Finland held off Russia through a combination of fierce national unity, superior knowledge of terrain, guerrilla tactics (like the "Motti" system and Molotov cocktails), and exploiting Soviet incompetence (poor leadership, bad logistics) during the Winter War (1939-40), ultimately forcing a costly peace despite the Soviets eventually breaking the Mannerheim Line with sheer numbers, but failing to conquer the whole country.
The Red Army was ill-equipped, poorly led, and unable to deal with the Finnish terrain and winter weather. Though small and under-resourced, the Finnish Army was resilient, well-led and was able to use knowledge of the terrain to good effect.
Finland was granted its own parliament in 1906, and the first elections were held in 1907. Finland declared independence on 6 December 1917, and the Bolshevik government that seized power in the October Revolution in Russia recognised Finnish independence on 31 December 1917.
Swedish rule over the rest of Finland ended on 17 September 1809, when the signing of the Treaty of Hamina ended the Finnish War. As a result, the eastern third of Sweden was ceded to the Russian Empire and became established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
The Soviet Union, whom the Finns and Germans fought against together, demanded compensation for suffering at the hands of the Finns. Though the terms took years to finalize, parts kicked in immediately. The final sum included territory, political concessions, and $300 million USD in reparations (Heninen).
The major reason was, as mentioned, that Finland was not occupied, but the relatively benign (for the circumstances) attitude of the Western Allies helped: Finland was never at war with the United States, and Britain had declared war on 6th December 1941 only reluctantly, after pressure from Stalin.
Finland significantly restricts the non-essential travel of Russian citizens. Finland restricts the non-essential travel (e.g. tourism) of Russian citizens to Finland and to Schengen area on the basis of government resolution issued on 6 July 2023.
Since Finland gained its full independence from Russia in 1917, Finland and Sweden have been close partners, enjoying a special relationship.
Finnish citizens and the 3-year rule
If you are a Finnish citizen and you move to another country, you will normally continue as a Finnish tax resident during the tax year of your relocation, and for the three following tax years (the three-year rule).
The total area ceded was approximately 40,000 square kilometers, and about 400,000 Finns-around 11–12% of the population-were displaced from these territories." "Finland's ability to resist the Soviet Union during the Winter War (1939–1940) is widely regarded as remarkable.
The first people arrived in Finland about 9,000 years ago. They probably represented several groups and tribes, including the ancestors of the present Sami. Lured by the plenitude of game, particularly fur-bearing animals and fish, they followed the melting ice northward.
So Finland's history becomes: • Swedish foundation • Russian imperial umbrella • but with distinct Finnish cultural growth This makes Finland feel culturally close to Scandinavia while politically being pulled into a different empire.
As tension increased between Germany and the USSR, Finland saw in Hitler a possible ally in gaining back its lost territory. German troops were allowed on Finnish soil as the Germans prepared for their invasion of the Soviet Union—a war that the Finns joined.
Finland declared its independence from the Russian Empire on December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution. The United States recognized Finland on May 7, 1919, in a letter from Secretary of State Robert Lansing to Finnish Foreign Minister Rudolf Holsti.
Following ratification, Finland became a member of NATO on 4 April 2023. Finland has a 1,340-kilometre (830 mi) border with Russia, which upon accession more than doubled NATO's pre-existing border with Russia.
Finland was pretty much a puppet state of USSR. Nathanael Young First of all Soviet weapons were really cheap, and secondly during WW2 Finnish Army get a lot of its equipment as war trophy from the Red Army, so the idea was to do same if they would attack again.
The country that has the highest taxes is the Ivory Coast (60%), according to statistics platform Data Panda's 2025 survey. Other countries with high taxes are Finland (56%), Japan (55%), Austria (55%), Denmark (55%), Sweden (52%), Aruba (52%), Belgium (50%), Israel (50%), and Slovenia (50%).
Finland had the 3rd highest tax wedge in the OECD for an average married worker with two children at 38.1% in 2024, which compares with the OECD average of 25.7%.
According to the Tax Foundation, Estonia has the best tax code in the OECD for the 11th consecutive year.
Frenemies for life: Finland and Sweden's century-old athletics rivalry continues. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025, the Finland–Sweden Athletics International is a one-of-a-kind event celebrated each August. It's a stage for pride, passion and an age-old rivalry between two close neighbours.
Hei means “Hi” or “Hello.” We can use this greeting with friends or relatives, but also with people we don't know. The formal way of greeting people is Hyvää päivää!
Finns are genetically closest to Karelians, a fellow Balto-Finnic group. Finns and Karelians form a cluster with another Balto-Finnic people, the Veps.
The puppet Finnish communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol is used as proof that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland. On 1 December 1939, the Soviet Union formed a puppet government, named the Finnish Democratic Republic, to govern Finland after Soviet conquest.
While vaccinations were voluntary for the public throughout the pandemic, in February 2022 the COVID-19 vaccination was made mandatory for health and social care workers who were in close contact with patients or clients at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease [6].