On November 30, 1939, the Winter (or Soviet-Finnish) War started. For a long time, the position about the bloody Stalin, who tried to capture harmless Finland, dominated. And the union of the Finns with Nazi Germany it was considered to be a forced measure in order to confront the Soviet "Evil Empire". But it is enough to recall some well-known facts of Finnish history to understand that not everything was so simple.

Privileges for Finns within the Russian Empire

Until 1809 Finland was a province of the Swedes. The colonized Finnish tribes had neither administrative nor cultural autonomy for a long time. The official language spoken by the nobles was Swedish. After joining the Russian Empire in the status of the Grand Duchy, the Finns were given wide autonomy with their own diet and participation in the adoption of laws by the emperor. In addition, they were released from compulsory military service, but the Finns had their own army.

Under the Swedes, the status of the Finns was not high, and the educated wealthy class was represented by Germans and Swedes. Under Russian rule, the situation has changed significantly in favor of the Finnish inhabitants. Finnish also became the official language. With all these allowances, the Russian government rarely interfered in the internal affairs of the principality. The resettlement of representatives of Russians to Finland was not encouraged either.

In 1811, as a generous offering, Alexander I transferred the Vyborg province, recaptured by the Russians from the Swedes in the 18th century, to the Grand Duchy of Finland. It should be noted that Vyborg itself had a serious military and strategic importance in relation to St. Petersburg - at that time the Russian capital. So the position of the Finns in the Russian "prison of peoples" was not the most deplorable, especially against the backdrop of the Russians themselves, dragging out all the hardships of maintaining and defending the empire.

Ethnic politics in Finnish

The collapse of the Russian Empire gave the Finns independence. The October Revolution proclaimed the right of every nation to self-determination. Finland was at the forefront of this opportunity. At this time, not without the participation of the Swedish stratum dreaming of revanchism in Finland, the development of self-consciousness and national culture was outlined. This was expressed mainly in the formation of nationalist and separatist sentiments.

The apogee of these trends was the voluntary participation of the Finns in the battles of the First World War against Russia under the German wing. In the future, it was these volunteers, the so-called "Finnish huntsmen", who took a particularly active part in the bloody ethnic cleansing among the Russian population that unfolded on the territory of the former principality. On the commemorative coin issued for the 100th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Finland, the scene of the execution of the peaceful Russian population by Finnish punishers was depicted. This inhumane episode of the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Finnish nationalist troops is safely hushed up by modern chroniclers.

The massacre of the "Reds" began in Finland in January 1918. Russians were mercilessly destroyed regardless of political preferences and class affiliation. In April 1918, at least 200 Russian civilians were killed in Tampere. But the most terrible tragedy of that period occurred in the very "Russian" city of Vyborg, occupied by rangers. On that day, Finnish radicals killed every Russian they met.

A witness of that terrible tragedy, Katonsky, told how the “whites”, shouting “shoot the Russians”, broke into apartments, took unarmed residents to the ramparts and shot them. According to various sources, the Finnish "liberators" took the lives of 300 to 500 unarmed civilians, including women and children. It is still not known exactly how many Russians fell victim to ethnic cleansing, because the atrocities of the Finnish nationalists continued until the very 1920s.

Territorial claims of the Finns and "Greater Finland"

The Finnish elite sought to create the so-called "Great Finland". The Finns no longer wanted to get involved with Sweden, but they expressed claims to Russian territories that were larger than Finland itself in area. The demands of the radicals were exorbitant, but first of all they set out to capture Karelia. The Civil War, which weakened Russia, played into the hands. In February 1918, the Finnish General Mannerheim promised that he would not stop until he liberated the lands of Eastern Karelia from the Bolsheviks.

Mannerheim wanted to seize Russian territories along the line of the White Sea, Lake Onega, the Svir River and Lake Ladoga. It was also planned to include the Kola Peninsula with the Pechenga region into Greater Finland. Petrograd was given the role of a "free city" like Danzig. On May 15, 1918, the Finns declared war on Russia. The attempts of the Finns to put Russia on the shoulder blades with the help of any of its enemies continued until 1920, when the RSFSR signed a peace treaty with Finland.

Finland was left with vast territories to which they historically never had rights. But peace did not follow for a long time. Already in 1921, Finland again tried to resolve the Karelian issue by force. Volunteers, without declaring war, invaded the Soviet borders, unleashing the Second Soviet-Finnish War. And only by February 1922 Karelia was completely liberated from the Finnish invaders. In March, an agreement was signed on ensuring the inviolability of the common border. But the situation in the border zone was still tense.

