolsheviks and major disputes appeared, for example, over the demarcation of the border between Red Finland and Soviet Russia. The significance of the Russo–Finnish Treaty evaporated quickly due to the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between the Bolsheviks and the German Empire on 3 March 1918. Lenin's policy on the right of nations to self-determination aimed at preventing the disintegration of Russia during
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#17327646656778008-475: The DDA and still airworthy and flying: The following aircraft are owned by the DDA but no longer airworthy: Neither aircraft will be restored to an airworthy condition. Flights with the Douglas DC-3 PH-PBA can be booked, which is often making sight seeing flights or short trips to locations or cities both in the Netherlands and abroad. Trips to airshows can also be booked and DDA aircraft are occasionally on display as well. Their single airworthy Douglas DC-4
8162-428: The Finnish Social Democratic Party's ethos; their visions differed from Lenin's dictatorship of the proletariat . Otto Ville Kuusinen formulated a proposal for a new constitution, influenced by those of Switzerland and the United States. With it, political power was to be concentrated to Parliament, with a lesser role for a government. The proposal included a multi-party system; freedom of assembly, speech and press; and
8316-408: The Finnish territory was the less important northern section of the Estonian–Finnish gateway and a buffer zone to and from Petrograd through the Narva area, the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus . The German Empire saw Eastern Europe - particularly Russia - as a major source of vital products and raw materials, both during World War I and for the future. Russia's resources overstretched by
8470-445: 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
8624-436: The Finns had specialised in milk and butter production, the bulk of the food supply for the country depended on cereals produced in southern Russia. The cessation of cereal imports from disintegrating Russia led to food shortages in Finland. The Senate responded by introducing rationing and price controls . The farmers resisted the state control and thus a black market , accompanied by sharply rising food prices, formed. As
8778-415: The Finns, the Tsar neutralised the power of the Finnish Parliament between 1908 and 1917. He dissolved the assembly, ordered parliamentary elections almost annually, and determined the composition of the Finnish Senate, which did not correlate with the Parliament. The capacity of the Finnish Parliament to solve socio-economic problems was stymied by confrontations between the largely uneducated commoners and
8932-418: The Grand Duchy of Finland, including an improvement in the status of the Finnish language. All this encouraged Finnish nationalism and cultural unity through the birth of the Fennoman movement , which bound the Finns to the domestic administration and led to the idea that the Grand Duchy was an increasingly autonomous state ruled by the Russian Empire. However, in 1899, the Russian Empire had begun to initiate
9086-424: The Guards was the establishment of a 200-strong cavalry school at the Saksanniemi estate in the vicinity of the town of Porvoo , in September 1917. The vanguard of the Finnish Jägers and German weaponry arrived in Finland during October–November 1917 on the Equity freighter and the German U-boat UC-57 ; around 50 Jägers had returned by the end of 1917. After political defeats in July and October 1917,
9240-413: The Karelian Isthmus on 27 January 1918. The Finnish rivalry for power had culminated. At the beginning of the war, a discontinuous front line ran through southern Finland from west to east, dividing the country into White Finland and Red Finland . The Red Guards controlled the area to the south, including nearly all the major towns and industrial centres, along with the largest estates and farms with
9394-430: 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
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#17327646656779548-454: The Red Revolution of January 1918 on its own, but together with political developments based on the commoners' interpretation of the ideas of Fennomania and socialism, the events favoured a Finnish revolution. In order to win power, the socialists had to overcome Parliament. The February Revolution resulted in a loss of institutional authority in Finland and the dissolution of the police force, creating fear and uncertainty. In response, both
9702-426: The Red area lay Porvoo, Kirkkonummi and Uusikaupunki . The elimination of these strongholds was a priority for both armies in February 1918. Red Finland was led by the Finnish People's Delegation ( Finnish : kansanvaltuuskunta ; Swedish : folkdelegationen ), established on 28 January 1918 in Helsinki, which was supervised by the Central Workers' Council . The delegation sought democratic socialism based on
9856-519: The Reds and their supporters while Red Rebellion ( Finnish : punakapina ) was used by the Whites and their supporters. Another designation, Brethren War ( Finnish : veljessota ), is applied in some poetic settings. According to a 2008 interview of 1,005 people done by the newspaper Aamulehti , the most popular names were as follows: Civil War: 29%, Citizen War: 25%, Class War: 13%, War of Independence: 11%, Red Rebellion: 5%, Revolution: 1%, other name: 2% and no answer: 14%. From 1809 to 1898,
