Finnish History (Reformation To Present)

Front 1

Gustav Vasa

Back 1

•1496-1556
•Led a rebellion, seizing power from Denmark, after a massacre of nobility
•Formed Sweden as a country
•Started Swedish Reformation

Front 2

Swedish Reformation

Back 2

•Language changed from Latin to Swedish
•Founded the National Church (gaining the Church's money and resources)
•Administration centered in Stockholm
•Permanent army formed
•Changed from elections to lineage for passing on the throne
•Encouraged peasants to move to the wilderness

Front 3

Erik XIV

Back 3

•Son of Gustav Vasa
•Mentally unstable, ultimately leading to his imprisonment and death.
•Went to war against John after John married the Catholic Polish princess; Erik went to war with Poland and Denmark
•Married a Finnish peasant (a huge scandal!) who, after his death, moved to Tampere and helped the poor

Front 4

John III

Back 4

•Son of Gustav Vasa
•r. 1568
•Imprisoned and killed (after 9 years) Erik, with the help of the Swedish nobility
•Started a war against Russia (1570-95), which devastated the peasants in Finland.
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Front 5

Mikael Agricola

Back 5

•1510-1557
•Father of written Finnish
•Published New Testament in Finnish
•Promoted Protestant Reformation in Sweden

Front 6

Finnish Renaissance

Back 6

•Brought to Finland by John III's wife.
•Stone castles for nobility
•Patterns of thought, more than art, architecture, or trends

Front 7

Swedish Expansionism

Back 7

•Wanted access to the Baltic Sea
•Started a series of wars in Poland, Russia, and Denmark (1600-1611)
•Victorious because of modern arming, trained army, and favorable political climate in Europe

Front 8

Gustav II Adolf

Back 8

•1594-1632
•3 generations after John III
•Only 17 when he became king

Front 9

Central Administration of Sweden-Finland during 1600-1719

Back 9

1) King:
•Had legislative and executive powers
•Called the Diet

2) Privy:
•Council were advisors to the king
•Ruled in his absence

3) Diet:
•Had right to take initiative
•Allowed the king money
•Legislative power
•Consisted of all 4 social classes

Front 10

Internal Reforms in Finland during 1600-1719

Back 10

1) Administration
•Divided into 5 provinces, led by Governor-Generals
•Provinces divided into jurisdictional districts; led by baliffs

2) Wood processing and tar burning
•Saw mills on the coast, exported products
•Tar exported for ship building

3) Schooling system
•Clergy taught commoners
•All children allowed to go to school

Front 11

The Great Northern War

Back 11

•Carl XII took power back as absolute ruler
•Got defeated in Russia
•Power dispersed among the nobility, Council, and Diet

Front 12

Gustav III

Back 12

•r. 1771-1792
•Took back absolute power in a weak Sweden (bloodlessly).
•Created sweeping reforms
•Took power from the nobility
•Patron of the arts
•Shot at a costume party

Front 13

Age of Enlightenment in Sweden-Finland

Back 13

•Jurisdiction became more humane
•Freedom of religion for immigrants
•Recovery of science and arts
•Strengthened economy

Front 14

The Grand Duchy of Finland

Back 14

•1809-1917
•Finland belonged to Russia
•Russian czar also was highest Finnish ruler
•Guaranteed to maintain basic laws, religion, privileges of nobility, army, currency, and language.
•Became an autonomous Grand Dutchy

Front 15

Finnish Administration as an Autonomous Grand Dutchy

Back 15

•Senate: responsible for finances, legal, justice; ran by Finns
•Governor-General: highest power when czar isn't present

Front 16

Developments as an Autonomous Grand Dutchy

Back 16

1) Church and Providence
•Separated from each other
•Power centralized to wealthy estate owners and manufacturers

2) Economy
•Freedom of trade
•Modernized monetary system and central bank
•More active state support to help improve the economy

3) Industrialization
•Steam saw mills became common
•New ways to process wood

Front 17

Finnish National Awakening

Back 17

•Influence of European ideas in Finland
•National Romanticism
•Golden Era of Arts

