The enmity between the Soviet Union and Finland begins with finland's incorporation into Russia.
Since the Middle Ages, Sweden has dominated the Baltic Sea. But how can Russia, which has great ambitions for the access to the west, not covet finland, a neighboring rich land?
Defeating the mighty Sweden and capturing Finland became the long-cherished wish of successive tsars. However, the many Russo-Swiss wars launched by Tsarist Russia have not gained any benefit.
Until the history of the "Two-Faced Man", Tsar Alexander I ascended the throne. Although his incestuous love affair with his sister is shameful, it is undeniable that he played an important historical role in the expansion of the territory and the conquest of Finland.
During the reign of Alexander I, domestic reforms created a favourable domestic environment for the conquest of Finland, and the international situation was also very good. The countries of Western Europe were trembling under Napoleon's iron horse, and naturally the affairs of the two neighbors of the Orio-Japanese family could not interfere. I have to say that this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the situation in Russia, which has always won less and lost more in the Russo-Russian War, has been reversed.
In 1809, Sweden, the maritime hegemon, withdrew and abandoned its eastern province of Finland. Sweden recognized Finland's incorporation into Russia as a Grand Duchy, retaining its original democratic constitutionalism. From then on, Tsarist Russia began its more than 100-year reign in Finland.
After the incorporation of Finland into Russia, the level of economic development was greatly improved, and soon surpassed Russia. Of course, this must be thanks to Russia.
The mighty Russian army put an end to centuries of oppression in Finland, where the Finnish people themselves lived in a fertile land known as the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes', coupled with industrious people. Various industrial systems were soon built on this land, and Finland's socio-economic development situation was very good.
But what causes Finland to turn against the former "monarch" and eventually face each other?
It has to be said that the newly ascended autocratic monarch Nicholas II was very successful in this matter. Before he succeeded to the throne, he was angry about this democratic green in his own territory, and after succeeding to the throne, he shut down all newspapers in Finland, banned the spread of free folk ideas, and tightly controlled public opinion in his own hands.
In addition, Tsar Nicholas, in order to participate in the First World War, recruited soldiers in Finland and levied harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, which was undoubtedly a blow to democratic Finland. The Finns, who had originally submitted to Tsarist Russia, began to feel independent, and the Finns' hatred of Russia hung over this small border country. But there was no time.
Soon, World War I broke out. Heaven has given Finland an opportunity.
Tsar Nicholas II's perverse behavior, in spite of the sharpness of the national contradictions in the country, went so far as to use the mantis arm as a car to equip the backward Russian army against the mechanized German army, resulting in a loss of land and a constant turmoil in the country. The military defeat seriously undermined the prestige of Nicholas II. More advantageously, in 1915, Nicholas II was tricked into leaving the base camp to supervise the war on the front line, leaving only Empress Alexandra and the demon monk Raspukin to handle government affairs. The already complicated domestic situation in Tsarist Russia was even worse under the turmoil of these two men.
A nationwide rebellion and a campaign to overthrow the tsarist autocracy were in full swing. Tsar Nicholas II hurried back to preside over the situation, but it was too late. He was forced to leave the political arena amid a wave of opposition throughout Russia.
Soon after the October Revolution broke out again, the Soviet power established by the Bolsheviks not only did not win the support of most of the provinces in the country, but the international community regarded it as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh. Hostile forces at home and abroad collude to attack the nascent regime from all angles in the southeast, south, and northwest. The Soviet Bolsheviks were too busy to take care of themselves, and naturally they could not control the vassal state of Finland. Small states such as Finland became independent from Tsarist Russia after the war, under international law.
Finland has been in the midst of a tug-of-war between sweden and Tsarist Russia for centuries, hating and fearing its neighbors. After independence, it was even more faced with the attack between Germany and the Soviet Union, and neither big man could offend.
Therefore, the small country of Finland was forced to adopt a neutral foreign policy of peace, maintain peaceful exchanges with the former Soviet Union, and at the same time do everything possible to please the Western countries and deepen economic exchanges with the West in order to achieve domestic peace and stability.
Finland's idea was also the idea of the newly established Soviet regime. The arduous civil war weakened Soviet Russia and strained relations with its neighbors. Biting Finland to death would certainly not be conducive to the building of a nascent Soviet power. Since the national interests of the two countries converge, it is best to turn enemies into friends. So Lenin waved a big hand, and in 1920 and 1932, the Soviet-Finnish Peace Treaty and the Soviet-Finnish Non-Aggression Pact of Equality and Mutual Benefit were issued.
