The official name of Finland at present. Brief history of Finland

Finland is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering Sweden, Russia, Norway, and Estonia. About 25% of the country's territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle. The history of Finland, according to archaeological and chronicle evidence, began many centuries ago. The toponym “Finnland” was discovered by linguists in such a literary monument as “The Saga of the Ynglings,” written in the 13th century. in Old Icelandic. The Swedes called this the territory where Finnish tribes lived. The self-name of their land was slightly different - Suomi or Sum (recorded in the chronicles of Novgorod in the 12th century). Before the arrival of the Finns, the ancient Sami or Suomi tribes lived in the country, who now live in the Lapland region. That's why they began to call their land Suomi. According to another version, the Finns began to call their land that way because of the large number of swamps.

The area finally began to be called Finland only in the 15th century, when there was no single state. These were disparate associations that differed from each other politically, economically and culturally. Lack of unity between state entities contributed to the fact that Finland was ruled by Sweden for several centuries, then by Russia. The formation of Finnish identity under the influence of external factors occurred faster and was completed by the end of the 18th century. The population and its leaders understood that it was necessary to create their own country, but at the beginning of the 19th century. the territory of the state was annexed as autonomy to the Russian Empire.

The independent period in Finnish history began only after October Revolution, and took place in several stages. Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union did the state get a chance to develop independently without the interference of other countries. Thanks to successful reforms in various areas, Finland joined the European Union in 1995.

Settlement of Finland

Archaeologists say that the settlement of the Finnish part of the Scandinavian Peninsula began in the Stone Age, as soon as the glacier began to recede. This version is confirmed by artifacts found in the region of Southern Finland. But in the mid-1990s. historians made a unique discovery in Western Finland. There is the Wolf Cave, where traces of Neanderthals were found. The age of the finds varies within 40 thousand years. Neanderthals lived in the area of ​​Lake Ladoga, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, collected berries, hunted, and fished.

Scientists cannot determine for sure what language the ancient representatives of Finland spoke. It is possible that they used one of the Uralic languages language family, which at that time was common in Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the European part of Russia.

The population of Finland was small, since migration from the other part of the continent practically did not reach the peninsula.

The formation of the ethnic group took place under the influence of several archaeological cultures, among which the most common were:

• Pit-comb ceramics;
• Battle axes.

The first culture was brought to Finland by Ural-speaking tribes, and the second by Indo-European tribes.

Three ethnic groups gradually formed on the territory of modern Finland:

• Karelians, who lived in the southeastern regions, up to Lake Ladoga;
• Tavasts who lived in the historical area of ​​Em. These are the middle and eastern regions of Finland;
• Suomi/Sum, who occupied the southwestern part of Finland.

By the beginning of our era there arose Finnish, which was spoken by representatives of these ethnic groups. Each of them had its own dialect, but due to their isolated residence, a single language could not be formed.

Finns before the arrival of the Vikings

The ancient Romans already paid attention to the Finnish tribes, who, through their campaigns of conquest, expanded the borders of their empire. In 98 AD, the Roman historian Tacitus, in his essay “Germania,” wrote about the inhabitants of Finland, calling it Fenni. It was indicated that the tribes were on a primitive path of development - they gathered, fished, slept on the ground, and sewed clothes from animal skins. The ancient Finns made all their tools from bone and wood; they did not yet know iron at the beginning of our era. Tacitus wrote that the region was inhabited by Finns and tribes themselves.

Up to 5th century AD, the population in the region increased gradually, as nature and climatic conditions interfered with other industries other than gathering and fishing. The Finns also obtained food for themselves through hunting. In the 5th century the situation gradually began to change, which was associated with the spread of agriculture and the domestication of animals. This allowed people to move towards a more sedentary way of life, which resulted in an increase in the number of inhabitants in Finland. Serious changes took place in social life - the stratification of society began, separate classes appeared, from which the elite emerged. The tribes were already ruled by leaders, in whose hands all the power lay. The territory of modern Finland has always been unevenly populated, but the following trends were observed in the distribution of peoples:

• The Sami lived in the north and northwest, constantly migrated, and led a nomadic way of life. They obtained food by hunting and fishing. The Sami migration areas were vast territories in which the tribes sought food;
• The southwestern coast of the Baltic Sea, the banks of the Kumo River, and the lakes that fed the river were inhabited by settled tribes. The main occupation was agriculture;
• The Åland Islands were inhabited by North Germanic tribes.

During the 8th-11th centuries. Significant changes have occurred in the life of the Finnish population, among which it is worth noting the following:

• Warming caused rapid population growth and improved methods of cultivating the land;
• The northeastern and northern shores of Lake Ladoga began to be populated. From the south, the reservoir was inhabited by the Slavs;
• The Finns began to clash from time to time with the Vikings, who began to build settlements and trade points on the Baltic coast. Strong assimilation did not occur, since the Vikings lived on the coast, and the Finns chose the forest part. But the penetration of some elements from the Viking culture into society, life and political system Finns still happened.

Swedish period: 11th-15th centuries

Finland's stay under the influence of the Vikings and then the Swedes lasted more than seven centuries, starting in 1104 and continuing until 1809. The colonization of this part of the Scandinavian Peninsula occurred in order to curb the trade expansion of Veliky Novgorod.

First, the Vikings settled the territory of Sweden, and then began to colonize the Åland Islands. When in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Sweden arose, whose rulers expanded the borders of the state. Availability of strong royal power contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Swedes in Finland, who created in the 12th century. two archbishoprics in two Swedish cities - Uppsala and Lund. The Catholic faith became tools in the struggle against the political influence of Veliky Novgorod, as well as against the Holy Roman Empire.

The Swedes settled into Finland during the 12th–14th centuries. three crusades:

• The first took place in 1157;
• The second - in 1249-1250;
• Third - 1293-1300.

In 1300, the Landskron fortress was built on the banks of the Neva River, near which hostilities constantly took place between the Swedes and Novgorodians. A peace treaty between the opponents was signed in 1323, establishing Sweden's eastern border. Most of the territory of Finland came under the rule of the kingdom and the Catholic Church, and the cities of Naantali, Pori, Rauma, and Porvo received city rights.

From the middle of the 14th century. Finns began to take part in choosing the king of Sweden, which indicated the transformation of Finland into a full-fledged province of the country. All of Finland at the same time became the property of Bu Jonsson, the chancellor of the kingdom, who contributed to the rise to power of Albrecht of Mecklenburg.

From the end of the 14th century. Sweden signed the Kalmar Union, signed in 1397 by Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It lasted until 1523, and during its existence reforms were carried out in Finland. Their initiators were Eric of Pomerania, King of Sweden. He paid special attention to legal proceedings:

• The laws by which criminals were tried and conflicts in trade were resolved were streamlined;
• The province was divided into southern and northern judicial districts.

Since 1323, the province within Sweden was divided into several parts:

• Western Karelia;
• Alandia;
• Finland;
• Satakunta;
• Thavastlandia;
• Nylandia.

