History of Finland

The history of Finland is characterized by the fight of influence that delivered themselves its two large neighbors, the Sweden and the Russia. This country reaches independence only after the Russian Révolution of 1917.

Origins

The North of the Finland is populated since the Antiquité by the Saami S.
With regard to the South, one thinks that the South-western coast was originally populated by Germanic tribes . Migrations of populations the Ural ic, related with the Baltic , settling as of the first centuries of the Christian time and mixing with the Germanic populations trained the Finnish people. Thus the study of the blood groups watch which the Finns are with the three Western quarters (and in particular Scandinavian) and for the remainder of the type Balte. It should be noted that the people having carried out this migration, resulting from the areas of the average the Volga, are also at the origin of the settlement of the Hungary, from where the linguistic resemblance of the Finno-ugric languages .

Until the 11th century, Finland remains a territory inhabited by not very quarrelsome tribes and non-cohesive political (what facilitated their rapid tender besides). Three areas are distinguished: south-west (in the neighborhoods of the future town of Turku), South (in the neighborhoods of future the Helsinki) and the Karelia. Until the christianization of the Scandinavia, the raids Viking S push Finnish to be taken refuge inside the grounds, living resources of the Lac S and Forêt S.

In the West, the kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark already exist, and one Consequently finds in the East the Principauté of Novgorod recently founded by the Varègue S., the occupation of Finland becomes an strategic issue for these Christian powers lately (catholic at the time for Sweden and Denmark, orthodoxe for Novgorod). In 1157, Finland was occupied by the king of Sweden Eric IX the Saint.

The the Middle Ages and the Swedish influence

It is thus finally Sweden which colonizes and évangélise Finland, as from the 13th century.
the archbishop's palace of Åbo (Turku) is founded as well as the cathedral and the castle. So Turku is regarded as more the old city of Finland, founded in 1229. The Swedish influence (which feels still today) is impregnated as from this time. The Noblesse is Swedish (it did not have there a Finnish equivalent of royalty and of feudality such as they exist in Western Europe) and the official language is Swedish. It is not a question however of an occupation or a colonization as there existed about it later in America or Africa by other European countries. Indeed, Sweden and Finland are two entities amalgamated in the same kingdom and the Swedes showed respectful Finnish identity in general. The economic advancement of the country continues, in particular thanks to the Hanse and to counter the power of Reval, the King Gustave Vasa founds in 1550 Helsinki (the name of this city is a finnized version of Swedish Helsingfors which means “the cascade of Helsingar”) which remained nevertheless a long time a minor city before becoming capital in 1812.

The Grand Duchy of Finland

Finland is used on several occasions of battle field and stake between the Swedish empires and Russian. At the time Napoleonean, Sweden had to give up it with the tsar Alexandre I {{er}} by the treaty of Hamina or Fredrikshamm of September 17th, 1809. The country consequently became a autonomous Grand Duchy Russian empire. Helsinki becomes capital Grand Duchy in 1812 and it is as from this time that the influence of the city starts to grow. Contrary at the time Swedish, Finland is not a territory with whole share of the Empire, but an autonomous region. The tsars showed more or less respectful this autonomy, and especially tried all, except notable for Alexandre II, to Russianize this area. It is this autonomy which was at the origin of the movement for the Indépendance of the country as from the 19th century.

Alexandre II testified to a remarkable liberality with respect to the Finnish people (like more generally of its other subjects) and supported the emergence of a national literature. It is thus in particular through the culture and its intellectuals that Finland will see developing its movement for independence. Thus the publication on February 28th, 1835 of a collection of thirty-two songs inspired of the traditional tales of Karelia under the name of Kalevala ( Country of the heroes ) by a Finnish country doctor, Elias Lönnrot, became the base of the Finnish culture. This work inspired thereafter by other large Finnish artists, like the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) and the type-setter Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), and on February 28th is still commemorated like a national festival in Finland. The writings of Johan Ludvig Runeberg also poked the movement for independence. The recognition of the Finns for the “tsar liberator” is still sharp, since its statue throne always today on the place of the Senate.

The accession with independence

July 20th, 1906, the tsar Nicolas II, butts with many difficulties, grants many freedoms about it to the Finns (of which right to vote for the women). Finland obtained also an international recognition symbolic system, when it was authorized to take part, under its own colors and not those of Russia, with the Olympic Games of Stockholm in 1912. December 6th 1917, benefitting from the disorder caused by the revolution Bolshevik, Finland declares its independence, recognized by the Soviet capacity on January 4th, 1918. It is then the beginning of the Finnish Civil war between Rouges, combined with the Soviet Russia, and White combined in Germany. An energetic Finnish general, the baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim order the White governmental troops and benefits from the reinforcement of German troops. Those override the red guards Bolsheviks with Vyborg the April 30th 1918. The independence of Finland east from now on acquired.