"Mainil incident" and a new war

According to Per Evind Svinhufvud, Prime Minister of Finland, every enemy of Russia can become a Finnish friend. The nationalist Finnish press was full of calls to attack the USSR and seize its territories. On this basis, the Finns even made friends with Japan, accepting its officers for training. But the hopes for a Russo-Japanese conflict did not come true, and then a course was taken towards rapprochement with Germany.

Within the framework of the military-technical union in Finland, the Cellarius Bureau was created - a German center whose task was anti-Russian intelligence work. By 1939, with the support of German specialists, the Finns had built a network of military airfields ready to receive dozens of times more aircraft than the local Air Force had. As a result, on the eve of World War II, a hostile state was formed on the northwestern border of Russia, ready to cooperate with a potential enemy of the Land of Soviets.

Trying to secure its borders, the Soviet government began to take drastic measures. We agreed with Estonia peacefully, concluding an agreement on the introduction of a military contingent. It was not possible to agree with the Finns. After a series of unsuccessful negotiations, on November 26, 1939, the so-called “Mainil incident” occurred. According to the USSR, the shelling of Russian territories was carried out by Finnish artillery. The Finns call it a Soviet provocation. But one way or another, the non-aggression pact was denounced and another war started.

During the Second World War, Finland again made a desperate attempt to become a state for all Finns. But representatives of these peoples (Karelians, Vepsians, Vods)