Front 18

National Romanticism

Back 18

•Each nation should be individual, with their own unique identity
•University of Turku - Intellectual hotbed where this idea was adapted

Front 19

Golden Era of Arts

Back 19

•1870's - 1900's
•Arts seperated from Church tradition and portraits
•Focused on national themes: nature, folk, peasants, everyday life

Front 20

J. V. Snellman

Back 20

•Philosopher
•One state, one nation
•Advocate of Finnish language

Front 21

Johann Ludwig Runeberg

Back 21

•National poet
•Wrote lyrics to the national anthem

Front 22

Elias Lönrot

Back 22

•Compiled Kalevala
•A rural doctor, collecting recordings of rune singing during his travels from the Karelian Isthmus (where the remaining Finnish tradition was preserved)

Front 23

First Political Parties

Back 23

1) Finnish Party
•Pro-Finnish language
•University students, peasants, some clergy and politicians

2) Swedish party
•Anti-Finnish language
•Swedish-speaking upper class

3) Liberal Party
•Finland could have 2 languages
•Social reformation

Front 24

Reasons for Period of Oppression

Back 24

1) Unstable Russian political system
•Freed serfs
•Questioning absolutism

2) Political development in Europe
•Germany and Otto von Bismark

3) Russification in Poland and Baltic states (pan-Slavism)

4) Finlandäs seperate positions
•Impossible for Russians to buy land
•Russian currency not accepted
•Russians had to pay customs

Front 25

Period of Oppression - Overview

Back 25

•1890-1917
•Manifesto of Februrary (1899) by Nicolas II lost Finnish trust in the czar
•Political situation in Russia became unstable (1905)

Front 26

First Period of Oppression

Back 26

1) Manifest of language
•Russian is now official administrative language

2) New law of liabilities to military service
•Czar could send Finnish military troops abroad

3) Railway network and postal system under Russian control

Front 27

Second period of Oppression

Back 27

•1908-1917
•Parliament dissolved several times
•Senator replaced by pro-Russian officers
•The Law of Equality (1912) gave Russians full rights, except voting.

Front 28

WWI

Back 28

•Jaeger Movement:
•A few thousand Finnish university students trained and fought with Germany in WWI, in order to gain experience for liberation from Russia.
•They later joined the White Guard

Front 29

Civil War

Back 29

•Better: The War of 1918
•Nation divided into reds and whites

Front 30

Red Guard

Back 30

•Working class
•80,000 men and women
•No trained soldiers or officers
•7,000 Russian soldiers, and Russian weapons

Front 31

White Guard

Back 31

•Students, noblemen, farmers, officers
•70,000 men (no women)
•Soldiers and officers trained in Russia
•1,200 Jaegers from Sweden
•13,000 soldiers and naval division from Germany

Front 32

Causes of the Civil War

Back 32

1) Economic crisi
•C. Europe didn't need wood after WWI

2) Lack of food
•Crop failure

3) Unemployment

4)Working class and crofters unhappy with factions of Finnish Parliament

5) Riots and socialist movement in Russia

6) No police or national army
•Led to demonstrations and strikes

Front 33

Results of the Civil War

Back 33

•Nation divided
•40,000 dead
•Terror, violence, killing of civilians
•Massacres and enprisonment for Red Guard
•Ideas of revenge
•Lots of orphans

Front 34

K. J. Ståhlberg

Back 34

First president of Finland

Front 35

Russian Relations under the Young Republic

Back 35

•Russia regrets recognizing Finland's independence
•They were hoping the Red Guard would win
•Controversy over Karelien Penninsula and ensuing peace treaty (1920) helped to stabilize relations
•Non-aggression pact (1932)
•Stopped trading with Soviet Union in 20's-30's

Front 36

Foreign Policy under the Young Republic

Back 36

•Joined the League of Nations (1920)
•Joined Nordic Cooperation
•Adopted Scandinavian Unalliance

Front 37

Domestic Policy under the Young Republic

Back 37

•Nation still divided in two. Red captives freed in 1927.
•Law Kallio: Crofters could get their own subsidized farms