All castles, including Abossky, Vyborgsky and Kronoborgsky, in the province were given to the Swedes, who became the owners of lands, villages, and their inhabitants. But fief ownership was not hereditary. All power in Finland also belonged to the Swedes, who occupied high and low administrative positions. All legal proceedings and documentation were conducted in Swedish, which remained foreign to the Finns. They continued to talk in native language. Finland was planted not only by nobles, but also by representatives of the clergy. Bishops and monasteries also owned land in the province and sent missions to remote areas. Despite the fact that the church had enormous power in its hands, Catholicism did not spread much among the local population. The Finns were more successful in accepting the ideas of the Reformation, without showing any resistance to it. Thanks to this, in the 16-17th centuries. The New Testament and the Bible were translated into Finnish, which contributed to the development of national culture and identity, writing and literature.

The culture and traditions of Sweden penetrated into the Finnish political system and the life of the population of the province, but were completely eradicated ancient culture The Finns and Sami failed. They still worshiped pagan gods and adhered to the cult of their ancestors.

Finland in the 16th-18th centuries.

In 1523, Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden and began active reforms in Finland:

• Allowed to colonize northern lands which were uninhabited. This territory was declared the property of the king. All lands in the north and north-west were completely captured by the Swedes, the local population began to pay taxes to the king;
• Centralized economic system, streamlining taxation and financial management;
• The economy was controlled by the Swedish crown, which completely destroyed the feudal system;
• The church's property was confiscated;
• New trading colonies were created.

The dominance of the Swedes did not suit the Finnish nobility, who sought to separate from the kingdom. But these attempts did not find support among the population, since they suffered from taxes and extortions of the aristocrats. Therefore, they saw the king as a real protector own interests. To prevent Finnish separatism from developing, Gustav Vasa granted his son Johan the right to become Duke of Finland, who tried to secede from Sweden after the death of his father. The internecine struggle continued until 1568, when Johan the Third became king. In 1577, he decided to create a Grand Duchy of Finland, which received its own coat of arms. It depicted a lion. Four years later, Johan the Third included the title of the Grand Duchy of Finland as part of the royal title.

The death of the king caused new strife within the country, during which Finland practically separated from Sweden. Its ruler was the wealthy Finn Klass Fleming, who held the position of stadtholder.

During his reign, an uprising of peasants broke out in the northeastern regions, who were unhappy with the oppression of the aristocrats. The riots were suppressed by Fleming, and the leaders were executed. Fleming's policy of separating the province from Sweden was continued by Arvid Stolarm, who until the end of the 16th century. opposed the Swedish king Charles. In 1599, Finnish separatism was crushed, and the province again came under the influence of the crown. In order to prevent new outbreaks of discontent, the policy of centralization in Finland was significantly strengthened. The rebellious Finns were subject to heavy taxes, and administrative positions continued to be occupied by the Swedes.

Under Gustav II Adolf, Finns began to take part in the work of local authorities and served in the army. But the population of Karelia was dissatisfied with the Swedish autocracy, so they tried to find support for the Russian troops, who entered Karelia in 1656. The campaign was unsuccessful, which is why the local population began to migrate en masse to the border regions of Russia. The empty lands were settled by people from the interior regions of Finland.

During the 17th century. The development of the province was marked by the following events:

• A governor-general appeared, who limited the abuse of power by the Swedes;
• A university was founded in the city of Abo;
• A reduction was carried out, within which the nobles received state-owned lands. They were transferred partly on the basis of a lifetime lease and partly as a lifelong possession. The reduction filled the treasury and transferred vast territories of land to Swedish rule;
• Church literacy began to spread among the population. People learned to read, less often - to write;
• Huge demographic losses - the death of more than 25% of the population - were caused by famine, which spread throughout the province at the end of the 17th century.

End of Swedish rule

The Northern War, which Sweden waged with Russia for the right to access the Baltic Sea, did not concern the Finns in the first years. But from 1710, Peter the Great gave the order to conduct military operations on the territory of Finland, which was conquered four years later. Under the terms of the Nystadt Peace Treaty, Russia received Karelia, Estland, Livonia and Ingria.

After the defeat in the Northern War, the Civil Code (1734) was adopted in the province, and the land issue was also resolved. The Swedish language, traditions and customs were adopted by the nobility, but not by the population of the province. Elizaveta Petrovna decided to take advantage of this, who promised the Finns independence if they during the war of 1741-1743. will come under the rule of the Russian Empire. But the Finns did not respond to the empress’s call, but managed to significantly expand the borders of their state in the Finland region.

At the end of the 1780s. a conspiracy arose among Finnish officers and aristocrats who received the support of Catherine II. While the ruler was thinking, the separatists were discovered and executed. The fate of Finland was decided when the Napoleonic Wars began in Europe. In 1807, the Emperor of the Russian Empire Alexander the First and Napoleon the First met in Tilsit, who granted Russia the right to take the province from Sweden. The new war lasted two years - from 1808 to 1809. – and ended with the transfer of vast Finnish territories to Russian rule.

Alexander the First issued a manifesto on the annexation of Finland. In September 1809, the Peace of Friedrichsgam was signed, under the terms of which Russia received Finland, the Aland Islands, and Västerbotten.

History of Finland as part of Russia

The province received the status of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the empire, which had autonomy rights. To the characteristic features of the development of Finland in 1809-19017. include:

• Preservation of the Lutheran faith, church;
• Having its own government, which was called the Senate;
• The position of the Minister of State Secretary, who represented the affairs of the principality before the emperor, was retained;
• Karelia was included in Finland;
• The capital of the principality became the city of Helsinki, which was rebuilt into a new administrative, political and shopping mall autonomy. The university was also moved here;
• National ideas became widespread, which caused an increase in self-awareness. began to appear literary works written in Finnish. At the same time, the ideological basis for Finnish independence was being formed;
• Reforms of the 1860s contributed to the development of the economy, including industry and trade. Finland has become a center of paper and food industry empires;
• The population grew rapidly and its standard of living rose.

The government of the country saw the principality as an outpost that was supposed to protect the external borders of the empire. As a result, the rulers tried to bind Finland economically, politically, and culturally. But close ties did not arise, which caused an increase in confrontation between Russia and Finland. At the beginning of the 20th century. An elected parliament was created in the principality. Both men and women received the right to choose.

The path to independence

Taking advantage of the fact that a revolution had begun in Russia that put an end to the monarchy, the Finnish Senate declared the principality independent. The government was unable to retain power in its hands, which caused chaos and political disorder in the country. The situation was complicated by the fact that the ideas of socialism began to spread in Finland. Supporters of the new ideology received funding from Russia. The young state turned for help to Germany, which supported the Finns.

Despite Germany's loss in World War I, Finland gained independence from other countries. In 1919, a republic was created in the state, headed by the president. Thanks to the influence of the Western economy, the Finns were able to quickly revive their own industry and trade. At the same time, the internal situation became more complicated, which caused a civil war. The crisis was overcome through the holding of new parliamentary elections, which made it possible to elect representatives from different social classes to government bodies.

In September 1939, World War II broke out, allowing Soviet Union demand from Finland the return of some border areas. The so-called Winter War began, which lasted more than three months. The war ended in March 1940 with the signing of a peace treaty. Finland lost the Hanko Peninsula and some coastal cities.

In 1941, the Continuation War began, in which the Finns received support from Germany. Not a single agreement was signed between the countries, but the Finns and Germans fought against the USSR together. Despite successful military operations, Finland again made significant territorial concessions, which were secured at the Paris Peace Conference. The Soviet Union created military base near the Finnish capital, the government paid large reparations to the USSR, and the government that had been in power during the war was arrested.