10010-420: The Reds began late in the evening of 27 January, with the Helsinki Red Guard and some of the Guards located along the Viipuri-Tampere railway having been activated between 23 and 26 January, in order to safeguard vital positions and escort a heavy railroad shipment of Bolshevik weapons from Petrograd to Finland. White troops tried to capture the shipment: 20–30 Finns, Red and White, died in the Battle of Kämärä at
10164-426: The Senate consisted of a broad national coalition, but in practice (with the main political groups unwilling to compromise and top politicians remaining outside of it), it proved unable to solve any major Finnish problem. After the February Revolution, political authority descended to the street level: mass meetings, strike organisations and worker-soldier councils on the left and to active organisations of employers on
10318-581: 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
10472-409: 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
10626-450: 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
10780-493: The Whites began in March, reinforced by the German Empire 's military detachments in April. The decisive engagements were the Battles of Tampere and Viipuri , won by the Whites, and the Battles of Helsinki and Lahti , won by German troops, leading to overall victory for the Whites and the German forces. Political violence became a part of this warfare. Around 12,500 Red prisoners died of malnutrition and disease in camps . About 39,000 people, of whom 36,000 were Finns, died in
10934-416: The Whites' hegemony and established a military authority of their own. Aaltonen installed his headquarters in Helsinki and nicknamed it Smolna echoing the Smolny Institute , the Bolsheviks' headquarters in Petrograd. The Red Order of Revolution was issued on 26 January, and a red lantern, a symbolic indicator of the uprising, was lit in the tower of the Helsinki Workers' House . A large-scale mobilisation of
11088-469: The administration's actions. Among urban workers, socio-economic problems steepened during periods of industrial depression. The position of rural workers worsened after the end of the nineteenth century, as farming became more efficient and market-oriented, and the development of industry was insufficiently vigorous to fully utilise the rapid population growth of the countryside. The difference between Scandinavian-Finnish and Russian- Slavic culture affected
11242-450: 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,
11396-749: 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
11550-522: 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
11704-525: The civil war and the food market remained a secondary stimulator in the power struggle of the Finnish state. The passing of the Tokoi Senate bill called the "Law of Supreme Power" ( Finnish : laki Suomen korkeimman valtiovallan käyttämisestä , more commonly known as valtalaki ; Swedish : maktlagen ) in July 1917, triggered one of the key crises in the power struggle between the social democrats and
11858-424: The class system as the natural order of their life), the commoners began to demand their civil rights and citizenship in Finnish society. The power struggle between the Finnish estates and the Russian administration gave a concrete role model and free space for the labour movement. On the other side, due to an at-least century-long tradition and experience of administrative authority, the Finnish elite saw itself as
12012-454: 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
12166-522: The conflict. In the immediate aftermath, the Finns passed from Russian governance to the German sphere of influence with a plan to establish a German-led Finnish monarchy . The scheme ended with Germany's defeat in World War I, and Finland instead emerged as an independent, democratic republic. The civil war divided the nation for decades. Finnish society was reunited through social compromises based on
12320-564: The conservatives. The fall of the Russian Empire opened the question of who would hold sovereign political authority in the former Grand Duchy. After decades of political disappointment, the February Revolution offered the Finnish social democrats an opportunity to govern; they held the absolute majority in Parliament. The conservatives were alarmed by the continuous increase of the socialists' influence since 1899, which reached
12474-456: 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
12628-558: 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 ,
12782-583: The end of the nineteenth century from temperance , religious movements and Fennomania, had a Finnish nationalist, working-class character. From 1899 to 1906, the movement became conclusively independent, shedding the paternalistic thinking of the Fennoman estates, and it was represented by the Finnish Social Democratic Party, established in 1899. Workers' activism was directed both toward opposing Russification and in developing
