The background of the Winter War covers the period before the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union (1939–1940), which stretches from the Finnish Declaration of Independence in 1917 to the Soviet-Finnish negotiations in 1938–1939.
Before its independence, Finland had been an autonomous grand duchy within Imperial Russia. During the ensuing Finnish Civil War, the Red Guards, supported by the Russian Bolsheviks, were defeated. Fearful of Soviet designs, in the 1920s and the 1930s, the Finns were constantly attempting to align themselves with Scandinavian neutrality, particularly regarding to Sweden. Furthermore, the Finns engaged in secret military co-operation with Estonia in the 1930s.
During the late 1920s and the early 1930s, relations with the Soviet Union had normalized to a degree, but in 1938, the Soviets feared that Finland could be used as a springboard for an invasion and so started negotiations to conclude a military agreement. Meanwhile, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's revanchism to recover the territories of the Russian Empire that had been lost during its break up as result of the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War made Finland an obvious target.
The nature of the Soviet demands, which included the installation of Soviet military facilities on Finnish soil, made them go nowhere.Edwards 2006, p. 55
In August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in which Eastern Europe was divided into spheres of interest. Finland belonged to the Soviet sphere of interest. In September and October 1939, the Baltic states agreed to Soviet demands that included the establishment of Soviet military bases within those countries. Stalin then turned his sights on Finland, and was confident of control being gained without great effort.
The Soviet Union demanded territories on the Karelian Isthmus, the islands of the Gulf of Finland, a military base near the Finnish capital, and the destruction of all defensive fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. Helsinki again refused, and the Red Army attacked on 30 November 1939. Simultaneously, Stalin set up a puppet government for the Finnish Democratic Republic, headed by the Finnish communist Otto Wille Kuusinen.Chubaryan; Shukman 2002, p. xxi
Prewar Finland First steps of republic
Finland had been the eastern part of the Swedish Empire for centuries until 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars, when the Russian Empire conquered and converted it to an autonomous buffer state in Russia to protect Saint Petersburg, the Russian capital. Finland enjoyed wide autonomy and its own Senate until the turn of the century, when Russia began attempts to assimilate Finland as part of a general policy to strengthen central government and unify the Empire by Russification. The attempts ruined relations and increased the support of Finnish movements vying for self-determination.Trotter 2002, pp. 3–5
The outbreak of the First World War gave Finland a window of opportunity to achieve independence. The Finns sought aid from both the German Empire and the Bolsheviks to that end, and on 6 December 1917, the Finnish Senate declared the country's independence. The new Bolshevik government was weak in Russia, and soon the Russian Civil War would break out. The Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, could spare no troops or attention for Finland, and so Soviet Russia recognised the new Finnish government just three weeks after it had declared its independence. In 1918, the Finns fought a short civil war in which the Bolshevik Red Guards were armed by 7,000 to 10,000 Russian troops stationed in Finland.Trotter 2002, pp. 5–6
After the First World War, an intergovernmental organisation, the League of Nations, was founded, whose goals included preventing war through collective security and settling disputes between countries through negotiations and diplomacy. Finland joined the League in 1920.Edwards 2006, p. 18
In the 1920s and the 1930s, Finland was politically diverse. The Communist Party of Finland was declared illegal in 1931, and the far-right Patriotic People's Movement (IKL) had won up to 14 seats in the 200-seat Finnish Parliament. The middle ground, occupied by Conservatives, Liberals, Agrarians, and the Swedish People's Party, tended to cluster with the Social Democratic Party, whose leader, Väinö Tanner, was a strong proponent of the parliamentary system.Edwards 2006, pp. 26–27
By the late 1930s, country had its export-oriented economy growing, had solved most of its "right-wing problem", and was preparing for the 1940 Summer Olympics.
Finnish–German relations
During the closing stages of the First World War, German-trained Finnish Jäger troops played a key role in the Finnish Civil War. The German Baltic Sea Division also intervened late in the civil war. Jäger troops were volunteers from German-influenced circles, such as university students. That participation in the Finnish struggle for independence created close ties with Germany, but after the German defeat, Scandinavian relations became more important and the main goal of Finland's foreign policy.
Finnish–German relations cooled after the National Socialist Party rose to power in Germany in 1933. Finns admired Imperial Germany, but not the radical and antidemocratic Nazi regime. Finnish conservatives did not accept the Nazis' state violence and antireligious policies. Still, there was sympathy for German aims to revise the Treaty of Versailles, but the official Finnish policy was reserved, especially after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia. Finland even recalled its ambassador for a short period.
Finnish Nazis and ultranationalist parties such as the Patriotic People's Movement achieved only minor support in several elections, especially in the aftermath of the failed Mäntsälä rebellion in 1932.