Finland was bound with the Soviet Union by the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which made it possible to normalize relations between the countries. But the state was never under occupation by the USSR, which allowed the Finns to develop their own national political system of the northern (Scandinavian) model.

During the second half of the 20th century. The Finnish government carried out reforms aimed at integrating the country into Western European economic and trading systems. Successful policy of maneuvering between the USSR, USA and countries Western Europe, allowed Finland to join several leading European economic organizations, including EFTA and EEC.

Finland gained international recognition in 1975, when the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (now OSCE) was signed in Helsinki.

Finland at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries.

The collapse of the Soviet Union caused the beginning of a deep economic crisis in the state, because of which enterprises began to close en masse, industry began to fade, and many industries ceased to exist altogether.

The government began to carry out reforms, which allowed from the mid-1990s. begin economic recovery. The support of the European Union also played a significant role in the revival of enterprises. In 1992, Finland applied to join the organization because it was interested in developing common system security, market and maintaining a common foreign policy with the countries of Scandinavia and Europe.

Three years later, Finland became a member of the EU. The next step on the path to European integration was the decision to introduce the euro as the national currency; for this, the state entered into the economic and monetary union of the EU.

In the early 2000s. Finland began to actively participate not only in the work of European structures, but also regional ones. Basically, this is the implementation of economic, trade and scientific projects, implemented with the Baltic countries and the Scandinavian Peninsula. At the same time, the country's government supports initiatives to create a unified European security system.

In northern Europe, partly beyond the Arctic Circle, lies an amazing land. The history of Finland dates back to the Stone Age, when tribes of hunters and fishermen roamed the expanses of Suomi. Then they settled down, started farming, were friendly with their neighbors, and enjoyed life among beautiful nature. There are still ongoing debates about where the ancestors of today's Finns came from. Most likely, as some historians believe, they came from the east and mixed with the small local population. It should be noted that only in the twentieth century did the hardworking people of this country gain independence. Before this, the Finns had never had statehood.

The land of virgin forests, thousands of lakes and incredibly beautiful islands fascinates from the first moments. Here the seasons change very contrastingly: each has its own color, smells and sounds. Here you can admire the northern lights to your heart's content and even chat with the real Santa. And also - to feel the cordiality and hospitality local residents. Geographical location contributed to the fact that the Roman Empire never made its claims to these lands. Even Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism reached these places only at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries.

But it was not possible to avoid the expansion of the Swedish crown. Three crusades against neighbors led to the fact that already in the 16th century the southwestern part of Suomi became Swedish territory. Western values ​​and the way of life based on them have become firmly entrenched in the culture of a country that has long been pagan. As a result of reform processes, Finland becomes the northernmost Protestant country. This movement gave a strong boost to the development of writing and literacy. If you look at history, the time Finland was part of Sweden can be characterized as four centuries of peace and prosperity.

Photo: Pentti Rautio / Wikimedia Commons

She was the eastern outpost of Sweden, which was reckoned with and respected. And in the east the power of Russia grew more and more. A war begins between Russia and Sweden and the Swedes are defeated in this northern war. And in 1703, the new capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, grew on the banks of the Neva. The Russian emperor needed Finland as a buffer zone in relation to Europe. In 1809, the Treaty of Friedrichsham was signed and the entire territory passed to Russia.

WITH early XIX centuries, the reforms carried out by the Russian tsars and the granting of autonomy to Suomi allowed it to begin to develop as an industrial country. In addition, autonomy helped preserve the traditional church, Finnish culture and the way of life of the Finns. It must be said that the capital until 1812 was the city of Turku. However, Emperor Alexander II ordered it to be moved. And also - to completely rebuild this one.

Photo: tap5a / pixabay.com

The history of Finland carefully preserves the memory of this Russian autocrat. It seemed to many that in a short time there would be a connection with Russia. But this was not destined to happen. Centuries-old ties with Sweden, continuous trade with it, a culture and mentality different from Russian ones, have allowed the Finns to preserve their special features.

Finland as an independent state

TO end of the 19th century century, the Finnish national idea received strong development. This was facilitated by the achievement of Independence, which occurred in 1917. But the young country, which had never experienced statehood before, suffered from the lack of power that could restore order. This factor, as well as the chaos in Russia, led to the emergence of civil confrontation.

The White Army was supported by Germany, and the socialist-minded rebels by Russia. The first, having defeated the rebels, received complete victory. In the summer of 1919, a republican form of government was established. The history of Finland characterizes the first decades of the existence of the young state as a real test. But it is worth noting that the country withstood them with honor. Russian sales markets were replaced by European ones, and the culture was already adapted from the West long ago.

Photo: Ludicael/Wikimedia Commons

But political strife in the history of Finland lasted until 1937, until a full-fledged parliament finally began to function. It was he who prepared the basis for the future well-being of the state. But the path to a good life was still far away. In 1939, the Soviet Union attacks Finland. The 105-day war was called the “Winter War,” and as a result they had to make some territorial concessions. The Western press sympathized with the Finns, Sweden helped a little financially, but in their war they found themselves alone with an external enemy. Not a single European state provided military assistance.

Therefore, the government entered into an unspoken agreement with Germany. All subsequent USSR interventions were successfully repulsed with the help of German military equipment. However, in World War II, as you know, the USSR won. As a result of the signing of the peace treaty, Finland again made serious territorial concessions, and also had to pay significant reparations to the winner. The history of Finland after the war is a systematic movement towards increased prosperity, peaceful coexistence with other states, and a course towards the development of economically important industries.

Photo: Tiia Monto / Wikimedia Commons

In the early 90s, economic problems began. And the government decides to apply to join the European Union. This was the most reasonable decision both from the point of view of economic and political security. On January 1, 1995, it became a full member of the European Union. By the way, it should be noted that residents’ sentiments regarding the EU are not always clear. But many analysts and economists agree that the country has greatly benefited from such participation.

At the moment, this is a prosperous state with a high level of well-being of the people. Family, the younger generation and care for the elderly are the main directions social policy. And, it must be said, the matter here is not limited to declarations. In conclusion, it must be said that the history of Finland is not at all easy, but Finnish citizens have withstood all the trials that befell them with honor and are now only moving forward. In our next article we will tell you. You will find out when these events occurred and under what circumstances.

The words “Finland” and “Finns” refer to the first centuries of our era, to the people who lived in the north, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. They were called "fenny". The Finns themselves call themselves Suomalaiset, and their country - Suomi (the word suo in Finnish means “swamp”). Finns are the ethnic majority inhabiting Finland. Swedes, Russians and gypsies also live in the country.

The historical roots of the Finnish language were the subject of controversy in the 1920–30s. Today Finns recognize the commonality of their language with Swedish and other Scandinavian languages. The differences between urban, industrialized Finland in the southwest and rural areas in the northeast laid the foundation for a national cultural identity.

At the political level, socialist and non-socialist ideals are fighting. Despite all the differences, the majority of citizens are convinced of their belonging to one common culture and historical heritage.

Education of the country

The first human settlements on the territory of modern Finland were founded in the post-glacial period, at the end of the 8th millennium BC, long before the migrations of Finno-Ugric peoples from the east.

It was previously believed that the ancestors of the Finns migrated to southwest Finland from Estonia relatively recently, in the 1st century AD, during the Roman Iron Age. Recent evidence, including paleoectological studies of crops, has shown that the ancient Finns lived much earlier.

