13th March 2020 marks the 80th anniversary of end of Winter War
Maybe you know it from the memes. Maybe you’ve heard of the sniper with the most confirmed kills (that’s something between 500 and 542, by the way) in the world, Simo Häyhä. Maybe you ran into the story of Aimo Koivunen and his misadventures after overdosing on methamphetamine (this happened during the following Continuation War, actually). Maybe you’ve heard of Molotov cocktails, but didn’t know why they are called that.
Or maybe you’ve read some glorified stories of how the small Finland beat and humiliated the giant Soviet Union.
Whether or not you think Finland won is up to you, but here are the basics: the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30th November 1939 after having, four days before, shelled the village of Mainila within its own borders and claimed Finland was behind the attack. It wasn’t until 1990s that Russia admitted that Soviet Union had staged the shelling of Mainila. The war lasted 105 days and ended with a peace treaty. The Soviet demands were devastating, but Finland remained an independent nation.
Finland suffered heavy losses: nearly 26,000 dead, over 43,000 wounded in a nation of 3.7 million people. Finland had to cede 12% of its lands to Soviet Union – an area that included the second largest city in the country and a significant amount of infrastructure. Over 400,000 people lost their homes as they were evacuated across the new border. These areas have never been returned to Finland, and were repopulated and renamed by the Soviet Union.
Above map shows the Finnish borders before and after Winter War and the following Continuation War, highlighting the ceded territories. Only Porkkala, which was leased, has been returned.
The video above includes the personal account of Eeva Kilpi, which I found particularly moving (abridged a little with narration in brackets):
That was a total fight, because we felt that we are not safe anywhere, and our life is at stake, and our independence is at stake. If we lose our independence we are lost.
[Karelia was the childhood home of 11 year old Eeva Kilpi.]
It was on the shore of a small lake. If I close my eyes I can imagine summer and lilac bushes, and the path that led to the place where we used to swim. In Karelia it was always warm and sunny. We were happy. I used to pray to god. I asked him to prevent the war. I remember that I carried the fear of war inside my child’s heart.
We didn’t believe it. We thought that, well, it’s not coming here. But when we were eating lunch, suddenly we saw the planes coming. Straight towards our house, and father shouted “let’s go!“ Immediately we ran to the cellar. And then the bombs dropped on Hiitola.
[Eeva and her family were among the thousands of Karelians evacuated by the Finnish army. Their homes and barns were burned. Food and livestock removed or destroyed to prevent their use by the enemy.]
We were very much afraid of being taken to Siberia. Every child knew that Siberia was a threat if we lose the fight. And that was a terrible feeling.
[To Eeva, the war truly came home the day her father was called away.]
When I woke up that morning, when father was to leave to the front, I remember that when I opened my eyes I saw his backpack on the table. I knew that he was still beside me. That is such a strong memory that I almost feel, that I smell his clothes and his nearness. On the kitchen steps, he took me in his arms and said “father’s girl’.
I was full of fear, and full of care because my father was in the war. I felt that I had to be worried, all the time, because it was like giving strength to our men.
[The peace terms announced were harsh. All of eastern Karelia, about 12% of Finland, became part of the Soviet Union.]
I didn’t cry when everybody else cried. I used to go into the woods and cry alone. And that I have done many times…because of loss of Karelia and loss of home, and because of homesickness, too. That was the day when homesickness made a nest in me, and it has not disappeared.
[In the next few days 422 000 Finnish Karelians refused to become Soviet citizens by leaving their homes and most of their possessions behind and crossing the new border into Finland. More than six decades later, even after the fall of Soviet Union, when all the occupied Baltic nations have regained their independence, eastern Karelia and its former capital Vyborg remain part of Russia.]
I’m waiting for Karelia to be returned to us, so that I could take my grandchildren there and show them that this is my original home district, and it has belonged to the neighbour for some time, but now it’s again ours. And that is what I’m waiting for.
I find her closing words particularly moving. That she remains hopeful, that the experience has not made her bitter.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely she will ever see the Finnish Karelia and the other ceded areas returned to Finland during her lifetime. To this day, there are many cases of Russia still denying the shelling of Mainila, or claiming it is not known what happened. One recent such case is the government funded Victory Museum in Moscow claiming in a tweet that Finland began the war with the shelling of Mainila. In general, the Winter War is not well known in Russia.
Finland, as of today, has no open territorial disputes with Russia and wishes to avoid hostilities, but remains open to begin discussion of the return of ceded territories.
dededos
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
kaledo-art
janainaart
ellievsbear