Thus, Stalin was blamed not only for the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, but also for the fact that Finland was "forced" to enter into an alliance with Nazi Germany in order to resist the "aggression" of the Soviet Union.
Many books and articles denounced the Soviet Mordor, which attacked little Finland. They called absolutely fantastic numbers of Soviet losses, reported on the heroic Finnish machine gunners and snipers, the stupidity of Soviet generals, and much more. Any reasonable reasons for the actions of the Kremlin were completely denied. They say that the irrational malice of the "bloody dictator" is to blame.
In order to understand why Moscow went to this war, it is necessary to remember the history of Finland. Finnish tribes for a long time were on the periphery of the Russian state and the Swedish kingdom. Some of them became part of Russia, became "Russians". The fragmentation and weakening of Russia led to the fact that the Finnish tribes were conquered and subjugated by Sweden. The Swedes pursued a colonization policy in the traditions of the West. Finland did not have administrative or even cultural autonomy. The official language was Swedish, it was spoken by the nobility and the entire educated population.
Russia, having taken Finland from Sweden in 1809, in fact, gave the Finns statehood, allowed them to create the main state institutions, to form a national economy. Finland received its own authorities, currency and even an army as part of Russia. At the same time, the Finns did not pay general taxes and did not fight for Russia. The Finnish language, while maintaining the status of the Swedish language, received the status of the state language. The authorities of the Russian Empire practically did not interfere in the affairs of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The policy of Russification in Finland was not carried out for a long time (some elements appeared only in the late period, but it was already too late). The resettlement of Russians in Finland was actually prohibited. Moreover, the Russians living in the Grand Duchy were in an unequal position in relation to local residents. In addition, in 1811, the Vyborg province was transferred to the Grand Duchy, which included the lands that Russia recaptured from Sweden in the 18th century. Moreover, Vyborg was of great military and strategic importance in relation to the capital of the Russian Empire - St. Petersburg. Thus, the Finns in the Russian “prison of peoples” lived better than the Russians themselves, who bore all the hardships of building an empire and defending it from numerous enemies.
The collapse of the Russian Empire gave Finland its independence. Finland thanked Russia by first entering into an alliance with Kaiser's Germany, and then with the powers of the Entente. On the eve of World War II, Finland was in a hostile position towards Russia, leaning towards an alliance with the Third Reich.
For the majority of Russian citizens, Finland is associated with a "small cozy European country", with civilians and cultural residents. This was facilitated by a kind of "political correctness" in relation to Finland, which reigned in the late Soviet propaganda. Finland, after the defeat in the war of 1941-1944, learned a good lesson and made the most of the benefits of being close to the huge Soviet Union. Therefore, in the USSR they did not remember that the Finns attacked the USSR three times in 1918, 1921 and 1941. They chose to forget about this for the sake of good relations.
Finland was not a peaceful neighbor of Soviet Russia. The separation of Finland from Russia was not peaceful. The Civil War began between the white and red Finns. White was supported by Germany. The Soviet government refrained from large-scale support for the Reds. Therefore, with the help of the Germans, the White Finns prevailed. The victors created a network of concentration camps, unleashed the White Terror, during which tens of thousands of people died (during the hostilities themselves, only a few thousand people died on both sides). In addition to the Reds and their supporters, the Finns "cleaned up" the Russian community in Finland. Moreover, the majority of Russians in Finland, including refugees from Russia who fled from the Bolsheviks, did not support the Reds and the Soviet government. Former officers of the tsarist army, their families, representatives of the bourgeoisie, intellectuals, numerous students, the entire Russian population indiscriminately, women, old people and children were exterminated. Significant material assets belonging to the Russians were confiscated.
The Finns were going to put a German king on the throne of Finland. However, Germany's defeat in the war led to Finland becoming a republic. After that, Finland began to focus on the powers of the Entente. Finland was not satisfied with independence, the Finnish elite wanted more, claiming Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, and the most radical figures made plans to build a "Great Finland" with the inclusion of Arkhangelsk, and Russian lands up to the Northern Urals, Ob and Yenisei (the Urals and Western Siberia are considered the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric language family).
The leadership of Finland, like Poland, was not satisfied with the existing borders, preparing for war. Poland had territorial claims to almost all its neighbors - Lithuania, the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Germany, the Polish lords dreamed of restoring a great power "from sea to sea". This is more or less known in Russia. But few people know that the Finnish elite raved about a similar idea, the creation of a "Greater Finland". The ruling elite also set the goal of creating a Greater Finland. The Finns did not want to get involved with the Swedes, but they claimed Soviet lands, which were larger than Finland itself. The appetites of the radicals were boundless, stretching all the way to the Urals and further to the Ob and Yenisei.
And for starters, they wanted to capture Karelia. Soviet Russia was torn apart by the Civil War, and the Finns wanted to take advantage of this. So, in February 1918, General K. Mannerheim declared that "he would not sheathe his sword until East Karelia was liberated from the Bolsheviks." Mannerheim planned to seize Russian lands along the line of the White Sea - Lake Onega - the Svir River - Lake Ladoga, which was supposed to facilitate the defense of new lands. It was also planned to include the region of Pechenga (Petsamo) and the Kola Peninsula into Greater Finland. They wanted to separate Petrograd from Soviet Russia and make it a "free city" like Danzig. May 15, 1918 Finland declared war on Russia. Even before the official declaration of war, Finnish volunteer detachments began to conquer Eastern Karelia.
Soviet Russia was busy fighting on other fronts, so she did not have the strength to defeat her arrogant neighbor. However, the Finnish attack on Petrozavodsk and Olonets, the campaign against Petrograd through the Karelian Isthmus failed. And after the defeat of the white army of Yudenich, the Finns had to make peace. From July 10 to July 14, 1920, peace negotiations were held in Tartu. The Finns demanded that Karelia be handed over to them, the Soviet side refused. In the summer, the Red Army drove the last Finnish detachments out of Karelian territory. The Finns kept only two volosts - Rebola and Porosozero. This made them more accommodating. There was no hope for Western help either; the Entente powers had already realized that the intervention in Soviet Russia had failed. On October 14, 1920, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed between the RSFSR and Finland. The Finns were able to get the Pechenga volost, the western part of the Rybachy Peninsula, and most of the Sredny Peninsula and the islands, west of the boundary line in the Barents Sea. Rebola and Porosozero were returned to Russia.