A range of archaeological, historical, linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that Proto-Finnish culture arose in these lands around 4000 BC, and was formed through the migration of peoples from areas of Eastern Europe. The Corded Ware culture dates back to 3000 BC.

At this time, the ancestors of the Finns were divided into two language groups: Some spoke Sami, others Finnish. Finnish-speaking ancestors, in addition to hunting and gathering, also engaged in cattle breeding and fishing. Back to top Bronze Age(around 15,000 BC), the tribes were also divided geographically: the inhabitants of the southwest were strongly influenced by Scandinavian cultures, and the eastern regions were closer to the traditions and customs of the Volga region.

Thanks to the Crusades, initiated by the ever-expanding Kingdom of Sweden, the Catholic faith actively spread in Finland between 1150 and 1293. By the time the Protestant movement matured in the 16th century, the Swedes had considerable power over colonial Finland, so many Finns were forced to join the banners of the Swedish feudal lords in various military campaigns.

Conflicts between the Swedish and Russian empires led to the destruction of many Finnish settlements and the destruction of agricultural land. By the middle of the 18th century, strong separatist sentiments emerged in Finnish society. As a result of the Napoleonic wars of 1808-1809, Russia subjugated Finland - it became an autonomous Grand Duchy.

Finnish national identity

The 19th century was a time of reflection on national identity in science, politics, art and literature, and the Karelian songs in Kalevala are one of many examples of this. This movement was a counterpoint to the growing movement of Russification of Finnish institutions. declared its independence immediately after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The new state immediately became mired in civil war, which occurred due to irreconcilable contradictions between property owners (“whites”) and landless peasants, along with factory workers (“reds”), who advocated building a socialist state.

The scars from these military clashes had not yet healed when it was drawn into the Second World War along with the Soviet Union. world war. The Finns lost part of the eastern territories, which amounted to 10% of the total area of ​​the country. 420 thousand Karelian Finns who lived on these lands migrated to Finland, demanding the introduction of a resettlement program and land reform.

After World War II, the country's government maintained a policy of strict neutrality, combined with well-established trade and cultural contacts with the USSR and later with Russia. This direction of foreign policy was called the Paasikivi-Kekkonen line.

Ethnic relations

Swedish is the second language state language Finland. It is spoken by about 6% of the country's population. For centuries, Swedish colonists living in southwestern Finland were the ruling elite. Swedish was the language of trade, judicial system and education, Finnish was considered more of a peasant language until the nationalist movement in the 19th century declared it the language of the official national culture.

The political tensions that resulted from the ethnolinguistic division gradually eased as the Swedish and Russian ethnic populations dwindled and assimilated through marriages with the native Finns. The small Sami people, on the contrary, escaped assimilation.

Over the course of two thousand years, they gradually moved from the south of the country to the north. The isolation of the Sami was intensified due to the process of economic marginalization and disabilities in receiving education in Lapland, which led to the cultural and linguistic isolation of the people.

Gypsies have lived in Finland since the 16th century. There are, according to various estimates, from 5 to 6 thousand people. IN recent years The Finnish government is trying to improve their situation and combat various manifestations of ethnic discrimination. The number of immigrants increased to 74 thousand people. Mostly people come from Russia, Estonia, Sweden and Somalia.

The English fleet bombards the Finnish coast and the Bromarsund fortress on the Åland Islands.
1863 The struggle led by Snellman for recognition of the Finnish language as equal to Swedish ends in victory.
Nicholas II Issues a manifesto. The Constitution is repealed. Governor Bobrikov begins a policy of Russification. In the same year, Jean Sibelius created his symphonic poem “Finland”, which became a kind of national anthem.
1904 Murder of Bobrikov. General strike during the First Russian Revolution. Restoration of Finnish autonomy.
Democratic elections to parliament are taking place. For the first time in Europe, women are participating in elections.
1915-1918 Finnish volunteers act on the side of Germany in the World War.
1917 (December 6) Finnish independence is declared.
1918-1919 Civil war in Finland with the support of Soviet Russia.
1919 Constitution of Finland. Carlo Juho Stolberg, who returned from Siberian exile, is appointed the first president.
1921 The Åland Islands become autonomous.
1921 Second Soviet-Finnish War, ending with the Peace of Tartu. Finland gains access to the sea at Petsamo.
1932 Conclusion of a Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union. Elimination of the nationalist putsch. Banning the Communist Party.
1939 - 1940 Winter War with Soviet Russia.
1941-1944 Continuation War for a return to pre-war borders, as well as the conquest of the northern lands of the USSR
1944-1945 Lapland War.
1945 - 1946 Trial of Finnish war criminals.
1947 Paris Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union.
1948 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the USSR.
1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki.
1972 At Kekkonen's initiative, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe is being held.
1975 On August 1, the Declaration of Helsinki was signed by 35 heads of state in Helsinki.
1991 The beginning of a severe economic crisis due to the collapse of the USSR.
1995 Finland is part of the EU.

Prehistoric period

The question of the origins of the Finns is still the subject of a number of, sometimes contradictory, theories. Excavations carried out in Southern Finland indicate that Stone Age people lived here 9,000 years ago, that is, they appeared here immediately after the retreat of the glacier.

On the territory of modern Finland, the remains of the most ancient settlements were found in the area bounded by the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia and Lake Ladoga; the more northern regions were at that time still occupied by gradually retreating continental ice. These ancient inhabitants were hunters, gatherers and fishermen (the National Museum in Helsinki houses the oldest fishing net ever found). There is no consensus as to what language they spoke. There is an opinion that these could be the languages ​​of the Uralic language family (to which modern Finnish also belongs), since it is reliably known about the prevalence of languages ​​of this group in the territories where the European part of Russia and the Baltic states are now located.

The most likely way of forming the population of Finland was the mixing of the indigenous and newcomer populations. Gene analysis data indicate that the modern gene pool of Finns is 20-25% represented by the Baltic genotype, about 25% by Siberian and 25-50% by German.

However, over the centuries until the twentieth century, the composition of the population was stable due to weak contacts with residents of other countries. The predominant type of marriages were marriages among residents of the same settlement or limited region. This explains that among Finns there are up to 30 hereditary diseases, which in other countries are either completely unknown or extremely rare. This suggests that Finland did not experience waves of resettlement for a long time, and initially there were very few

The prehistoric cultures of Suomusjärvi, pit-comb pottery, pit pottery, Kiukais and a number of others were represented on the territory of Finland. The Kiukais culture was a peculiar hybrid of the Indo-European culture of battle axes and the Ural-speaking culture of pit-comb ceramics; it formed the basis of the later Finnish ethnic group.

Recently, historians are inclined to believe that already 1000-1500 BC. e. During the Bronze Age there was a prehistoric Finnish language spoken by the aborigines. Then, on the basis of contacts between them and tribes speaking the Finno-Ugric dialect, the modern Finnish language arose. Later the Sami also switched to this language.

A thousand years after Tacitus it became possible to talk about existence of three population branches:

« Actually Finns" living in the southwest of the country or sum (suomi);
Tavastas- in Central and Eastern Finland or Em;
Karelians- in South-Eastern Finland to Lake Ladoga. In many respects they differed from each other and were often at odds with each other. Having pushed the Sami to the north, they had not yet had time to merge into one nationality.