Unexpectedly, however, the peaceful coexistence that the Soviet-Finnish government has worked hard to maintain has only lasted a dozen years.
Spurred on by Germany's annexation of Austria, the Tsarist nation's territorial ambitions swelled again, and in order to build a buffer zone for Leningrad, the fledgling Soviet Union set its sights on Finland.
In 1938, the Soviet Union repeatedly proposed to the Finnish government to lease the Hanko Peninsula and the Gulf of Finland on the grounds of strengthening the defense needs of the north, and requested the fortification of some Finnish islands.
Stalin later said very frankly: Leningrad cannot move, so the Soviet-Finnish border must move!
This is not only a public undermining of Finland's sovereignty, but also a battlefield for Finland in the Soviet Union's war against Europe. You can imagine how the Finnish government, which adheres to a policy of neutrality, will agree.
Since it is difficult to achieve the established goal through normal diplomatic means, war may be a necessary means for the Soviet Union at this time.
The Soviet Union openly tore up the Soviet-Finnish Non-Aggression Pact and used Finland with 23 divisions with a total of 450,000 troops and 1,300 tanks, 1,800 artillery pieces, and about 800 aircraft.
Almost the world thought that Finland would be crushed by the army and quickly begged for forgiveness, as did soviet leaders and troops. However, it turned out that the optimism of the Soviet Union was too early, and they ignored the spirit of the Finnish people who were fighting to the death to defend their homeland.
The Finnish 'Father of the Nation' marshal Mannerheim used even more wonderfully. He carefully analyzed the situation between the enemy and ourselves and adapted it to local conditions.
Finland's harsh environment of mountains and forests became a weapon for the Finnish people against aggression. Soldiers used their strengths in skiing, shooting, and familiarizing themselves with the terrain to stop the Soviet offensive and wait for British and French assistance.
But at this time, The Second World War was in a state of white-hot, the German war blade was pointing at Britain and France, Britain and France could not avoid it, and It was obviously unrealistic for Finland to expect the assistance of Britain and France, which was asking the United States for help.
Finland, which had no foreign reinforcements, was eventually in trouble, and the once-overwhelmed Soviet Red Army paid a terrible price and finally broke through Finland's last Mannerheim Line, and the Soviet-Finnish War ended in Finland's humiliating peace.
The two countries signed an armistice, and Finland ceded 10% of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviets gained a buffer zone next to Leningrad. The Soviet Union's dream of an eastern defensive line was also constructed.
But Stalin may not have imagined when he started this war that was as simple as an elephant trampling on an ant, causing 700,000 casualties in the Soviet Union, and even depriving the Soviet Union of international public support. At the same time, it increased confidence in Hitler's later war against the Soviet Union. What the Soviet Union did not expect was that he himself had created an enemy that should not have existed, and even the carefully constructed eastern defensive line was about to collapse at once.
After the victory on the Western Front, the Germans turned their sights to the Soviet Union in the east.
But Germany also needs an ally familiar with the environment in the northeast. At this time, Finland, which had a feud with the Soviet Union, naturally became the best candidate.
The German delegation, on Hitler's behalf, met with Marshal Mannerheim, commander-in-chief of the Finnish Wehrmacht, expressed the desire to invite Finland to join the war against the Soviet Union, and promised that if Finland was willing to participate, Finland would be satisfied with whatever it wanted.
However, it has to be said that the Finnish leadership is very sober. Field Marshal Mannerheim said Finland had no intention of getting involved in a Soviet-German war and would ask for nothing, but would be grateful if it received assistance to recover the territory that had been seized in the Soviet-Finnish War in 1940.
However, when Germany launched a large-scale attack on the Soviet Union, Hitler, in order to help Finland tie up the thieves' ship, went so far as to declare in his radio speech that the German soldiers had "allied themselves with Finnish comrades" and "fought together on the coast of the Arctic Ocean".
Although the Finnish government immediately issued a statement that morning, denying this claim and declaring a strictly neutral position to the countries of the world.
But at this time, Stalin's suspicions were repeated, and he was convinced that Germany had secretly allied with Finland and sent the Soviet Air Force to bomb the Finnish military bases.
The Finnish nation, which itself had a sense of revenge, was even more agitated at this time. At the instigation of the people, the Finnish government finally swung a large knife at the Soviet Union and officially declared war on the Soviet Union.
