Republic of Finland

2024-08-01T14:20:49Z

196.244.192.229: Updated leaders in the infobox

{{Infobox country|name=Republic of Finland|native_name=Suomen tasavalta<br>Republiken Finland|image_flag=Flag of Finland.svg|largest_city=[[Helsinki]]|image_coat=Coat of arms of Finland.svg|capital=[[Helsinki]]|image_map=Finland map.svg|map_width=260|official_languages=Finnish<br>Swedish|mode_of_production=[[Capitalism]]|leader_title1=President|leader_name1=[[Alexander Stubb]]|leader_title2=Prime Minister|leader_name2=[[Petteri Orpo]]|area_km2=338,455|population_estimate=5,536,146|population_estimate_year=2020}}

'''Finland''', officially the '''Republic of Finland''', is a [[Social democracy|social democratic]] country in [[Northern Europe]].

== History ==

=== Russian Empire ===
Finland was part of [[Sweden]] for 600 years until being ceded to the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]] in 1808 as a [[Grand Duchy of Finland (1809–1917)|Grand Duchy]].<ref name=":0">{{News citation|author=Victor Vaughn|newspaper=The Espresso Stalinist|title=The Communist League: The Soviet-Finnish War|date=2011-10-08|url=https://espressostalinist.com/2011/10/08/the-communist-league-the-soviet-finnish-war/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119032311/https://espressostalinist.com/2011/10/08/the-communist-league-the-soviet-finnish-war/|archive-date=2021-01-19|retrieved=2022-05-14}}</ref> It became a Russian protectorate and had no military or independent foreign or economic policy.<ref name=":1">{{News citation|author=[[TheFinnishBolshevik]]|newspaper=ML-Theory|title=The Finnish Communist Revolution (1918) PART 1: Finnish Independence|date=2018-04-03|url=https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/the-finnish-communist-revolution-1918-part-1-finnish-independence/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622100111/https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/the-finnish-communist-revolution-1918-part-1-finnish-independence/|archive-date=2022-06-22|retrieved=2022-07-19}}</ref>

After the [[Russian revolution of 1905|1905 revolution in Russia]], Finland gained its own parliament, although it was still controlled by Russia. Finnish [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] and nobility worked with the tsar to oppose the Finnish independence movement, which was led by [[Proletariat|proletarians]].<ref name=":1" />

In 1916, socialists gained a majority in the Finnish parliament and passed the Power Act, declaring that the Finnish government was sovereign from Russian involvement.<ref name=":1" />

=== Russian revolution ===
The Finnish government allied itself with [[Alexander Kerensky|Kerensky]]'s provisional government after the [[February Revolution]] of 1917.<ref name=":1" />

The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]], who took power in Russia in November 1917, supported Finnish independence.<ref>{{Citation|author=Antti Hyvönen|year=1977|title=The Great Events of 1917-18|publisher=Kansankulttuuri|isbn=9516151469|trans-title=Suurten tapahtumien vuodet 1917-18|trans-lang=Finnish}}</ref> Finland declared independence from [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Russia]] on 6 December 1917 and was recognized on 2 January 1918. A communist revolution began in Finland in 1918 but was defeated by [[Carl Mannerheim]] with [[German Empire (1871–1918)|German]] support. Mannerheim supported foreign intervention against the [[Red Army]] and allowed Western countries to launch military operations from Finland. In 1920, the Soviets were forced to sign the [[Treaty of Tartu]], which moved the Finnish border to only 18 miles from [[Petrograd]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===

==== Negotiations ====
At the beginning of the [[Second World War]], the Soviet Union negotiated with Finland in an attempt to reduce the threat of [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]]. It offered a mutual defense pact with Finland and cession of the Karelian Isthmus and the Rybachi and Sredni Peninsulas to the USSR in exchange for territorial and trade compensations for Finland. The Finnish government initially supported the proposal but changed its mind after meeting with the kings of [[Kingdom of Norway|Norway]], [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]], and [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]]. A group of Finnish soldiers fired on the [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] at the border, leading the Soviet Union to propose that Finnish troops withdraw a short distance from the Soviet border. There were no Finnish cities or strategic points in the proposed withdrawal area. Finland refused to withdraw its troops and the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Finland.<ref>{{Citation|author=Alter Brody, et al.|year=1940|title=War and Peace in Finland|chapter=Origins of the Conflict|page=6–8|pdf=https://ia800104.us.archive.org/11/items/WarPeaceFinland/War%20Peace%20Finland.pdf|city=New York City, [[United States of America|United States]]|publisher=Soviet Russia Today}}</ref>

=== NATO ===
In May 2022, the Finnish government announced that it planned to join the [[Imperialism|imperialist]] organization [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. The [[Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism]], opposes this action and wants Finland to remain a neutral country.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=[[In Defense of Communism]]|title=Eight reasons why Finland should not join NATO|date=2022-05-16|url=http://www.idcommunism.com/2022/05/eight-reasons-why-finland-should-not-join-nato.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516004831/http://www.idcommunism.com/2022/05/eight-reasons-why-finland-should-not-join-nato.html|archive-date=2022-05-16|retrieved=2022-05-22}}</ref>

== Politics ==
The [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[Populism|populist]] and [[Nationalism|nationalist]] [[Finns Party]] received 13.8% of votes in the most recent Finnish election. Until recently, it governed in a coalition with the [[Center Party]] and center-right [[National Coalition Party]]. The [[Finnish Resistance Movement]] is the Finnish branch of the [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] [[Nordic Resistance Movement]] and has attacked [[LGBT+|LGBT]] and [[Anti-racism|anti-racist]] demonstrations.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref> The Finns Party controls the ministries of Economy, Finance, Interior, Justice, and Social Affairs.<ref>{{Web citation|author=NPA Antifascist Commission|newspaper=International Viewpoint|title=The resistible rise of the far right in Europe|date=2024-05-19|url=https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article8528|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529031140/https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article8528|archive-date=2024-05-29}}</ref>

== References ==
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]

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Republic of Finland