Finland
...xtent, a qualification of Russian rule. Although the Russians did not attempt to interfere with Finnish traditions, the Governor Generals, all with the exception of one, were from Russia. Moreover, after the Finnish Diet agreed to the terms of the decrees in 1809, the tsar had it disbanded, and it was not reconvened for more than fifty years. Although the Russians were in control, as long as they respected the balance, the Finnish people were willing to tolerate Russian authority. This was made easier by the relative peace and stability that accompanied Russian rule over Finland. In 1917, with the collapse of the Russian monarchy, over a century of Russian rule in Finland ended. The fight between left and right, however, would consume the Finnish political climate, and a bloody civil war would ensue. With the suppression of the left, the right wing would begin a period of influence within Finland that would span until the end of World War II, and even extending into the 1960s. Upon independence, though, Finland was not without its progress. After overcoming the civil war, a notable economic boom, driven by British exports, took hold of the Finnish economy. By the end of the 1920s, Finland’s total exports were over fifty percent higher than they had been in 1913; furthermore, the value of its industrial sector increased by a third , helping to set the stage for a dramatic industrialization process that would transform the Finnish economy after World War II. With the suppression of the Finnish Communists in 1917, the state became increasingly influenced by the ultra-right wing, whose strength came to be manifested in strong military groups who used force and the threat of force to gain their political ends. This military rule was made possible by the emergence of two principle organizations: the Civil Guards, who controlled about one hundred thousand men, and the federal army, which had only thirty thousand members, but was organized under the direction of the German military. These military organizations gave the right wing strength to act with political impunity, allowing the right wing to become the most influential political group within Finland during the prewar years. Although the right wing was in control throughout much of the interwar period, social legislation encouraged cooperative movements within the developing Finnish industrial sector. Along with these cooperatives, the rights of women were given a priority in the legal actions of the period. Finland was the first country in Western Europe to recognize the equality of both women and men, and the enactment of legal measures within the Finnish legal system helped to minimize the social taboos regarding widowed mothers and children born out of wedlock. With Hitler’s assumption of German power in 1933, the Nazi party became the only legal party in Germany, as well as becoming the only legitimate heir to right wing allegiance throughout Europe. Thus, upon the beginning of World War II, Finland’s allegiance was place with the Axis Powers. However, one of the most influential events of Finnish history took place on the eve of the war. The Winter War of 1939-1940 would decide the political path of Finland throughout the war, as well as the path that Finland would lead well into the 1960s. The war, which once again pitted Finnish Communists against the right wing, lasted for only a hundred days, but the defeat that the Communists experienced would embed right wing influence in Finland for the next two decades. However, this does not mean that the Communists did not exert influence on the progress and development of Finland. After the war, with the defeat of the Axis powers, Russia exacted harsh reparations onto the Finns. In the end Finland would lose twelve percent of its territory, as well as having to pay harsh fiscal reparations to the Russians for the costs of the war. The close proximity of the USSR would hinder Finland’s ability to integrate itself fully with the rest of Western Europe. Throughout the 1940s, the Finnish Communists would control about twenty percent of the voting populace. They would participate in coalition parties, allying themselves with other less extreme left wing parties. Finland would establish trade with the USSR, and the Communists would influence the state in this way as well. However, the Winter War would sour many Finns on the Communist Party, and there was not significant intellectual movement in the left wing until the end of the 1960s. After World War II Finland would maintain its neutrality, and political stability within the state would be perpetuated through a series of leftist-centrist coalitions that would last throughout the 1980s. Their would be numerous political parties within the Finnish system, yet no one would ever come to be too influential. The Social Democratic Party would remain a force. Another important party that would emerge would by the Center Party, which was the most powerful of the Finnish parties. The I=third most influential party within Finland at the time was manifested in the National Coalition Party, which would overcome the Center Party for control over the government in 1979. This stability would allow the Finnish economy to make significant progress throughout the post-war decades. The government made good use of its internal resources, investing over a third of its gross national product during the 1950s back into its agricultural and industrial sectors. The United Nations would induct Finland in 1955, adding to its international legitimacy. The relations developed via the United Nations would allow Finland to increase its trade with other countries around the world, giving it an outlet with which to continue its economic progress. During the 1970s Finland would strive to make and keep good relations with the European Community, something which its Nordic neighbors would not do, causing them to miss out on many of the advantages of being in close contact with the rest of Europe. Finland’s national resources of timber, which they referr...