Hardly one month before the German defeat, the Finns give each other for king a German prince, Frederic Charles de Hesse. The king must thus be erased quickly and Mannerheim becomes regent before yielding the place in its turn with the proclamation of the Republic on July 17th, 1919.

The Second world war

In November 1939, under the terms of the secret protocol of the Pact Molotov-Ribbentrop, the Soviet Union poses an ultimatum in Finland, then the attack in front of the refusal of this one to grant " to him; the loan " bases, of which peninsula of Hanko, that she claimed. It was the Guerre of winter of 1939-1940. The Finnish line of defense, named Line Mannerheim in reference to the Line Maginot in France, is supposed to be able to resist one or two weeks with the attacker according to the marshal Mannerheim.

In spite of the successes of the Finnish soldiers ( they invented then become celebrates " Kingpin ") , well inferiors of number with the Soviets, Finland is inclined by the Traité of Moscow of March 12th, 1940, and yields to Stalin 10% of his territory (the Eastern province of the country, the Karelia, which still belongs to Russia today), but remains independent, contrary to the Baltic States.

In 1941, when Germany attacks the USSR (Opération Barbarossa), Finland wants to take its revenge and joint its troops with those of the Nazi Germany to attack the USSR and to recover the lost territories or if possible. It stops however the offensive with the Lac Onega, and never cut the railway line of Mourmansk nor did not attack Leningrad, in spite of the pressing requests for Hitler.

In 1944, the Red Army borer the face, and the Finnish army is folded up to the old border. It then signs an armistice with the USSR, stipulating the departure of the German army corps which stationed in the north of Finland. Its missed evacuation starts the Guerre of Lapland, against the Germans this time. Finland escapes from little from a pure and simple annexation by the USSR. By the treated of Paris of February 10th, 1947, it recovers its independence, amputated not only by Karelia but also of additional territories (the area of Petsamo and the isthmus of Karelia), pours a heavy tribute with the Soviets and must resign itself to subordinate its foreign politics to that of the USSR in exchange of the safeguarding of its democratic institutions (what one called until the end of the Cold war the “Finlandisation”). The paradox of this debt, it is that it becomes a source of prosperity for the country. Obligation to pay repairs in the Soviet Union constrained Finland to be industrialized. Finland, principal Western partner of the USSR, will transfer itself in a rich state, with one of the best standards of living in the world.

Contemporary Finland

After the war, the line Paasikivi of strict neutrality makes of Finland a turntable of the relations Is - Western. It cannot indeed line up in one or the other block under the terms of the agreements made at the conclusion of the Second world war. Contrary to sometimes widespread ideas in France, Finland was thus not communist, but could not join the block West under penalty of dissatisfying its powerful neighbor. The Politique of Finland turns thus resolutely to the neutrality which enabled him to cross without too much of encumber this delicate period. Still today the Finns hesitate to adhere to NATO in order to respect their political neutrality.

Finland quickly becomes a very prosperous country. Its development undergoes nevertheless a major crisis in the Années 1980 and 1990, whereas the Chômage touches 20% of the Active population. But thanks to a revival of the activity in the sector of new technologies (Nokia, F-Secure and of the laboratories of Biotechnology for example), it joins again with the growth and reaches an unemployment rate lower than the average of the European Union. Finally, Finland adheres to the latter in 1995 and takes part in the euro area in which its tickets and parts account for only approximately 2% of the total put in circulation.

Bibliography, sources

the large guide of Finland , Library of the traveller, Gallimard, 1989.
Matti Klinge, has off brief history Finland , Otava editions, 2000.
Seppo Hentilä, Osmo Jussila, Jukka Nevakivi, political Histoire of Finland - XIXe-XXe century , Fayard editions, 1999.
Eino Jutikkala, Histoire of Finland , Editions of Baconnière, Neuchâtel, 1978 - ISBN 2-8252-0612-1
Heikki Jalanti, Finland in the vice germano-Soviet. 1940-1941 , Editions of Baconnière, Neuchâtel, 1966.
political History of Finland of 1809 to 1955 , L.A. Puntila, Editions of Baconnière (Neuchâtel), 1966 (original version c/o Editions Otava, Helsinki, 1964).

See too

Lotta
List of the presidents de Finlande
Evacuation of Finnish children towards the other Scandinavian countries in 1939-1940

External bonds

More information on the history of Finland (site of the embassy of Finland in France)
Site of the Finland embassy in France
Virtual Finland
Another Finland

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