This did not satisfy Helsinki. The plans for the construction of "Greater Finland" were not abandoned, they were only postponed. In 1921, Finland again tried to solve the Karelian issue by force. Finnish volunteer detachments, without declaring war, invaded Soviet territory, the Second Soviet-Finnish War began. Soviet forces in February 1922, the territory of Karelia was completely liberated from the invaders. In March, an agreement was signed on the adoption of measures to ensure the inviolability of the Soviet-Finnish border.
But even after this failure, the Finns did not cool down. The situation on the Finnish border was constantly tense. Many, remembering the USSR, imagine a huge mighty power that defeated the Third Reich, took Berlin, sent the first man into space and made the entire Western world tremble. Like, how little Finland could threaten the huge northern "evil empire." However, the USSR 1920-1930s. was a great power only in terms of territory and its potential. The real policy of Moscow then was extra-cautious. In fact, for quite a long time, Moscow, until it got stronger, pursued an extremely flexible policy, most often giving in, not climbing on the rampage.
For example, the Japanese plundered our waters near the Kamchatka Peninsula for quite a long time. Under the protection of their warships, Japanese fishermen not only fished out all the living creatures from our waters worth millions of gold rubles, but also freely landed on our shores for repair, processing of fish, obtaining fresh water, etc. Until Khasan and Khalkin-gol, when The USSR gained strength thanks to successful industrialization, received a powerful military-industrial complex and strong armed forces, the red commanders had strict orders to contain Japanese troops only on their territory, without crossing the border. A similar situation was in the Russian North, where Norwegian fishermen fished in the internal waters of the USSR. And when the Soviet border guards tried to protest, Norway withdrew warships to the White Sea.
Of course, in Finland they no longer wanted to fight the USSR alone. Finland has become a friend of any power hostile to Russia. As the first Finnish Prime Minister Per Evind Svinhufvud noted: "Any enemy of Russia must always be a friend of Finland." Against this background, Finland made friends even with Japan. Japanese officers began to come to Finland for training. In Finland, as in Poland, they were afraid of any strengthening of the USSR, since their leadership based their calculations on the fact that a war of some great Western power with Russia was inevitable (or a war between Japan and the USSR), and they would be able to profit from Russian lands . Inside Finland, the press was constantly hostile to the USSR, conducted almost open propaganda for attacking Russia and seizing its territories. On the Soviet-Finnish border, all kinds of provocations constantly took place on land, at sea and in the air.
After the hopes for an early conflict between Japan and the USSR did not come true, the Finnish leadership headed for a close alliance with Germany. The two countries were linked by close military-technical cooperation. With the consent of Finland, a German intelligence and counterintelligence center (the Cellarius Bureau) was created in the country. His main task was to carry out intelligence work against the USSR. First of all, the Germans were interested in data on the Baltic Fleet, formations of the Leningrad Military District and industry in the northwestern part of the USSR. By the beginning of 1939, Finland, with the help of German specialists, built a network of military airfields, which was capable of receiving 10 times more aircraft than the Finnish Air Force had. Very indicative is the fact that even before the start of the war of 1939-1940. The identification mark of the Finnish Air Force and armored forces was the Finnish swastika.
Thus, by the beginning of the big war in Europe, we had a clearly hostile, aggressive-minded state on the northwestern borders, whose elite dreamed of building a “Great Finland at the expense of Russian (Soviet) lands and was ready to be friends with any potential enemy of the USSR. Helsinki was ready to fight with the USSR both in alliance with Germany and Japan, and with the help of England and France.
The Soviet leadership understood everything perfectly and, seeing the approach of a new world war, sought to secure the northwestern borders. Of particular importance was Leningrad - the second capital of the USSR, a powerful industrial, scientific and cultural center, as well as the main base of the Baltic Fleet. Finnish long-range artillery could fire on the city from its border, and ground forces could reach Leningrad in one jerk. The fleet of a potential enemy (Germany or England and France) could easily break through to Kronstadt, and then to Leningrad. To protect the city, it was necessary to move the land border on land, as well as to restore the distant line of defense at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, having received a place for fortifications on the northern and southern shores. The largest fleet of the Soviet Union - the Baltic, was actually blocked in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Fleet had a single base - Kronstadt. Kronstadt and Soviet ships could be hit by long-range coastal defense guns in Finland. This situation could not satisfy the Soviet leadership.
With Estonia, the issue was resolved peacefully. In September 1939, an agreement on mutual assistance was concluded between the USSR and Estonia. A Soviet military contingent was introduced into the territory of Estonia. The USSR received the rights to create military bases on the islands of Ezel and Dago, in Paldiski and Haapsalu.
It was not possible to agree with Finland in an amicable way. Although negotiations began in 1938. Moscow has tried literally everything. She offered to conclude an agreement on mutual assistance and jointly defend the Gulf of Finland zone, give the USSR the opportunity to create a base on the Finnish coast (Hanko Peninsula), sell or lease several islands in the Gulf of Finland. It was also proposed to move the border near Leningrad. As a compensation Soviet Union offered much larger territories of Eastern Karelia, preferential loans, economic benefits, etc. However, all proposals met with a categorical refusal from the Finnish side. It is impossible not to note the instigating role of London. The British told the Finns that it was necessary to take a firm stand and not succumb to pressure from Moscow. This encouraged Helsinki.
Finland began a general mobilization and evacuation of the civilian population from the border areas. At the same time, left-wing activists were arrested. Incidents have become more frequent at the border. So, on November 26, 1939, there was a border incident near the village of Mainila. According to Soviet data, Finnish artillery shelled Soviet territory. The Finnish side declared the USSR to be the culprit of the provocation. On November 28, the Soviet government announced the denunciation of the Non-Aggression Pact with Finland. On November 30, the war began. Its results are known. Moscow solved the problem of ensuring the security of Leningrad and the Baltic Fleet. We can say that only thanks to the Winter War, the enemy was not able during the Great Patriotic War capture the second capital of the Soviet Union.
Finland is currently drifting towards the West, NATO again, so it is worth keeping a close eye on it. The "cozy and cultured" country can again recall the plans of "Great Finland" up to the Northern Urals. Finland and Sweden are thinking about joining NATO, and the Baltic states and Poland are literally turning into advanced NATO springboards for aggression against Russia before our very eyes. And Ukraine is becoming a tool for war with Russia in the southwestern direction.