Front 38

Economy under the Young Republic

Back 38

•Global recession (1929), but Finland recovered quickly
•In 1920's, Finland was very agrarian
•Industry growth during 1920's-30's, change from sawn wood to papermaking
•Gained UK, USA, and Germany as trading partners

Front 39

WWII

Back 39

•1939
•Contemporary with Winter War

Front 40

Political Situation before WWII

Back 40

•USSR worried about Germany's power, so they demanded islands and strategic pieces of land from Finland to protect Leningrad (1938-39)

Front 41

The Start of the Winter War

Back 41

•1939
•Mainila shots fired Nov. 26
•USSR bombed Helsinki 4 days later.
•Finland appealed to the League of Nations, but, although sympathetic, no one could help because of Germany.

Front 42

Terijoki Government

Back 42

•USSR refused to recognize Finland's government and set up a fake government at Terijoki, in USSR territory, refusing peace negotiations from the real government.

Front 43

During the Winter War

Back 43

•Finns used Molotov cocktails to disarm tanks
•USSR had military superiority by far
•Mannerheim Line was the most important line to defend
•Finland was going to be backed by UK and France, but this never materialized

Front 44

Why USSR couldn't exploit military superiority

Back 44

1) No current info on domestic policies

2) Stalin had executed his officers in the Great Purge

3) Bad weather conditions
•Many Russian troops froze to death

4) Finns were good skiiers and dressed all in white
•Allowed for quick, silent, and invisible mobility

5) Finnish troops used encirclements
•Knock them out and trap them, then cut them into smaller pieces
•Finns got too tired to do this the whole time.

Front 45

The end of the Winter War

Back 45

•It was taking too long. Stalin wanted to be out, to focus on Germany.
•March 12, 1940, Moscow Peacy Treaty
•Finland lost Karelian Isthmus, area north of Lake Ladoga, islands in the Gulf of Finland, and leased Hankonieni.
•Finns confused by the peace treaty, because of inadequate information about the situation.

Front 46

Soviet Interference in Finland during WWII

Back 46

•Interfered in domestic policy
•Demanded to use railroads, mine ore, and have buildings on the Karelian Isthmus replaces
•Finland tried to keep the USSR happy

Front 47

Peace Treaty with Russia at the End of WWII

Back 47

•September 1944
Terms of Peace:
1) Lost the same areas as the previous war
2) War indemnities: $300M
3) Judge war criminals
4) Shut down "fascist" movement
5) Control cmission in Helsinki
6) German troops no longer in Finland

Front 48

WWII

Back 48

•Germany was ally; they added support through troops

Front 49

Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance

Back 49

•If someone attacked Finland, USSR would help (if needed)
•Allowed Soviet troops in FInland in that situation
•Finland would defend USSR if they were attacked through Finland

Front 50

Women During WWII

Back 50

•Kept up home front, especially with farming
•Voluntary National Defense organization for women was largest in the world, providing:
1) Medical service
2) Supply with food
3) Equipment manufacture and repait
4) Messages and office work
5) Searchlights
6) Fundraising

Front 51

The Years of Danger

Back 51

•Finland afraid of Soviet occupation and communist revolution
•Adopted neutrality policy
•Joined Nordic Council and UN (1955)

Front 52

Paasikiivi-Kekkonen Line

Back 52

•Avoiding conflict with Russia is the foremost item in foreign policy
•Post-war politics through the collapse of the USSR

Front 53

New, Urban Finland

Back 53

•1960's-70's
•People started moving from the countryside to the cities, from north and east to south.
•Last country in Europe to change their social structure like this.

Front 54

Finnish Welfare State

Back 54

1) Social insurance (pensions, health insurance)
2) Social benefit (child benefit, daily unemployment benefit)
3) Social welfare (income support)
4) Health care

Front 55

Depression in 1990's

Back 55

•Started by freeing the Capital market from the Finnish bank in 1987
•Finland relied heavily on exports, but when you can't export, it hurts the economy
•Nokia helped Finland recover

Front 56

Finland joined the EU

Back 56

•1995
•Changed to Euro in 2002