12936-490: The events of 1917 was the rise of the Workers' Order Guards. There were 20–60 separate guards between 31 August and 30 September 1917, but on 20 October, after defeat in parliamentary elections, the Finnish labour movement proclaimed the need to establish more worker units. The announcement led to a rush of recruits: on 31 October the number of guards was 100–150; 342 on 30 November 1917 and 375 on 26 January 1918. Since May 1917,
13090-646: 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
13244-401: The former estates. Another conflict festered as employers denied collective bargaining and the right of the labour unions to represent workers. The parliamentary process disappointed the labour movement, but as dominance in the Parliament and legislation was the workers' most likely way to obtain a more balanced society, they identified themselves with the state. Overall domestic politics led to
13398-611: 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
13552-533: The highest numbers of crofters and tenant farmers . The White Army controlled the area to the north, which was predominantly agrarian and contained small or medium-sized farms and tenant farmers. The number of crofters was lower and they held a better social status than those in the south. Enclaves of the opposing forces existed on both sides of the front line: within the White area lay the industrial towns of Varkaus , Kuopio , Oulu , Raahe , Kemi and Tornio ; within
13706-485: The idea of a socialist revolution, the party representatives and several influential leaders voted it down. The Finnish labour movement wanted to sustain a military force of its own and to keep the revolutionary road open, too. The wavering Finnish socialists disappointed V. I. Lenin and in turn, he began to encourage the Finnish Bolsheviks in Petrograd. Among the labour movement, a more marked consequence of
13860-500: The inherent natural leader of the nation. The political struggle for democracy was solved outside Finland, in international politics: the Russian Empire's failed 1904–1905 war against Japan led to the 1905 Revolution in Russia and to a general strike in Finland . In an attempt to quell the general unrest, the system of estates was abolished in the Parliamentary Reform of 1906 . The general strike increased support for
14014-447: 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
14168-472: 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
14322-463: The later White Guards ( Finnish : valkokaartit ; Swedish : vita gardet ) were organised by local men of influence: conservative academics, industrialists, major landowners, and activists. The Workers' Order Guards ( Finnish : työväen järjestyskaartit ; Swedish : arbetarnas ordningsgardet ) and the Red Guards ( Finnish : punakaartit ; Swedish : röda gardet ) were recruited through
14476-586: 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
14630-467: The leader of the Agrarian League. Parliament seized the sovereign power in Finland on 15 November 1917 based on the socialists' "Law of Supreme Power" and ratified their proposals of an eight-hour working day and universal suffrage in local elections , from July 1917. The purely non-socialist, conservative-led government of Pehr Evind Svinhufvud was appointed on 27 November. This nomination
14784-456: The left, the vanguard of the movement was the urban Red Guards from Helsinki , Kotka and Turku ; they led the rural Reds and convinced the socialist leaders who wavered between peace and war to support the revolution. On the right, the vanguard was the Jägers, who had transferred to Finland, and the volunteer Civil Guards of southwestern Finland, southern Ostrobothnia and Viipuri province in
14938-526: The local social democratic party sections and from the labour unions. The Bolsheviks' and Vladimir Lenin's October Revolution of 7 November 1917 transferred political power in Petrograd to the radical, left-wing socialists. The German government's decision to arrange safe-conduct for Lenin and his comrades from exile in Switzerland to Petrograd in April 1917, was a success. An armistice between Germany and
15092-447: The loss of their long-held socio-economic dominance. Both factions collaborated with their equivalents in Russia, deepening the split in the nation. The Social Democratic Party gained an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections of 1916 . A new Senate was formed in March 1917 by Oskari Tokoi , but it did not reflect the socialists' large parliamentary majority: it comprised six social democrats and six non-socialists. In theory,
15246-454: The middle and upper classes, controlled rural central and northern Finland, and were led by General C. G. E. Mannerheim . In the years before the conflict, Finland had experienced rapid population growth, industrialisation , urbanisation and the rise of a comprehensive labour movement . The country's political and governmental systems were in an unstable phase of democratisation and modernisation. The socio-economic condition and education of
15400-446: 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