Until the end of 1939, the Soviet government tried to negotiate with Finland that the border should run as far as possible from the cradle of the revolution. “We won’t be able to move Leningrad, so we’ll have to move the border,” Stalin said, and the most difficult negotiations began. Finland was offered twice as much territory in Karelia in exchange.

At that moment, there was a big political game: Germany invaded Poland, the war with the Soviet Union was a matter of time. The Soviet leadership tried to delay it to the last. In this turmoil, it was not up to Finland. Moreover, the Soviet Union has never offered such favorable terms to anyone. But Finland said no. Moscow did not believe their ears.

The Soviet command allocated two weeks to prepare a plan for the Finnish campaign. When the campaign started Soviet troops they could only reach the so-called Mannerheim Line - a defensive line that the Finns had been gradually building since the 1920s. The Soviet troops stood up, suffering huge losses.

Propaganda on both sides worked in full force. Soviet newspapers explained that the war was not with the Finns, but with the capitalists who were exploiting the Finnish people, and on the radio they broadcast a new song "Take Us, Suomi Beauty". The Finns insisted that Soviet soldiers were dying for the interests of the Red Commissars, who were depicted on the posters as overweight drunken cowards. The soldiers of the Red Army were offered to surrender and exchange weapons for a well-fed life in Finnish captivity.

Both sides hit wide of the mark. In 1939, the Finns lived much better than in 1918, and the Soviet commissars were not cowards at all, and fairy tales about a well-fed Finnish rear quickly lost their charm after the massive starvation deaths of Soviet prisoners of war. During a short lull, the Soviet troops regrouped, pulled up artillery and seriously engaged in reconnaissance of the Finnish fortification system. Soldiers of the Red Army equipped trenches for guns.

On the second attempt, the Soviet troops broke through the Mannerheim Line, then took Vyborg, and Finland was on the verge of defeat. Marshal Mannerheim told the Finnish government: there are only a few days of strength left, sign a peace treaty, otherwise it will be capitulation in a week. The USSR agreed to a peace treaty, gave Finland a chance to save face and a reason to talk about its victory in the Winter War. But conclusions have been drawn.

Bair Irincheev, director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus: “The lessons that the Red Army learned from the Finnish war are that we need new tanks, new types of aircraft - dive bombers, attack aircraft, that we need to develop fighters with a higher flight speed and, probably, the most important “We need to increase the level of combat training.”

Also in the USSR, submachine guns, Finnish earflaps, Finnish Molotov cocktails, Finnish knives and Finnish tactics of ski units were adopted.

The 80th anniversary of the start of the Finnish war is celebrated on both sides of the border. A diorama has been opened in Vyborg, which presents unique exhibits of that time, and Finnish history buffs are going to Lokhya, to the museum near Kalervo.

Kalervo Kaare, creator of the "Military Museum": "Historical facts should not cause anger or hatred in young people. History is history. It teaches us to make smarter decisions."