Finnish–Swedish relations
After Finland had achieved independence and ended the civil war, the other Scandinavian countries were the best candidates for a political alliance. Swedish–Finnish cooperation represented a rich vein of shared history in the culture of both nations, and the Swedish-speaking Finns had a common language with Sweden. During the civil war, however, Sweden briefly occupied Åland and then supported the local movement that wanted to secede from Finland and join the islands to Sweden. The dispute was resolved by the League of Nations in 1921, and the Åland Islands remained Finnish but were granted autonomy. Other obstacles to closer relations were the ongoing language strife on the status of the Swedish language in Finland. Sweden had also opposed the upper-class resistance movement against Russification. As a result, young Finnish men received their military training in Germany, which generated the movement. Nevertheless, relations had considerably improved before the Winter War.
Finland sought security guarantees from the League of Nations, but did not have high expectations. Sweden was one of the founding members of the League and so framed its military policies based on the League's principles of disarmament and sanctions. In the mid-1920s, the Finns established a special planning committee, the Erich Committee, which was named after its chairman, Rafael Erich, and had top politicians and officers aiming to explore possible military collaboration of Finland with other nations. The prime goal was co-operation with the Scandinavian countries, of which Sweden was the most important prospective partner.
The Finnish and Swedish militaries engaged in wide-ranging co-operation, but it was more focused on the exchange of information and defence planning for the Åland Islands than on military exercises or materiel. The Finnish objective was to commit the Swedes by establishing a military-political joint venture in the Åland Islands. If the Swedes were to undertake to assist Finland in fortifying the islands, an important and useful precedent might be set. The Government of Sweden was aware of the military co-operation, but carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy.
Secret military co-operation with Estonia
Finnish–Estonian relations were closest diplomatically after the Estonian War of Independence in the 1920s. Although they cooled afterwards, military relations remained close. The Finns considered their close relations with Estonia not to exclude the Scandinavian neutrality policy, but the military relations were top secret. The countries held joint military exercises, the central aim being to prevent the Soviet Baltic Fleet from freely using its strength in the Gulf of Finland against either country.
Estonia also sought public security guarantees and signed the Baltic Entente in 1934 with Latvia and Lithuania.
Relations with the United Kingdom and France After the collapse of Imperial Germany in November 1918, the Finns sought new political partners. The United Kingdom had been a significant trading partner since the 18th century, and the Finns worked to improve their relations for the next two decades. In the 1930s Finland purchased Thornycroft torpedo boats from the United Kingdom and refrained from buying bomber aircraft from Germany because of British protests. They instead purchased modern Bristol Blenheims, which would serve successfully during the Winter War.
Relations with France were important after the First World War and in the 1920s as France played a leading role in the new European security arrangements. In the 1930s, France started to fear the rise of Germany and initiated a rapprochement with the Soviet Union, which strained Franco–Finnish relations. However, during the Winter War, France was one of the most important suppliers of military materiel.
Finnish defence plans The Finnish Defence Forces called their military operation plan against the Soviet Union Venäjän keskitys ("Russian Concentration") in the 1920s. In the last plan in 1934, the Finns saw two possible scenarios. In the VK1 scenario, the Soviets would mobilise all along their western border and deploy only limited forces against Finland. In that case, the Finns would make counterattacks across the border. The VK2 scenario envisaged a much more unfavourable situation. The main defense line would be on the Karelian Isthmus; the Finnish forces would repel Soviet attacks in favourable positions and destroy the enemy by counterattacks. In the Winter War, the VK2 scenario was flexible, with its basis proved to be correct, but the Finnish general staff badly underestimated the numerical superiority of the Red Army.
Finland had a limited defence budget after its independence, especially in the 1930s. Therefore, the Finnish Defence Forces lacked military materiel in almost all branches. Much of the military's materiel was outdated and proved to be unsuitable for the field during the Winter War. The material situation then improved but still lagged behind the more modern and well-equipped Red Army.
Prewar Soviet Union During Stalin's Great Terror of 1937-1938 about 11 000 Suvenirov 1998, p.298-317 officers of the Red Army and Fleet, especially high-ranking, were repressed - fired for political reasons, imprisoned or executed, including execution of 2/3Suvenirov 1998, p.315 of commanders of brigades, divisions, armies. At the same time, the Red Army increased in numbers from 1.5 million in 1937 to 3.3 million in 1939. This led to a situation where officers were promoted very quickly and often commanders in middle and higher-ranks positions did not have enough experience and sufficient competence. Later some of the repressed Red Army's officers were rehabilitated following the disastrous Winter War, as the Soviet leadership realised the Red Army needed skilled commanders.
Finnish–Soviet relations Diplomatic relations