15554-521: The nature of Finnish national integration. The upper social strata took the lead and gained domestic authority from the Russian tsar in 1809. The estates planned to build an increasingly autonomous Finnish state, led by the elite and the intelligentsia. The Fennoman movement aimed to include the common people in a non-political role; the labour movement, youth associations and the temperance movement were initially led "from above". Between 1870 and 1916 industrialisation gradually improved social conditions and
15708-409: The nineteenth century (from 860,000 in 1810 to 3,130,000 in 1917), and a class of agrarian and industrial workers, as well as crofters , emerged over the period. The Industrial Revolution was rapid in Finland, though it started later than in the rest of Western Europe . Industrialisation was financed by the state and some of the social problems associated with the industrial process were diminished by
15862-434: 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. Finnish Civil War Finnish Whites victory The Finnish Civil War
16016-547: 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
16170-529: 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
16324-471: 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
16478-417: The paramilitary organisations of the left had grown in two phases, the majority of them as Workers' Order Guards. The minority were Red Guards, these were partly underground groups formed in industrialised towns and industrial centres, such as Helsinki , Kotka and Tampere, based on the original Red Guards that had been formed during 1905–1906 in Finland. The presence of the two opposing armed forces created
16632-444: The period of military weakness. He assumed that in war-torn, splintering Europe, the proletariat of free nations would carry out socialist revolutions and unite with Soviet Russia later. The majority of the Finnish labour movement supported Finland's independence. The Finnish Bolsheviks, influential, though few in number, favoured annexation of Finland by Russia. The government of White Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud's first senate ,
16786-473: The population had gradually improved, and national awareness and culture had progressed. World War I led to the collapse of the Russian Empire , causing a power vacuum in Finland, and the subsequent struggle for dominance led to militarisation and an escalating crisis between the left-leaning labour movement and the conservatives. The Reds carried out an unsuccessful general offensive in February 1918, supplied with weapons by Soviet Russia . A counteroffensive by
16940-549: 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
17094-545: The profitable Finnish financial zone. The economic collapse of Russia and the power struggle of the Finnish state in 1917 were among the key factors that brought sovereignty to the fore in Finland. Svinhufvud's Senate introduced Finland's Declaration of Independence on 4 December 1917 and Parliament adopted it on 6 December. The social democrats voted against the Senate's proposal, while presenting an alternative declaration of sovereignty. The establishment of an independent state
17248-467: The program were not accepted and the socialists initiated a general strike during 14–19 November to increase political pressure on the conservatives, who had opposed the "Law of Supreme Power" and the parliamentary proclamation of sovereign power on 15 November. Revolution became the goal of the radicalised socialists after the loss of political control, and events in November 1917 offered momentum for
17402-495: 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
17556-517: 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
17710-607: 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
17864-553: The revolutionary reform of 1906, but after the crisis of 1917–1918, concluded that empowering the common people would not work. Social liberals and reformist non-socialists opposed any restriction of parliamentarianism. They initially resisted German military help, but the prolonged warfare changed their stance. In foreign policy, the Vaasa Senate relied on the German Empire for military and political aid. Their objective
18018-425: The right and left assembled their own security groups, which were initially local and largely unarmed. By late 1917, following the dissolution of Parliament, in the absence of a strong government and national armed forces, the security groups began assuming a broader and more paramilitary character. The Civil Guards ( Finnish : suojeluskunnat ; Swedish : skyddskåren ; lit. ' protection corps ' ) and
18172-484: The right, all serving to undermine the authority of the state. The February Revolution halted the Finnish economic boom caused by the Russian war-economy. The collapse in business led to unemployment and high inflation , but the employed workers gained an opportunity to resolve workplace problems. The commoners' call for the eight-hour working day , better working conditions and higher wages led to demonstrations and large-scale strikes in industry and agriculture. While
18326-586: 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
18480-488: The self-confidence of workers, but while the standard of living of the common people rose in absolute terms, the rift between rich and poor deepened markedly. The commoners' rising awareness of socio-economic and political questions interacted with the ideas of socialism , social liberalism and nationalism . The workers' initiatives and the corresponding responses of the dominant authorities intensified social conflict in Finland. The Finnish labour movement, which emerged at