And now, 80 years later, Russian reenactors on the Karelian Isthmus are attacking a Finnish machine gun so that viewers can feel the atmosphere of the beginning of that war. Unfamous, but unexpectedly relevant in terms of analyzing its causes and results in the current difficult international situation.

Great slanderous war Pykhalov Igor Vasilyevich

“I feel sorry for the Finns, but I am for the Vyborg province”

So, by the end of the 1930s, there was a state clearly unfriendly to us near the northwestern borders of the Soviet Union. It is very significant that even before the start of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. The identification mark of the Finnish Air Force and tank troops was a blue swastika. Those who say that it was Stalin who, by his actions, pushed Finland into the Nazi camp, prefer not to remember this. As well as why the peaceful Suomi needed a network of military airfields built by the beginning of 1939 with the help of German specialists, capable of receiving 10 times more aircraft than the Finnish Air Force had. However, in Helsinki they were ready to fight against us both in alliance with Germany and Japan, and in alliance with England and France.

Seeing the approach of a new world conflict, the leadership of the USSR sought to secure the border near the second largest and most important city in the country. Back in March 1939, Soviet diplomacy probed the issue of transferring or leasing a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland, but in Helsinki they answered with a categorical refusal.

With the outbreak of World War II, the needs of our defense increased significantly. In order to prevent the fleet of a potential enemy, be it Germany or Western democracies, from breaking through to Kronstadt, and then to Leningrad, it was necessary to block the waters of the Gulf of Finland with artillery fire from both banks. This task was effectively solved by creating two defensive lines. First, directly on the outskirts of Kronstadt. In pre-revolutionary times, the entrance to the so-called Marquis Puddle was covered from the south by the Krasnaya Gorka fort, and from the north by the Ino fort. Ino now belonged to Finland. It made sense to organize a distant line of defense at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, having received suitable bases for this on the northern and southern coasts. In addition, it was necessary to move the border on land, where it was only 32 km from Leningrad, making it possible to bombard it with long-range artillery.

On September 28, 1939, an agreement on mutual assistance was concluded between the USSR and Estonia, according to which Soviet troops numbering 25 thousand people entered the territory of this small but proud republic. The Soviet Union was granted the right to deploy garrisons and build naval bases in Paldiski and Haapsalu, as well as on the islands of Ezel (Saaremaa) and Dago (Hiiumaa).

On October 12, Soviet-Finnish negotiations began in Moscow. The Soviet side proposed to conclude a local agreement on mutual assistance in the joint defense of the Gulf of Finland. Then the conversation turned to the need to have a military base on the coast of Finland, in connection with which the Hanko Peninsula was mentioned as a possible place for its deployment. In addition, Finland was called upon to cede its part of the Rybachy Peninsula, a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland, and to push back the border on the Karelian Isthmus. As compensation, the Soviet Union offered much larger areas of Eastern Karelia. However, the Finnish representatives categorically rejected the idea of ​​concluding a mutual assistance treaty, and regarding territorial changes they said that Finland could not renounce the inviolability of its territory.

On October 14, the negotiations were continued. The Soviet position remained unchanged. As Stalin said: “We ask that the distance from Leningrad to the border line be seventy kilometers. These are our minimum requirements, and you should not think that we will reduce them. We cannot move Leningrad, so the border line must be moved.".

In response, the head of the Finnish delegation, J. Paasikivi, said that he must consult with the government. Then the Soviet side presented its proposals in the form of a written memorandum. They boiled down to the fact that Finland should lease the Hanko Peninsula "for the establishment of a naval base with coastal artillery defense, which, together with coastal artillery, can be on the other side of the Gulf of Finland near the Baltic port(Paldiski. - I.P.) to block the passage to the Gulf of Finland with artillery fire", as well as push back the border on the Karelian Isthmus and transfer to the Soviet Union a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland and the western part of the Rybachy Peninsula. The total area of ​​territories passing from Finland to the USSR would be 2761 sq. km, as compensation were offered 5529 sq. km in Eastern Karelia near Rebola and Lake Poros. The next day the Finnish delegation left for Helsinki.

In the meantime, the Finnish leadership was dominated by the opinion formulated by Foreign Minister E. Erkko that the Soviet Union was bluffing and that a firm line should be pursued towards it. As early as October 12, a general mobilization and evacuation of the civilian population from large cities was announced in Finland. Arrests of members of left-wing public organizations began, and the publication of a number of newspapers and magazines was banned. On October 17, Marshal Mannerheim is appointed commander in chief. The Finnish delegation at the talks included V. Tanner, who at that time held the post of Minister of Finance, who was supposed to control the compromising Paasikivi.