Common Era (before 1150)

The first mention of Finland (Fenni) appeared in Tacitus in his work Germania (98). The author, guided only by stories, describes the inhabitants of this country as primitive savages who know neither weapons, nor horses, nor dwellings, but eat herbs and dress dressed in animal skins and sleeping on the ground. Their only weapons are spears, which they, not knowing iron, make from bone. Tacitus distinguishes between the Finns and Sami (=Lappen), a neighboring people who lived during the transition to our century on the same territory and apparently had a similar way of life.

Decisive battles for the capture of the eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland and the interior of the country took place at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries. Marshal Thorkel Knutsson during the third crusade in 1293 he made a campaign against the Novgorodians, conquered southwestern Karelia and founded Vyborg Castle there in 1293, and in 1300 the Swedes built the Landskrona fortress on the banks of the Neva River, which a year later was taken by the Novgorodians led by the son of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Andrei Gorodetsky , after which the fortress was destroyed.

Hostilities between the Swedes and Novgorodians continued almost continuously until 1323, when the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson, with the assistance of the Hanseatic people, concluded a peace treaty with the Novgorod prince Yuri Daniilovich on Orekhovy Island at the source of the Neva River. This treaty established the eastern border of Swedish possessions.

From the Novgorod Chronicle:

It was not only a political border, but also a border that subsequently separated two religions and two cultures. Finland and its inhabitants were mainly associated with the Swedish state and the Catholic Church. The settlements of Rauma, Porvo, Pori and Naantali became the first to receive city rights, along with Turku and Vyborg. .

Bu Jonsson Lands

Due to the remoteness of the country, the weakness of the Swedish government and the chaotic state of government in the era preceding and following the Union of Kalmar, the Swedish nobles who owned fiefs in Finland ruled their areas almost independently.

Throughout much of the 14th and 15th centuries, Sweden experienced protracted infighting over succession to the throne. The king's power was weak, but the nobility had a very strong position.

He imposed feudal orders there, but they did not take root in this poor, uncultured and sparsely populated country.

The era of the Kalmar Union

With this unification begins the last era of the medieval history of Sweden, the so-called era of the Kalmar Union (1389-1523).

Reign of Gustav Vasa (1523-1560)

One of the first and most zealous champions of Protestantism in Finland was Mikael Agricola (-), the son of a Finnish fisherman, later the bishop of Abo. He created the Finnish alphabet, translated first the prayer book into Finnish, then the New Testament (1548). The preface to the prayer book expressed the confidence that “God, who reads in the hearts of people, will, of course, also understand the Finn’s prayer.” With this Agricola laid the foundation for Finnish writing.

Gustav Vasa

Under Gustav Vas, the colonization of the northern empty spaces began, with a decisive centralization in the economy consisting in the fact that taxation and financial management, previously based on a system of feudal rights, now began to enter the sphere of direct control of the centralized state. Financial difficulties of the royal power, which led to the almost complete confiscation of church property, led to the declaration of the uninhabited lands of Finland as royal property in 1542, this paved the way for extensive territorial expansion, especially in Savolax, where settlements extended hundreds of kilometers in the northern and northwestern directions and began to generate income in the form of taxes.

In order to compete with Tallinn (Revel), located on the Estonian coast, Helsingfors was founded under him (1550).

After Gustav Vasa (1560-1617)

Borders of Sweden in 1560.

After the death of Gustav Vasa, his estates were divided between his sons Erik, Johan and Karl. His son Duke Johan decided to secede from Sweden and become an independent sovereign. He fought with his brother Eric XIV, who became king (1560-1568), but was defeated and taken captive to Stockholm. In 1568, Eric XIV was dethroned by Johan and another brother, Charles, and imprisoned, losing "all royal rights over Sweden."

Of the external events of that time, the Stolbovo Peace Treaty () was especially important for Finland, according to which Russia ceded a vast area to Sweden - the so-called Kexholm District.

The Orthodox and Russified Karelian population of this area reluctantly accepted their new situation. When Russian troops under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich invaded Karelia, the population joined them. Fearing the revenge of the Swedes, the Orthodox Korels, after the retreat of the Russian troops, almost all moved to Russia. Their place was taken by immigrants from the interior of Finland.

In the Thirty Years' War, Finnish troops played a prominent role; Field Marshal Horn was Finnish. Taxes and conscription levies depleted the country's strength. Added to this were the abuses of officials who ruled the country rather unceremoniously. Incessant complaints from the population prompted the government (during the regency on the occasion of Queen Christina's infancy) to appoint a governor-general in Finland, Per Brahe (1637-1640 and 1648-1650). This was one of the best representatives of bureaucracy of that time. He did a lot to improve the economic well-being of the country and to spread education; His main work was the founding of a university in Abo (1640), which was later moved to Helsingfors.

The reign of Carl Χ Gustav (1654-1660) left no traces in Finland. His successor Karl ΧΙ (1660-1697), relying on the sympathy of the peasants, townspeople and clergy, carried out the so-called reduction. The successors of Gustavus Adolphus, in need of money, distributed vast areas of state-owned lands to the nobles, partly in the form of lifelong or hereditary leases, partly as full ownership. Due to reduction acts, all lands of the first class and most of the second went to the treasury. The reduction had enormous social significance for Finland, preventing the emergence of a landed nobility. Under Charles XI, the army was reorganized on the basis of the settlement system, which remained in its main features until the 19th century. The time of Charles XI was the reign of orthodox Protestantism. While persecuting heretics, often quite severely, the church also resorted to educational measures. The activity in this direction of Bishops Terzerus (1658-1664), Geselius the Elder (1664-1690) and Geselius the Younger (1690-1718) is especially memorable. From that time on, church literacy began to spread among the Finnish population, which, however, did not go beyond the ability to read. In 1686, a church charter was issued, which was repealed in Finland only in 1869. At the end of the reign of Charles XI, Finland suffered a terrible famine that exterminated almost a quarter of the population.

Northern War

Russian troops were in Finland until 1721, when the Peace of Nystadt was concluded. According to the terms of the peace treaty, Livonia, Estland, Ingria and Karelia were ceded to Russia.

The era of the rule of the estates (1719-1724)

In Sweden, power after death Charles XII passed into the hands of the oligarchy. The Russian government, taking advantage of the troubles in government, interfered in the internal affairs of Sweden, supported the “hat” party, and openly bought the votes of deputies. The “Shapki” wanted to maintain peaceful relations with Russia; their opponents, the “hats,” dreamed of revenge and the restoration of Sweden’s external power in alliance with France (see history of Sweden). The Finnish deputies of the Riksdag did not form a separate party; some (mainly nobles) took the side of the “hat”, others (the clergy and townspeople) - the side of the “hat”, but since they held a single position, they managed to carry out several events aimed at raising the well-being of the country devastated by the war. Of the legislative acts of that time, common to Sweden and Finland, the civil code of 1734 adopted by the Riksdag was especially important, which, with later additions, remained in force in Finland to the present day. The regulation of land relations was also begun, completed under Gustav III, the so-called “great demarcation.” The Swedish language and Swedish morals were finally established among the upper class of the Finnish population.