18634-459: 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
18788-463: The social democrats put forward an uncompromising program called "We Demand" ( Finnish : Me vaadimme ; Swedish : Vi kräver ) on 1 November, in order to push for political concessions . They insisted upon a return to the political status before the dissolution of Parliament in July 1917, disbandment of the Civil Guards and elections to establish a Finnish Constituent Assembly. The demands of
18942-404: 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
19096-565: The southeastern corner of Finland. The first local battles were fought during 9–21 January 1918 in southern and southeastern Finland, mainly to win the arms race and to control Viipuri . On 12 January 1918, Parliament authorised the Svinhufvud Senate to establish internal order and discipline on behalf of the state. On 15 January, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim , a former Finnish general of the Imperial Russian Army ,
19250-479: The struggle against integration, activists drawn from sections of the working class and the Swedish-speaking intelligentsia carried out terrorist acts. During World War I and the rise of Germanism, the pro-Swedish Svecomans began their covert collaboration with Imperial Germany and, from 1915 to 1917, a Jäger ( Finnish : jääkäri ; Swedish : jägare ) battalion consisting of 1,900 Finnish volunteers
19404-471: 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
19558-527: The turmoil. Geopolitically less important than the continental Moscow – Warsaw gateway, Finland, isolated by the Baltic Sea , was relatively peaceful until early 1918. The war between the German Empire and Russia had only indirect effects on the Finns . Since the end of the 19th century, the Grand Duchy had become a vital source of raw materials , industrial products, food and labour for the growing Imperial Russian capital Petrograd (modern Saint Petersburg), and World War I emphasised that role. Strategically,
19712-605: The two-front war, Germany attempted to divide Russia by providing financial support to revolutionary groups, such as the Bolsheviks and the Socialist Revolutionary Party , and to radical, separatist factions, such as the Finnish national activist movement leaning toward Germanism . Between 30 and 40 million Reichsmark were spent on this endeavour. Controlling the Finnish area would allow the Imperial German Army to penetrate Petrograd and
19866-425: The unitary Swedish regime, the domestic power of Finns had increased under the less uniform Russian rule. Economically, the Grand Duchy of Finland benefited from having an independent domestic state budget, a central bank with national currency, the markka (deployed 1860), and customs organisation and the industrial progress of 1860–1916. The economy was dependent on the huge Russian market and separation would disrupt
20020-412: The use of referendums in political decision-making. In order to ensure the authority of the labour movement, the common people would have a right to permanent revolution . The socialists planned to transfer a substantial part of property rights to the state and local administrations. In foreign policy, Red Finland leaned on Bolshevist Russia . A Red-initiated Finno–Russian treaty and peace agreement
20174-507: The war against the German Empire. In turn, the Germans hastened Finland's separation from Russian rule so as to move the country to within their sphere of influence. The final escalation towards war began in early January 1918, as each military or political action of the Reds or the Whites resulted in a corresponding counteraction by the other. Both sides justified their activities as defensive measures, particularly to their own supporters. On
20328-485: 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
20482-501: 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
20636-539: 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
20790-568: Was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition from a grand duchy ruled by the Russian Empire to a fully independent state. The clashes took place in the context of the national, political, and social turmoil caused by World War I ( Eastern Front ) in Europe. The war
20944-544: Was adopted with the support of the Social Democratic Party, the Agrarian League, part of the Young Finnish Party and some activists eager for Finnish sovereignty. The conservatives opposed the bill and some of the most right-wing representatives resigned from Parliament. In Petrograd, the social democrats' plan had the backing of the Bolsheviks. They had been plotting a revolt against the Provisional Government since April 1917, and pro-Soviet demonstrations during
21098-652: Was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Civil Guards. The Senate appointed the Guards, henceforth called the White Guards, as the White Army of Finland. Mannerheim placed his Headquarters of the White Army in the Vaasa – Seinäjoki area. The White Order to engage was issued on 25 January. The Whites gained weaponry by disarming Russian garrisons during 21–28 January, in particular in southern Ostrobothnia. The Red Guards, led by Ali Aaltonen , refused to recognise