The Finnish army launched an all-out offensive with the help of the Germans, and the nightmare of the Soviet polar bear arrived. In less than three weeks, the Finde army was on full swing and regained all of Finland's territory lost in 1939.
By this time, the Finns' desire to recover the territory had been fulfilled. Marshal Mannerheim prevented Finland from taking the initiative to start further wars in time to avoid being tied to german warships for a long time. Under the command of the marshal, the Finnish army immediately turned from offensive to defensive, and allowed Germany to threaten and persuade in every way, that is, the oil and salt did not advance, and refused to take a step forward.
In 1944, Germany's defeat was decided, and secession from Germany became Finland's diplomatic demand. But this demand needs to be agreed upon by the countries of the World Anti-Fascist League, otherwise Finland will have to become a loser like Germany.
But Stalin, one of the big three in the anti-fascist united front, had been utterly offended by Finland. The Finnish government had no choice but to turn to Britain and the United States. Britain and the United States may jointly put pressure on Stalin to mediate Soviet-Finnish contradictions for reasons such as not wanting the fascist camp to expand or contain the Soviet Union.
In the end, each side took a step back. In addition to acknowledging the 1940 Soviet-Finnish border, Finland ceded the province of Bechaimo to the Soviet Union and leased the Pokhara Peninsula near Helsinki to the Soviet Union for a period of fifty years, at the cost of recovering the Hanko Peninsula, with Finland paying $300 million in reparations. Finland was also obliged to expel all German troops stationed in Finland; the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Finnish nation.
Although the requirements of these peace treaties were relatively harsh and placed a great burden on Finland, and all the gains finland gained in the war were also empty, fortunately, Finland was able to withdraw completely in this battle and preserve the independence of the country.
The two countries have finally turned their differences into jade, and peace diplomacy has since become the main theme of the two countries.
After the war, Finland actively assumed its international obligations in accordance with the requirements of international law, re-concluded the treaty with the Soviet Union, dissolved a series of fascist organizations advocating nationalism and revenge in the country, and promised to pay compensation to the Soviet Union until 1952.
Proceeding from its own policy of neutrality, Finland has taken friendship with the Soviet Union as the foothold of its neutral foreign policy, while strengthening friendly relations with other major powers. In 1948, Finland was unimpressed by the Marshall Plan, which was dominated by the United States and economically opposed to the Soviet Union, and signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union.
Finland is obliged to maintain the security of the northwestern borders of the USSR and not to join the anti-Soviet alliance. At the same time, Finland befriended the Western powers.
This policy of peace and neutrality, which pursues harmony and friendship with the Soviet Union, maintains traditional cooperation with other Nordic countries, maintains friendly relations with all countries, and does not intervene in disputes between major powers, has not only been recognized by its neighbor, the Soviet Union, but also tacitly approved by the Western countries headed by the United States. This shows the success of the Finnish government in maintaining neutrality.
During the Cold War, although Finland was between the two great powers of the United States and the Soviet Union, Finland lived a smooth life in the turbulent international community, not only did not lose anything, but also occasionally gained some small profits.
Under the Provisional Treaty, the Soviet Union leased the Pokhara Peninsula for 50 years, but at the turn of 1955-1956, soviet troops withdrew from the Pokhara Peninsula in Finland to gain Finnish support. At the same time, when NATO and the Warsaw Pact confronted each other, the huge military strength of the Warsaw Pact was all deployed in Europe, not on the Soviet-Finnish border. It can be seen that the Soviet Union recognized Finland's neutral status, and Finland's desire for peace was realized. At the same time, the United States has also given Financial Assistance to Finland, and the merits of the neutrality policy have been revealed.
At the end of 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Finland's diplomatic space became unprecedentedly wide, but in the ever-changing international community, the policy of good-neighborliness and friendship was always a thousand times stronger than the policy of treating one's neighbor as an enemy. Therefore, for Russia, the successor of the Soviet Union, Finland may sometimes be affected by U.S. sanctions, but basically maintains friendly relations between Russia and Finland.
Finland's policy of peace and neutrality based on national interests has enabled Finland to achieve true neutrality. It has not only been internationally recognized, but also safeguarded national sovereignty between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Finland's successful practice of neutrality can be described as an excellent reference for today's small countries under the cracks of large powers, hoping to oppose the other side with the help of one big country, and it is better to deal with good neighborly relations from left to right.
There is an old Chinese saying that "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors", and this simple philosophy has been practiced by finns and has been fruitful.