Despite this, it was then that signs of separatism were revealed in the leadership circles of Finnish society. . During the Swedish-Russian War of 1741-1743, Empress Elizabeth issued a manifesto to the inhabitants of Finland, in which she promised to form an independent state from Finland under the condition of voluntary submission to Russia. The manifesto was not successful; the war continued and ended in peace in Abo. The Russian-Finnish border moved west to the Kyumen River.

The era of Gustav III (1771-1792)

Russian rule (1809-1917)

Grand Duchy of Finland

Finland passed on the Treaty of Friedrichsham "into the property and sovereign possession of the Russian Empire". Even before the conclusion of peace, in June, an order was issued to convene deputies from the nobility, clergy, townspeople and peasants to submit opinions on the needs of the country. Alexander I at the Landtag in Porvo spoke in French a speech in which, among other things, he said: “I promised to preserve your Constitution (votre constitution), your fundamental laws; your meeting here certifies the fulfillment of my promises.” The next day, the members of the Sejm took an oath that “they recognize as their sovereign Alexander I the Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, the Grand Duke of Finland, and will preserve the fundamental laws and constitutions of the region as they currently exist.” The Sejm was asked four questions - about the army, taxes, coins and the establishment of a government council; after discussion, their deputies were dissolved. Some laws from the Swedish era are still in effect today. Based on these laws, Finland was able to proclaim its independence de jure without a revolution, since there was a 1772 law on the form of government, whose § 38 provided for actions in case the ruling family was interrupted. It is noteworthy that in Sweden itself this law was repealed in the year of Finland’s annexation to Russia. All issues of Finnish self-government relating to Finnish affairs were carried out through the residence of the Finnish minister - the Secretary of State with a residence in St. Petersburg, signed by the tsar and did not go through the Russian bureaucracy. This created the possibility of involving liberal-minded leaders who were not free from Swedish influence in solving internal affairs. .

In 1812, Helsinki became the capital of Finland. The purpose of this was to provide an opportunity to territorially reorient the Finnish elite towards St. Petersburg. For the same reason, in 1828 the university from Turku was transferred to new capital. Alexander's instructions to begin monumental construction in the capital on the model of neoclassical St. Petersburg acted in the same direction. The work was entrusted to the architects Ehrenstrom and Engel. At the same time, work began to improve the territory's infrastructure.

During this era, the Finns, perhaps for the first time in history, felt themselves to be a single nation, with a common culture, history, language and identity. In all areas public life Patriotic enthusiasm reigned. [source?] In 1835, E. Lenrot published Kalevala. immediately recognized not only in the country, but also by the world community as the national Finnish epic, which has taken an honorable place in world literature. Runeberg composes songs with patriotic content.

The mood in the country was strongly influenced by the bourgeois revolutions in Europe. The response to them was the cessation of the activities of the Finnish Landtag, the introduction of censorship and the secret police. . However, Nicholas, preoccupied with serious international problems, such as the Polish uprising, intervention in Hungary and, finally, the Crimean War, did not attach serious importance to the nationalist movement in Finland.

Leave the Finns alone. This is the only part of my state that has never driven us to anger

He spoke to Tsarevich Alexander.

IN Crimean War The coastal cities of Suomenlinna, Hanko, Kotka and especially the Bromarsund fortress on the Åland Islands were bombed by the English squadron. .

From 1898 to 1904, the Governor-General of Finland was Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov. He pursued a policy of establishing uniformity of order in Finland and the rest of the empire, which sometimes ran counter to the constitution of the grand duchy. In 1904, he was assassinated on the steps of the Senate, and then a general strike followed, which did not make the proper impression on the tsarist government, preoccupied with the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the outbreak of the revolution. The Russian Revolution of 1905 coincided with the rise of the Finnish separatist movement, and all of Finland joined the All-Russian Strike. Political parties, especially the Social Democrats, took part in this movement and put forward their reform program. Nicholas II was forced to repeal decrees limiting Finnish autonomy. In 1906, a new democratic election law was passed, which gave women the right to vote. Finland became the first territory in Europe where women received the right to vote. With the establishment of universal suffrage, the number of voters in the country increased 10 times, the old four-estate Sejm was replaced by a unicameral parliament.

In 1908 - 1914, as the Russian state strengthened, the policy of Russification continued, and the activities of the Finnish parliament were blocked by tsarist vetoes. At the same time, a wave of patriotic protest arose in the country. During the First World War, sympathy for Germany intensified - a detachment of Finnish volunteers was trained there. .

1917

Independent Finland

In 1917, the police were disbanded and ceased to maintain order. Organized militia groups began to spontaneously arise almost throughout Finland. The detachments were formed according to ideological and political preferences. Supporters of bourgeois parties formed detachments of the White Guard (Finnish Guard Corps, Shutskor), supporters of socialists and communists formed detachments of the Red Guard. This often led to armed clashes. A number of units in the territory occupied by the Reds in 1918 were called “fire brigades” for the sake of conspiracy. In addition, Russian army troops remained on Finnish territory.

On January 9, 1918, the Svinhufvud government authorized the command of the White Guard to restore public order in the country. On January 12, Eduskunta adopted laws granting emergency powers to the government of Svinhufvud and placing the White Guard (Schutzkor) under state support.

At the same time, the moderates and radicals of the Social Democratic Party created the Workers' Executive Committee, which prepared a plan for the coup. They decided to carry out the coup with the help of military assistance promised by Lenin on January 13, for which it was necessary to ensure the delivery of weapons to Helsinki. It was delivered on January 23, 1918.

On January 25, the Senate proclaimed the self-defense units as government troops and appointed Gustav Mannerheim, who had arrived in Helsinki only a month earlier, as commander-in-chief. Since the capital could be fired upon from the Sveaborg fortress and by the Russian fleet, the center of defense was moved to Vaasa. Mannerheim's initial task was only to organize troops loyal to the government.

Civil War (January - May 1918)

The order to march was given in Helsinki on January 26, 1918 on behalf of representatives of the Red Guards and the Social Democratic Party Committee. In the evening, a signal of uprising - a red light - was lit above the workers' house in Helsinki. Between the troops of the Finnish Senate and the Finnish People's Council began open war. On the first day, the Reds managed to capture only the railway station. The city was completely under control the next day. The Reds came to power in many other southern cities.

A united front between the whites and the reds was established at the beginning of the war along the line Pori - Ikaalinen - Kuru - Vilpula - Lankipohja - Padasjoki - Heinola - Mantyharju - Savitaipale - Lappeenranta - Antrea - Rauta. Both sides still had centers of resistance in the rear, which were cleared of the enemy by the end of February. In the White rear these were Oulu, Tornio, Kemi, Raahe, Kuopio and Varkaus. In the Red rear are Uusikaupunki, Siuntio-Kirkkonummi and the Porvo area. The 1918 war was a “railroad” war because railways were the most important routes for troop movement. Therefore, the parties fought for the main railway junctions such as Haapamäki, Tampere, Kouvola and Vyborg. The Whites and Reds each had 50,000 - 90,000 soldiers. The Red Guards were assembled mainly from volunteers. There were only 11,000 - 15,000 volunteers on the white side.

The Reds were unable to resist the well-organized troops, who soon captured Tampere and Helsinki. The last stronghold of the Reds, Vyborg, fell in April 1918.

