Here is another essay I wrote last year for my course in modern Finnish history. Check my signature for the quote by President Kallio.



The Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940

The Moscow Peace treaty marked the end of the Winter War, which had raged for 105 days between the Republic of Finland, and The Soviet Union. For the Finns, the terms were harsh; they had to cede the Carelian Isthmus and the area surrounding Lake Ladoga, practically every battle field they had fought on and fought for, was now behind the border. The Soviet Union also demanded that they would be allowed to rent the Hanko Peninsula from Finland, and build a military base there. Although the Red Army had suffered humiliation at the hands of the poorly equipped Finns, the Soviet Union got what it had asked for in the negotiations prior to the war, and more. Finland had nearly half a million refugees to deal with, and extensive damage had been done to the country, with some of the most important industrial districts lost.

B.)
Comparing the views of Tanner, Pohlebkin and Vehviläinen on the terms of the Peace Treaty

Tanner, the acting Prime Minister of Finland during the early months of the Winter War, was very dissatisfied with the terms, which is understandable. Tanner laments the facts that “Essential areas have had to be ceded, including important industrial and agricultural regions. The population of the areas to be ceded has to find new dwelling places for itself. The defence system will be weakened.” Tanner was bitter about the losses suffered because of the treaty. The fact was that the Soviets had gained very little territory during the war itself, and now, the Soviets got what they wanted in the treaty. It must have felt like the struggle was in vain. The Finnish historian, Olli Vehviläinen, is more optimistic. Vehviläinen sees the fact that Finland remained an independent nation well worth the losses of the war and the Moscow Peace treaty. He suggests, that the struggle was not in vain, because “The Soviet Union had abandoned its efforts to control the whole of Finland and had resigned itself to securing its immediate strategic interests.” These interests were of course the Carelian Isthmus, and the Hanko peninsula. The Petsamo area, with its rich mineral deposits, was given back to Finland, although it was occupied during the war. One reason for this might have been, that the nickel deposits could not be exploited, since no mines had been constructed. Building nickel mines under arctic conditions was no simple task for 1930’s technology. Stalin was more than happy to take the Petsamo area in 1944, when the mines were built. The taking of Petsamo could also have worsened Soviet-British relations, since it was the British International Nickel Company which owned mining rights in the region. Vehviläinen believes that successful preservation of democracy and independence made the other losses and sacrifices worthwhile. V.V. Pohlebkin, a Soviet Historian, was of the opinion that the terms were reasonable, and understandable. “regional changes were exclusively dictated by an unavoidable necessity to defend the Leningrad region.” he argues. Of course, as a Russian living in the USSR in 1969, he might have a somewhat twisted view of the truth. It is a known fact that Finland had been allocated to the Soviet sphere of influence in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and that Stalin intended to do more than just move the border a little bit.

C.)
Why the Moscow Peace Treaty failed to last

After the Winter War, Finland had lost many vital regions, and over 400,000 people had lost their homes, and had to be given re-settled. Many people in Finland wanted this injustice corrected, and for the lost territories to be restored. Already in August 1940, Finland initiated secret negotiations with Nazi-Germany, concerning purchases of military equipment, which was badly needed and sorely missed in the Winter War. In return, German troops were allowed to cross through Finland, into Finnmark in Norway, which was under German control. This was meant as a counter-balance against the Soviet Union, and initially intended as a deterrent for Soviet aggression against Finland. All this, however, was in breach of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on Nazi-Germany’s behalf, and Finland had breached the Moscow Peace Treaty by allowing German troops on its soil, when the treaty was intended to target and deter Finno-German relations. In December 1940 a further agreement between Finland and Nazi-Germany was made, which allowed German troops to be stationed in Finland. Hitler saw Finland as a good base for his coming invasion of the Soviet Union. By the Spring of 1941, it had become clear to the Finnish military officials, that Nazi-Germany was planning an invasion of the Soviet Union. Gradually, as political support for closer alignment with Germany, and hopes of regaining lost territories and may be even other territories inhabited by Finnic peoples, grew, a policy which had initially been intended as a defensive measure against the Soviet threat, had become an offensive policy. When Operation Barbarossa began on June 22nd 1941, Finland declared neutrality. This was most likely just some cunning political manoeuvring, in hope of not damaging international relations. The Soviet Union bombed several Finnish cities on the 25th of June, without a declaration of war, and in turn, Finland declared war on the Soviet Union on the 26th of June. The Finnish Government announced that it was only seeking to restore the lost territories. By the end of August 1941, the old border had been reached by Finnish forces, and it was crossed.

The Moscow Peace Treaty failed to last quite simply because it was seen as unjust and unreasonable by the majority of the Finns. So, when they saw their chance in reclaiming the lost territories with the aid of the seemingly invincible Nazi-Germany, they grabbed the opportunity. Hundreds of thousands of Carelians that had lost their homes during the Winter War, moved back to Carelia to rebuild their homes during the Static phase of the war.