21252-572: Was both a long-term aim of the conservatives and a response to the challenges of the labour movement during November 1917. Svinhufvud's main aspirations were to separate Finland from Russian rule, to strengthen the Civil Guards, and to return a part of Parliament's new authority to the Senate. There were 149 Civil Guards on 31 August 1917 in Finland, counting local units and subsidiary White Guards in towns and rural communes; 251 on 30 September; 315 on 31 October; 380 on 30 November and 408 on 26 January 1918. The first attempt at serious military training among
21406-552: Was called the Vaasa Senate after its relocation to the safer west-coast city of Vaasa, which acted as the capital of the Whites from 29 January to 3 May 1918. In domestic policy, the White Senate's main goal was to return the political right to power in Finland. The conservatives planned a monarchist political system, with a lesser role for Parliament. A section of the conservatives had always supported monarchy and opposed democracy; others had approved of parliamentarianism since
21560-452: 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
21714-696: Was fought between the Red Guards , led by a section of the Social Democratic Party , and the White Guards , conducted by the senate and those who opposed socialism with assistance late in the war by the German Imperial Army at the request of the Finnish civil government. The paramilitary Red Guards, which were composed of industrial and agrarian workers, controlled the cities and industrial centres of southern Finland. The paramilitary White Guards, which consisted of land owners and those in
21868-576: 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
22022-411: Was not a guaranteed conclusion for the small Finnish nation. Recognition by Russia and other great powers was essential; Svinhufvud accepted that he had to negotiate with Lenin for the acknowledgement. The socialists, having been reluctant to enter talks with the Russian leadership in July 1917, sent two delegations to Petrograd to request that Lenin approve Finnish sovereignty. In December 1917, Lenin
22176-418: Was shot during a local strike on 9 August 1917 at Ypäjä and a Civil Guard member was killed in a local political crisis at Malmi on 24 September. The October Revolution disrupted the informal truce between the Finnish non-socialists and the Russian Provisional Government. After political wrangling over how to react to the revolt, the majority of the politicians accepted a compromise proposal by Santeri Alkio ,
22330-436: Was signed on 1 March 1918, where Red Finland was called the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic ( Finnish : Suomen sosialistinen työväentasavalta ; Swedish : Finlands socialistiska arbetarrepublik ). The negotiations for the treaty implied that – as in World War I in general – nationalism was more important for both sides than the principles of international socialism . The Red Finns did not simply accept an alliance with
22484-620: 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
22638-476: 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
22792-496: 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
22946-547: Was stopped and the autonomous status of 1809–1899 was returned to the Finns by the 15th March 1917 manifesto of the Russian Provisional Government. For the first time in history, de facto political power existed in the Parliament of Finland. The political left, consisting mainly of social democrats, covered a wide spectrum from moderate to revolutionary socialists. The political right was even more diverse, ranging from social liberals and moderate conservatives to rightist conservative elements. The four main parties were: During 1917,
23100-411: 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
23254-597: 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,
23408-460: Was to defeat the Finnish Reds; end the influence of Bolshevist Russia in Finland and expand Finnish territory to East Karelia , a geopolitically significant home to people speaking Finnic languages . The weakness of Russia inspired an idea of Greater Finland among the expansionist factions of both the right and left: the Reds had claims concerning the same areas. General Mannerheim agreed on
23562-524: Was trained in Germany. The major reasons for rising political tensions among Finns were the autocratic rule of the Russian tsar and the undemocratic class system of the estates of the realm . The latter system originated in the regime of the Swedish Empire that preceded Russian governance and divided the Finnish people economically, socially and politically. Finland's population grew rapidly in
23716-451: Was under intense pressure from the Germans to conclude peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk , and the Bolsheviks' rule was in crisis, with an inexperienced administration and the demoralised army facing powerful political and military opponents. Lenin calculated that the Bolsheviks could fight for central parts of Russia but had to give up some peripheral territories, including Finland in the geopolitically less important north-western corner. As
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