Formation of statehood

Under the influence civil war many politicians were disillusioned with the republic and were inclined to believe that the monarchy best form government to preserve peaceful life. Secondly, they believed that if there was a king from Germany, this country would support Finland in the face of a threat from Russia. It is worth mentioning that most of the countries of Europe were monarchies at that time, and all of Europe believed that restoration was possible in Russia too. All that remained was to find a suitable candidate. At first they relied on the son of the German Emperor Wilhelm II himself, Oscar, but were refused. As a result, the emperor’s brother-in-law was elected king of Finland in the fall. In August 1918, the Kingdom of Finland was created for a short time.

Before the arrival of the elected king in Finland and his coronation, the duties of the head of state were to be performed by the regent - the current de facto head of the state, the chairman of the Senate (Government of Finland) Per Evind Svinhuvud.

However, just a month later, a revolution occurred in Germany. On November 9, William II left power and fled to the Netherlands, and on November 11, the Compiegne Peace Agreement was signed, ending the First World War.

Gustav Mannerheim in 1918

Kaarlo Juho Stolberg

The Eduskunta, convened in April 1919, was attended by 80 moderate Social Democrats, as well as Old Finns and representatives of the progressive and agrarian parties. A new constitution of the country was adopted.

On July 17, 1919, government reform took place (fin. Vuoden 1919 hallitusmuoto).

Finland 1920-1940

After the end of the civil war in Finland with the victory of the “whites,” Finnish troops in May 1918 moved beyond the borders of the former Grand Duchy to occupy Eastern Karelia. On May 15, 1918, the Finnish government officially declared war against Soviet Russia.

Disputed issues with Soviet Russia were settled thanks to a peace treaty signed in Dorpat (Tartu) in October 1920. That same year, Finland was admitted to the League of Nations.

On April 5, 1932, at exactly 10 a.m., Prohibition ended in force in Finland. Also in 1932, the activities of the Communist Party were banned in Finland.

In 1934, this non-aggression pact was extended for 10 years.

On September 30, 1927, the State Sejm adopted the “Maritime Law,” which provided for the construction of warships for the national fleet. The Finnish Ministry of Defense decided to start creating a fleet with two battleships, and to build them in their own country at the Creighton-Vulcan shipyards in Turku and in a very specific class of warships - coastal defense battleships. The displacement was 4000 tons, the armament was 4x254 mm; 8x105 mm, speed - 15.5 knots.

Preparations for war proceeded with great difficulty due to the resistance of parliamentary deputies who were pacifistically inclined and constantly cut allocations for defense, including for the repair and modernization of field fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. Shortly before the Maynila incident, Prime Minister Cajander, speaking to the reservists, stated:

We are proud that we have few weapons rusting in our arsenals, few military uniforms rotting and moldy in warehouses. But in Finland we have a high standard of living and an education system that we can be proud of

At the same time, exercises of the people's militia ("Schützkor") took place, and military sports games (Finnish: "Suunnistaminen") were held among youth, in which special attention was paid to the development of terrain orientation skills. Finnish women, united in the ranks of the Lotta Svärd organization, played a significant role in supporting the army.

Until the outbreak of World War II, Finland maintained neutrality. Relations with the USSR gradually deteriorated, especially after the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact to include Finland, the Baltic countries and eastern Poland in the Soviet sphere of influence. Negotiations with the USSR, in which the USSR offered to exchange the territories adjacent to Leningrad belonging to Finland for its own twice as large in area, distant from Leningrad, were not successful. Finland made a request to the Swedish government to strengthen the Åland Islands.

The Soviet-Finnish negotiations that took place in Moscow in the fall of 1939 did not lead to any result. On November 26, the Maynila Incident occurred at the border. Each side blamed the other for what happened. The Finnish government's proposal to look into the incident was rejected. On November 28, 1939, Soviet Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Molotov announced the termination of the previously concluded non-aggression pact; on November 30, 1939, Soviet troops invaded Finland. At the request of the international community, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations for obvious aggression against a small country.

Unexpectedly for the Soviet command, Finland put up strong resistance. The offensive on the Karelian Isthmus was stopped, attempts to dissect the country and reach the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia ended in failure. For a time, the war took on a positional character. But in February 1940, the Soviet Union, having assembled 45 divisions numbering about a million people with 3,500 aircraft, 3,200 tanks against an army that had no tanks, with 287 aircraft and an army of 200,000 people, began a powerful offensive. The Mannerheim Line was broken; the Finns were forced to systematically retreat. The Finns' hope for help from England and France was in vain, and on March 12 a peace treaty was signed in Moscow. Finland ceded to the USSR the Rybachy Peninsula in the north, part of Karelia with Vyborg, the northern Ladoga region, and the Hanko Peninsula was leased to the USSR for a period of 30 years.

Short-lived peace (1940-1941)

Main article: Temporary world

In 1940, Finland, seeking to implement its revanchist plans to return lost lands and occupy new territories, cooperated with Germany and began preparing for a joint attack on the Soviet Union. On June 7, 1941, the first German troops involved in the implementation of the Barbarossa plan arrived. On June 17, the order was given to mobilize the entire field army.

Beginning on June 22, 1941, German Luftwaffe bombers began using Finnish airfields. On the same day, from two German Heinkel He 115 seaplanes ( English), starting from Oulujärvi, 16 Finnish saboteurs were landed near the locks of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. The saboteurs were supposed to blow up the gateways, however, due to increased security, they were unable to do this. On the same day, three Finnish submarines laid mines off the Estonian coast, and their commanders had orders to attack Soviet ships if they met.

On the 25th, the USSR carried out a massive airstrike on Finnish airfields where German aircraft were supposedly located. On the same day, Finland declared war on the USSR.

On June 29, a joint offensive of Finnish and German troops began from the territory of Finland. The German government promised Finland to help regain all territories lost under the Moscow Treaty and provided Finland with guarantees of independence. In December 1941, the British government declared war on Finland. In 1944, Finland began to look for a way out to peace. In 1944, Mannerheim succeeded President Risto Ryti.

Lapland War (1944-1945)

European Union (1994)

In 1992, Finland applied for admission to the European Union. On October 16, 1994, Finns voted to join the European Union (57% for, 43% against). Parliament ratified the results of the referendum after long obstruction by opponents of accession. Finland became a member of the European Union on January 1, 1995.

History of Finland

The first inhabitants appeared on the territory of present-day Finland in the 7th millennium BC. About 2-3 thousand years ago, a wave of Finno-Ugric migrants from the Volga regions reached these lands. By the 1st millennium AD, the Finnish lands were inhabited by two large tribes: the Sum in the southwest and the Em in the central part. Starting from the 9th century, they were repeatedly attacked by their western neighbors - the Vikings, who paved the way here “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” The conquest was accompanied by the introduction of Christianity, so these wars went down in history under the name of “crusades.”

By 1249, Sweden had subjugated the entire territory of Finland. In 1293, the Swedes moved further east and conquered Western Karelia from Veliky Novgorod. On the new border they founded the Vyborg Fortress (now the city of Vyborg). For the next 30 years, there was a continuous struggle between the neighbors for these lands. In 1323, according to the Treaty of Orekhovsk, Western Karelia ceded to Sweden. The Karelian tribes who lived here mixed with the Sumy and Emya, forming the Finnish people. Big role The Swedish king Gustav Vasa (1523-1560) played a role in preserving and developing the national identity of the Finns. He founded the city of Helsinki, and during his reign, Bishop Mikael Agricola, Finnish writing was developed and part of the Bible was translated into Finnish. Since then the initial schooling Finns were made in their native language.