On October 23, Moscow negotiations resumed. In accordance with the instructions received, the representatives of Finland agreed to transfer 5 islands in the Gulf of Finland and push back the border on the Karelian Isthmus by 10 km. Regarding the lease of Hanko, a categorical refusal followed. In turn, the Soviet side continued to insist on the creation of a naval base on the Hanko Peninsula, although it agreed to reduce the size of its garrison from 5 to 4 thousand people. In addition, readiness was expressed to slightly move the line of the future border on the Karelian Isthmus to the east. Citing the need to consult Parliament, a Finnish delegation traveled to Helsinki on 24 October.

However, sober voices were also heard among the Finnish leadership. A supporter of a compromise with Moscow was Marshal Mannerheim, who back in March 1939, in conversations with President K. Kallio and Prime Minister A. Cajander, expressed the idea that it would be beneficial for Finland to come up with a proposal to withdraw the border line from Leningrad and get a good compensation . On October 16, during a meeting in the State Council, the ambassador to the USSR, Iryo-Koskinen, expressed the opinion that if the reasonable defense requirements of the government of the Soviet Union were met, as others had done, the war would not break out, and Mannerheim noted that if Russia was satisfied with the border seventy kilometers from Leningrad , then the military will be able to develop appropriate proposals. Speaking out against the lease of Hanko, the marshal offered an alternative: “Compromise, perhaps, would have been achieved by sacrificing some of the islands. In this regard, I named the island of Yussarö as a possible object of negotiations, the location of which offered the Russians good conditions for interaction with the forts of the island of Naissaar(10 km north of Tallinn. - I.P.) adjacent to the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland". According to Tanner, after negotiations on October 23, Paasikivi was ready to recommend the transfer of Yussarö to a Soviet base, and on the Karelian Isthmus to cede territory up to the border line proposed by Mannerheim.

On November 3, the last round of negotiations began. Having met with Paasikivi on the eve of the departure of the Finnish delegation to Moscow, Mannerheim urged him: “You have to come to an agreement. The army is unable to fight". However, the strict instructions approved by President Kallio ruled out the possibility of any diplomatic maneuver.

In seeking to obtain a naval base, the Soviet side was ready to accept any option that suits Finland to transfer the Hanko Peninsula to us, whether it be rent, sale or exchange. Finally, we also agreed to the islands off its coast. As Mannerheim notes in his memoirs: “The Soviet government, in turn, stated that it could be satisfied with the group of islands Hestö - Buso - Hermanso - Koyo, located east of Cape Hanko, as well as the previously mentioned anchorage in Lappohya. This was a rather significant concession, which, in an economic sense, would have been less difficult than the transfer of Hanko, although important batteries of coastal artillery would have been lost..

On November 4, the Finnish delegation sent an encrypted telegram to Helsinki, in which they asked their government for consent to the transfer of the island of Yussarö to the Soviet base and the cession of Fort Ino on the Karelian Isthmus to the USSR. However, the leadership of Finland has completely lost its sense of reality. In a reply telegram dated November 8, it was instructed to abandon any options for locating a Soviet base on Hanko or any islands in its vicinity. A concession to Ino could only be considered on the condition that the USSR renounce its demands on Hanko. As Tanner writes: “We were all very disappointed with the instructions we received. We expected that in Helsinki they would understand: an agreement can only be reached through new concessions. ”.

On November 9, the last meeting of the Soviet and Finnish delegations took place. As Tanner recalls:

“Stalin pointed out the island of Russare on the map:“ Maybe you will at least give it up?

As our instructions prescribed, we answered in the negative.

“Then it looks like nothing will come of it. Nothing will come of it,” Stalin said.

It became clear that the negotiations had finally reached an impasse. On November 13, the Finnish delegation left Moscow. When she crossed the border, the Finnish border guards opened fire on the Soviet border guards.

It is impossible not to note the instigating role of British diplomacy. On November 24, England hinted to the USSR that it would not intervene in the event of a Soviet-Finnish conflict. At the same time, Finland was told that it should take a firm stance and not succumb to pressure from Moscow. Thus, it was about provoking a war in order to use Finland "in order to cause as much harm as possible to Russia, even if in the end the Finns fail in the face of her superior power".

