Russian propagandists condemn “ungrateful” Finland

on the Facebook social network distributed recordwhich quotes the theses of the Kremlin-founded Russian Military-Historical Society.

“Before joining the Russian Empire, Finland was a miserable colony of the Kingdom of Sweden. By the will of Alexander I, it became a grand duchy with the rights of the widest autonomy.

in 1917 the Soviet authorities announced that they recognized the independence of their neighbor. The Finnish leadership immediately announced the creation of “Greater Finland”, which was to include the Kola Peninsula, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, the coast of the Gulf of Finland, including St. Petersburg and Estonia, the territories around Lakes Ladoga and Onega up to Perm.

During World War II, Finland was an ally of the Nazis. The Finns managed to capture a large part of Soviet Karelia and block Leningrad from the north.

After the war, the Soviet Union allowed Finland not only to remain neutral, but also to benefit greatly from trade with our country.

Today, Finland supports modern European neo-Nazism. Could it be that Finland’s reckless leadership is reviving the dream of a “Greater Finland” under the wing of NATO? After all, many Finns in the country’s leadership still see their borders in the east as far as the Ural Mountains”.

Designed to distort history

The Russian Military-Historical Society, an institution established in 2012 by decree of the President of Russia, has repeatedly drawn the indignation of both Russians and foreign countries for its peculiar interpretation of historical facts.

For example, on the website of this society in 1410 July 15 (Battle of Zalgiris) is indicated as a memorable date in Russian military history.

It turns out that on that day “the Russian army and its Lithuanian, Czech and Polish allies defeated the German knights”.

Among its founders are the ministries of culture and defense of Russia.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania, this institution is part of Russia’s hybrid war against neighboring countries.

“In the course of Russian aggression in Ukraine, it is obvious that Russia is investing more and more intensively in non-military means to achieve its goals in the region, which also includes the Baltic countries,” – asserts the MoD’s informational resilience promotion on the website.

Alexander I preserved the rights and freedoms of the time of Swedish rule

Truly autonomous Grand Duchies of Finland the founding was an important stage in the history of the Finnish nation even today considered the first important step towards an independent and national state.

In 1809, the Landtag of Finland meeting in Borgå (now Porvoo) determined the extent of the status of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and Alexander I confirmed the broad autonomy of Finland.

Read more: Between the Nazis and the Soviets: What Finland experienced during World War II

The Russian emperors became the Grand Dukes of Finland, the representatives of their power, the governor-generals (mostly Russians) formally headed the Senate (it consisted of the economic and legal departments corresponding to the government and the supreme court, senators – only Finnish residents – were appointed by the emperor).

The preservation of old laws, liberties and privileges was also confirmed. Lutheranism remained the official religion, Swedish the state language.

The emperor himself in its official language emphasized respect for Finnish culture and history:

“On this occasion we wished, by a solemn act passed in their presence and proclaimed in the sanctuary of the Most High, to strengthen and confirm (witness) the preservation of their religion, together with the liberties and rights enjoyed by each estate separately and by all the inhabitants of Finland in general.”

In communicating this act to Our loyal subjects in Finland, we wish to inform them at the same time that, as we observe and consider the ancient customs of this country, the oath of allegiance freely and without coercion taken by the representatives of the nobility in general, and especially by the deputies of the peasantry for ourselves and for our brothers at home, we consider valid and binding for every resident of Finland without exception”.

Thus, the privileged and unique position of Finland in the Russian Empire consisted in the fact that it preserved the administrative and social structure formed during Swedish rule.

The Finnish government never sought to create a “Greater Finland”

The idea of ​​”Greater Finland” did have supporters, but it was never declared an official state ideology and did not shape Finnish state policy.

in 1917 December 4 In the Declaration of Independence nothing is said about Greater Finland and no claims are made to foreign lands (especially up to the Urals). It says the following about relations with Russia:

“The Russian people, who overthrew tsarism, have repeatedly stated clearly that they give the Finnish people the right to decide their future based on centuries of cultural development.

The strong will of the Finnish nation has been maintained through the horrors of war and is based on the principle that no nation should be dependent on another nation without its will.

The Finnish people firmly believe that the free Russian people and their Constituent Assembly will not stand in the way of the Finnish people’s desire to join other free and sovereign nations.

The Finnish nation, having received the recognition of complete independence and freedom from other nations, is eager to do everything to take its place in the family of civilized nations of the world..

He did not carry out anti-Semitic policies

1941-1944 Finland was indeed an ally of Nazi Germany.

However, the message distributed on Facebook does not mention that before that in 1939-1940. the aggression of the Soviet Union took place, as a result of which the Finnish state suffered great damage and lost important territories.

It is for this reason that in 1941-1944 war in Finnish historiography is called In the ensuing war (Continuation War).

Finally, it is impossible not to mention the Lapland War, when the Nazi army launched attacks against the Finns in order to maintain their positions.

There were no big battles in it – more isolated attacks. The war started in 1944. in September and continued until 1945. April.

Most of the Nazi army was expelled from the country as early as 1944. in October and November.

Losses in this war were not heavy: the Finns lost about 1,000 soldiers and the Germans about 2,000. This war ended the implementation of Moscow’s truce demands.

It is important to mention that although Finland was an ally of Germany in an episodic way, the Finns did not pursue an anti-Semitic policy. During the entire war period, only 8 Jews were handed over to the Nazis.

In the general context, Finland was not recognized as a war criminal or a major aggressor.

It was decided that the Finns had disagreements with the USSR, with which they fought, as a result of which the two states already in 1944. signed a mutual truce in September.

In this way, Finland could continue to exist as a democratic, free and independent state. Although it cost many lives and many difficult political decisions had to be made, strong political will helped Finland quickly stabilize the situation inside the country.

After the war, Finland became an industrial country, although until then the country was dominated only by agriculture.

NATO statutes prohibit wars of aggression and conquest

It would be difficult to assume that the idea of ​​a “Greater Finland” (which the Finnish government does not support) could be linked to membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, because Washington Treatyon the basis of which NATO operates, provides for an exclusively defensive nature of this association.

It is obvious that the theses prepared by Russian pseudo-historians are extremely biased, and partly due to the ambitions of “Greater Finland” they are simply false.

And this gives grounds for describing them as pseudo-historical propaganda aimed at forming a negative image of Finland.

15min verdict: lie. The message spread by Facebook is dominated by a biased and manipulative presentation of historical facts.

The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metawhich aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.