In 1284, Finland became a duchy, and in 1581 it received the status of a Grand Duchy and its own local Diet, which existed only nominally, since Finland was subordinate to the Swedish crown and the viceroy of the Swedish king ruled here.

As a result Russian-Swedish war In 1809, Finnish lands were captured by Russia. The Grand Duchy of Finland received autonomy. In March 1809 in Porvoo, at the Finnish Diet, convened for the first time, Alexander I guaranteed the preservation of the old legislation; the country was allowed to introduce its own currency, postal and railway systems. The Sejm formed a government headed by a governor-general, who was appointed by the king and was directly subordinate to him; in St. Petersburg later (in 1811) a special Committee on Finnish Affairs was created. The first governor of the Russian sovereign in Finland was Barclay de Tolly, the future hero of the war with Napoleon.

In 1811, the Vyborg province, formed from lands that had been transferred to Russia earlier - in 1721 and 1743, was included in the Grand Duchy of Finland.

In 1812, the Finnish capital was moved from Turku to Helsinki, and therefore rapid construction of a new city began. Through the efforts and imagination of St. Petersburg architects, what was previously a small village of Helsinki turned into a modern European city in a few years. In 1876, a railway stretched from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.

In 1917, in connection with the fall of the tsarist regime in Russia, the Finnish Sejm adopted a declaration declaring Finland an independent state. (This day, December 6, is a national holiday in the country.) The Council of People's Commissars easily recognized the state independence of Finland with Resolution No. 101 of December 18, 1917. The document was signed by Ulyanov (Lenin), Trotsky, Stalin, Schlicht, Bonch-Bruevich and others. On January 4, 1918, the resolution was approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The border between Finland and Russia passed along the Sestra River, 30 km from Petrograd.

The peaceful separation of Finland from Russia was marked by the beginning of a brutal and bloody civil war within the country. The Finnish proletariat, inspired by the victories of its neighbor, rose up in an uprising, which ended on January 28, 1918 with the seizure of power and the formation of a revolutionary government - the Council of People's Representatives. The resistance to the overthrown bourgeois government was led by Baron Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, a native of Russia, a former cavalry guard, lieutenant general, who commanded during the First World War cavalry division and served at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Russian Army, who did not want to return with the Russian troops recalled after the separation of Finland to Bolshevik Russia. In 1933 he became Marshal of Finland, and from 1944 to 1946 he was its President.

Unable to turn the tide of the struggle in its favor, the bourgeois government turned to Germany for help. At the beginning of April 1918, German expeditionary forces arrived in Finland. By May 5, the socialist workers' republic in Finland was over.

The assembled Diet voted to establish a monarchy and, in an effort to secure further German support, elected as king a representative of the German ruling house, a relative of Emperor William II, Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse. Monarchist plans were thwarted by the November revolution in Germany, as well as the arrival of a republican majority in the Finnish Diet. On July 17, 1919, a constitution was introduced, according to which Finland was proclaimed a bourgeois republic.

The new government was anti-Soviet. Armed clashes repeatedly occurred on the border with the Soviet Union and in border Karelia.

In 1932, a treaty on non-aggression and peaceful resolution of conflicts was concluded between Finland and Russia. However, mutual distrust did not disappear. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns built a powerful defensive system of bunkers, anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers 135 km long and up to 90 km deep, called the “Mannerheim Line” after the commander-in-chief Finnish army(its remains can still be seen today in the vicinity of St. Petersburg), military airfields were created, and strategic roads were built.

In the spring of 1938, sensing the threat of Germany using Finnish territory as a springboard for an attack on the USSR, the Soviet government proposed concluding a mutual assistance pact, but the Finnish government rejected this project.

In October-November 1939, the USSR again tried to at least partially resolve the security issue through negotiations. Finland was offered to move the border north from Leningrad in exchange for a number of territories in Karelia. The negotiations did not reach completion. Clashes began again at the border.

On November 26, 1939, the Soviet government protested the shelling Soviet troops in the Maynila area (6 gun shots, resulting in human casualties). In a response note, the Finnish government argued that, according to border guard posts, the shots in question were fired on Soviet territory. On November 28, the Soviet government denounced the mutual non-aggression pact concluded between the USSR and Finland in 1932.

On November 30, 1939, the war began: at 8 o’clock in the morning, units of the Red Army crossed the Finnish border, and aircraft attacked the railway junction of the city of Helsinki.

At the beginning of December 1939, in the city of Teriokki (now Zelenogorsk), with the support of the USSR, the people's democratic government of Finland was created, headed by Otto Kuusinen (member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks). On behalf of Finland, this government signed the Soviet-Finnish agreement, one of the clauses of which provided for the transfer to the Soviet Union of part of the territory of the Karelian Isthmus in exchange for monetary compensation for the railways located there. But already in mid-December, Kuusinen’s government and the people’s democratic army, formed from Karelians, Ingrians and Finnish immigrants, were dissolved.

The Red Army reached Vyborg at the cost of significant losses. On March 12, 1940, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Finland had to transfer large territories to the USSR, disband the army, and not participate in coalitions hostile to the Soviet Union. In fact, most of these demands were not met, but the border moved beyond Vyborg. The Soviet-Finnish War (in Finnish terminology, the “winter war”) was over, but the confrontation between the USSR and Finland did not end. Since the autumn of 1940, Nazi troops were stationed on the territory of Finland, and on June 26, 1941, Finland declared war on the Soviet Union. The troops were commanded by 75-year-old Marshal Mannerheim. On June 4, 1942, he met with Hitler, who arrived in Finland to inspect the Allied troops.

However, Finland failed to take revenge. On September 19, 1944, a Soviet-Finnish truce was signed in Moscow. According to its terms, the Finnish side had to pay large indemnities and transfer a number of territories in Karelia to the Soviet Union; the Vyborg border remained as of 1940. The civilian population from these places was allowed to be evacuated.

In addition, Finland had to immediately expel from its territory the German troops who were here under an agreement with Germany. The number of soldiers did not exceed a thousand people, but they military training and technical equipment were the highest level. They were stationed mainly in the north - in Lapland. The operation to withdraw German troops from Finland was peaceful at first, but then escalated into war. There is not one left in Lapland settlement; The Germans, leaving the country, burned everything in their path. In March 1945, Finland officially declared war on Germany. The so-called Lapland War ended on April 24, 1945. February 10, 1947. A peace treaty was signed in Paris between the USSR and Finland.

In 1948, a democratic government was formed, which included representatives of the Social Democratic Party, the Agrarian Union and the Democratic Union of the People of Finland; on April 6, 1948, it signed an agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the USSR, in connection with which the Soviet government from 1 July 1948 reduced the remaining amount of reparation payments by 50%. Part of the debts was covered by Finnish goods. The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was extended in 1955 and determined further relations between the neighbors.

Post-war foreign policy Finland is based on its desire to maintain neutrality and maintain good relations with all countries and, above all, with its neighbors.

In recent decades, Finland has been the site of many important international events: Olympic Games 1952, Consultative Meeting on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms in 1970, Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975, Meeting dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the CSCE in 1985, meeting between Presidents B. Clinton and B. Yeltsin in 1997 and many others.

In 1995, Finland joined the European Union, and in 2001 signed the Schengen Agreement.