The accusers of the “crimes of the Stalinist regime” like to rant about the fact that Finland is a sovereign country that controls its own territory, and therefore, they say, it was not at all obliged to agree to an exchange. In this regard, we can recall the events that took place two decades later. When Soviet missiles began to be deployed in Cuba in 1962, the Americans had no legal basis to impose a naval blockade of the Island of Freedom, much less to launch a military strike on it. Both Cuba and the USSR are sovereign countries, the deployment of Soviet nuclear weapons concerned only them and fully complied with the norms of international law. Nevertheless, the United States was ready to start the 3rd world war if the missiles are not removed. There is such a thing as a "sphere of vital interests." For our country in 1939 in similar area included the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus. Even the former leader of the Kadet Party P. N. Milyukov, who was by no means sympathetic to the Soviet regime, expressed the following attitude towards the outbreak of war with Finland in a letter to I. P. Demidov: “I feel sorry for the Finns, but I am for the Vyborg province”.

On November 26, a well-known incident occurred near the village of Mainila. According to the official Soviet version, at 15:45 Finnish artillery shelled our territory, as a result of which 4 Soviet servicemen were killed and 9 wounded. Today it is considered good form to interpret this event as the work of the NKVD. The statements of the Finnish side that their artillery was deployed at such a distance that its fire could not reach the border are taken as indisputable. Meanwhile, according to Soviet documentary sources, one of the Finnish batteries was located in the Jaappinen area (5 km from Mainila). However, whoever organized the provocation at Mainila, it was used by the Soviet side as a pretext for war. On November 28, the government of the USSR denounced the Soviet-Finnish non-aggression pact and recalled its diplomatic representatives from Finland. On November 30, hostilities began.

I will not describe in detail the course of the war, since there are already enough publications on this topic. Its first stage, which lasted until the end of December 1939, was generally unsuccessful for the Red Army. On the Karelian Isthmus, Soviet troops, having overcome the forefield of the Mannerheim Line, reached its main defensive zone on December 4-10. However, attempts to break it were unsuccessful. After bloody battles, the parties switched to positional struggle.

What are the reasons for the failures of the initial period of the war? First of all, in underestimating the enemy. Finland mobilized ahead of time, increasing the number of its armed forces from 37 to 337 thousand. Finnish troops were deployed in the border zone, the main forces occupied defensive lines on the Karelian Isthmus and even managed to carry out full-scale maneuvers at the end of October 1939.

Soviet intelligence was also not up to par, which could not reveal complete and reliable information about the Finnish fortifications. However, there is also an opposite opinion. For example, here is what Lieutenant Colonel V. A. Rookie claims in his memoirs:

“I remember well that all of us, employees of the operational department, used the so-called “black album”, which contained all the comprehensive data on the Finnish fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus (“Mannerheim Line”), The album contained photographs and characteristics of each pillbox: wall thickness , rolling, armament, etc.

Later, already working in the Intelligence Agency, I again saw this “black album”. He was also at the headquarters of the active troops on the Karelian Isthmus. How dare the leaders of the government to claim that there were no such data?

Apparently, Novobranets is referring to the "Album of the Karelian Isthmus fortifications", compiled according to Soviet intelligence in 1937. However, the fact is that the most modern part of the Finnish fortifications, including the famous “millionaire” pillboxes, was built in 1938-1939. Reliable intelligence information about them was completely absent.

Finally, the Soviet leadership harbored unfounded hopes for the "class solidarity of the Finnish working people." It was widely believed that the population of countries that entered the war against the USSR, almost immediately “will rise up and go over to the side of the Red Army” that the workers and peasants will come out to meet the Soviet soldiers with flowers.

As a result, the proper number of troops was not allocated for combat operations and, accordingly, the necessary superiority in forces was not ensured. So, on the Karelian Isthmus, which was the most important sector of the front, the Finnish side had in December 1939 6 infantry divisions, 4 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade and 10 separate battalions - a total of 80 settlement battalions. On the Soviet side, they were opposed by 9 rifle divisions, 1 rifle and machine gun brigade and 6 tank brigades - a total of 84 calculated rifle battalions. If we compare the number of personnel, then the Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus numbered 130 thousand, the Soviet - 169 thousand people. In general, 425 thousand soldiers of the Red Army acted along the entire front against 265 thousand Finnish troops.