That’s why the Soviets trusted him; he was just the kind of double-faced opportunist Stalin liked in neighboring countries – or so they believed.

Fortunately Kekkonen always believed in democracy, after all.

Should have of course been “(3.4.)”…

Although the intervention by the German Baltic Division undoubtably speeded up the collapse of Red power, by the time the Germans arrived at Hanko (3.3.) the Battle of Tampere was practically decided and the Red government had lost most its strenght. After this point, the White side would have won even without the Germans. It would have taken a bit longer, maybe (say) max 2 months more time. We would have seen a much more bitter end to the war and maybe an even more gruesome fate for the Red prisoners int the camps.

Finland would have become independent, and it would have been a pro-German nation at first (remember the Jägers!). German officers would probably have been called in to built up the Finnish Army anyway.

Maybe we would have seen a more divided nation for a longer time (up to the Thirties), more appeal for the extreme right and more percecution of Socialists/Communists. Even so, I would not say it would have been a “totally different” political landscape. There could have been more problems for creating a national unity for fighting against the Soviets in the Winter War (if it indeed would have happened the same way), though…

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595230092/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-2271222-3764837?n=283155

I’m commenting Hautala’s great speech and Lipponen’s outrageous behaviour also under the thread on Suomen Sisu.

Has anyobody alse noticed that it’s not only Hautala that has not given an entirely polite speech in the session?

Listing just a few examples (anybody can read the speeches themselves at http://www.eduskunta.fi):

- Backman (SDP) criticized – without naming the USA but in a way which is appernt to everybody – the undemocratic export of democracy
- Vistbacka (PS) opposed Finland’s membership in the EU
- last but not least, Korhonen (Vasemmistoliitto) criticized UPM-Kymmene’s decision to close down the Voikkaa Paper Mill.

I just wonder why it was exactly Hautala who had many people angered. The excerpts above also are annoying to some people, for example, what’s a private company’s decision got to do with 100 years of the Finnish Parliament? Yet, Korhonen and the rest above have the right to use the occasion to put afore problems as well, not just polite words. It’s the people urging them to shut up that should shut up themselves, especially Lipponen who hasn’t uttered a sensible word since I remember.

And of course we have now, in the great Vanhanen way, already somebody apologizing. This time it’s Mikko Immonen (Vasemmistoliitto) who told in today’s Turun Sanomat that the speech is dangerous to the economic relations and that he apologized Hautala’s speech to the Russian delegation who didn’t even take stance to the speech.

Where on Earth do all these Lipponens, Immonens and Vanhanens come from? All those spineless people willing to apologize and defend others before anyone even gets insulted?

This is outrageous.

MM

Yeah, Heidi Hautala wanted her headlines and got them. Her remarks might have been expected from a politician from a Baltic country but not from Finland. Her point about the Duma was very interesting.

I think there were two main reasons for her critics to come out with harsh words: 1) They felt the occasion was inappropriate – if she had said the exact same words somewhere else with no journalists present it would’ve been ok. Ceremonial occasions are seen to be especially bad for anything else than polite speeches. 2) Some thought it is not ok for Finnish politicians to criticize Russia at all since Finland is small and Russia is large and neighbourly relations are more important than the values of the Council of Europe (a community of democratic nations of which both Finland and Russia are members).

I heard a rumor that Finns really didn’t achieve universal suffrage in 1906 since social welfare recipients did not get the right to vote. Is this true or is this just something that had to do with the property restrictions of the suffrage in local elections?

What do you lot think about the truly interesting issue concerning this parlamentary celebration, Heidi Hautala’s speech about Russian democracy? She even compared today’s Duma to that under Czar’s rule.

A bold move I’d say although she was clearly trying to get headlines (which she got).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symon_Petlura

He was briefly President of Ukraine, leading the Ukrainian People’s Republic and recognized by Poland as the official government of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Jews were murdered during his rule and about 40% of them may have been murdered by forces loyal to him. After the Polish-Russian war the country was divided between Poland and Russia, with Petlura briefly leading a government-in-exile in Poland. He was assassinated by a Jewish anarchist named Sholom Schwartzbard in 1926 in Paris:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholom_Schwartzbard

Schwartzbard’s defense was based on that he avenged the victims of the pogroms. Already when arrested he said: “You can’t arrest me, I’ve killed a murderer.” Schwartzbard was acquitted by a French jury and moved to the United States after the acquittal.

On the history of the Ukrainian People’s Republic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_People%27s_Republic

Of the Soviet leaders, Kekkonen came best along with Nikita Khrushchev. There are some funny documentaries of those two fooling around with huge fur hats or fishing, hunting and apparently boozing somewhere. He was not at all comfortable with Leonid Brezhnev.

- own passport (residence/landowner rights on Åland)
- own military (or rather *no* military, and exemption from service)
- own official language (Finland is bilingual, Åland is constitutionally Swedish-speaking)

- own money… well, even they are in the euro-zone Åland is “outside EU tax zone”, so could say 50-50

BTW I forgot from both Grand Duchy and Åland:  own postage stamps

#29: Kekkonen was a very complex personality. I didn’t know that he was a “Greater Finland” guy at one time. What did he do to get Stalin and his successors to have such a high comfort level with him, a former Greater Finland supporter, of all people?