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Friday, February 19, 2016

Finland, Cool Facts #100

<= 99. Sweden                                                                                                               101. Norway =>



1. Flag of Finland

During the beginning of Finnish independence there was a dispute about the Finnish flag. The question was whether the flag should be red-yellow or blue-white. 

For over 350 years the red-yellow coat-of-arms with a lion was Finland's only symbol and red and yellow were thus considered as Finnish national colors. 

In 1863 two famous Finns had argued about the flag as the author Zacharias Topelius supported the red-yellow flag and Juhani Aho supported the blue-white flag. 

The red-yellow lion flag became the official flag after the February Revolution in Russia in 1917, when the Tsar was overthrown. After the October Revolution Finland declared independence and the civil war started between the Whites and Reds. 

In 1918 after the Finnish civil war ended the anti-Russian red-yellow lion flag was lifted but it quickly lost popularity as red was the symbol of the Reds, who lost the civil war against the Whites. So after all the current blue-white flag was taken in use.

Finnish flag December 1917 - May 1918
Finnish flag 1918-now



The Sami people are indigenous people living in northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. They were the first inhabitants in Finland when the ice age ended in northern Europe. Petroglyphs and archeological findings have found marks of Sami settlements dating to 10,000 BC. The Sami languages are of Uralic origins. 

The Sami people are actually the only indigenous people in Europe. There are still about 6000 Sami people in Finland and in total about an estimated 137,000 people, with the majority living in Norway and then in Sweden. 

One controversial thing in Finland considering the Sami people is that it still hasn't ratified the ILO convention 169, an international agreement about the rights of the indigenous people. Norway and Denmark have ratified it already. The problem in Finland has been deciding whose descendants can be counted as Sami people. 


Areas with Sami occupation


3. Between Russia and Sweden


Already in the 1100s Swedish and Russian people visited Finland. Swedish crusaders arrived from the west and Russian Novgorod Emperors spread Orthodox faith to Finland from the east.

In 1249 or 1250 Birger Jarl annexed Finland to Sweden starting a centuries long Swedish occupation in Finland.

In 1323 Sweden and the Novgorod Republic defined the Finnish borders during the Treaty of Nöteborg (Pähkinäsaaren Rauha).

Sweden left the Kalmar Union in 1523 and rose as a superpower in the 1600s fighting against Russia for the dominance of the Baltic Sea region. This made Finland as the battlefield many times when these two countries fought against each other.

Greater Wrath (Isoviha) 1714-1721

During the Great Northern War Russia manages to occupy Finland for the first time in history. After the end of the war the Russian troops retreated.

Lesser Wrath (Pikkuviha) 1742-1743

During the Russo-Swedish War between 1741-1743 Russia occupied Finland for the second time as Sweden entered the war trying to regain the lost areas during the Great Northern War. Sweden lost again.

Russia conquered Finland finally during the Napoleonic Wars in 1809. Finland became the autonomic Grand Duchy of Finland, which it remained until Finnish independence in 1917.


Treaty of Nystad 1323




4. Finnish Sports Success

For such a small country Finland is extremely successful in different sports. Here is a list of Finnish sports achievements.

- 4 Formula One Championships (1xRosberg, 2xHäkkinen, 1xRäikkönen)
- Most World Rally Championship: 14 Championships, 7 World Champion drivers
- Most Olympic Medals per capita: 302 medals, 17.907 people/medal
- Most Gold Medals in the 10.000m at the Olympics: 6, and most in total with Ethiopia: 13
- Most Gold and total Medals in the 5000m at the Olympics: 6 golds, 12 in total
- Most successful country in Javelin throw at the Olympics: 7 golds, 22 in total
- 2 Ice Hockey World Championships, 12 medals in total
- One of the most successful countries in Ski Jumping

Mika Häkkinen
Matti Nykänen
Lasse Viren

5. Urho Kekkonen 

The most legendary president of Finland is definitely Urho Kekkonen, the man who was the president of Finland for 25 years. In 1948 Finland's president Juho Kusti Paasikivi signed the Finno-Soviet Treaty also known as YYA Treaty

The intention of it for the Soviet Union was to ensure that no one would attack it through Finland and for Finland it ensured the survival as a liberal democracy near strategic Soviet regions. 

After Paasikivi ended his term Kekkonen stepped to presidency continuing the political line that Paasikivi had used. It's debated that Kekkonen used this policy intentionally to continue his own influence and damaging his opponents.

This is one reason why Kekkonen was able to continue so long in office and also the fact that he managed to be a valued statesman both in the west and the east, which wasn't easy during the Cold War as Finland was the only pro-Western neighbor of the Soviet Union.

Finnish Presidents:
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg 1919-1925
Lauri Kristian Relander 1925-1931
Per Evind Svinhufvud 1931-1937
Kyösti Kallio 1937-1940
Risto Ryti 1940-1944
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim 1944-1946
Juho Kusti Paasikivi 1946-1956
Urho Kekkonen 1956-1982
Mauno Koivisto 1982-1994
Martti Ahtisaari 1994-2000
Tarja Halonen 2000-2012
Sauli Niinistö 2012-


Urho Kekkonen

This is Finland:






Timeline

8500 BC Finland was being settled by hunter-gatherers
800-900s Swedish and Danish Vikings make voyages to the coasts of South Finland from which the Finns retreated to the inland
1100s Swedish crusaders made crusades to Finland and Russian Novgorod Emperors came to spread Orthodox faith from Russia
1249 or 1250 Birger Jarl annexed Finland to Sweden
1323 Treaty of Nöteborg (Pähkinäsaaren Rauha) Sweden and Novgorod Republic defined the borders of Finland
1397 Finland as a part of Sweden joined the Kalmar Union
1500s Mikael Agricola published first written works in Finnish 
1523 Sweden left the Kalmar Union and Gustav Vasa performed reformation which converted the Finns to Lutheranism
1618-1648 Finnish "hakkapeliitta" cavalrymen fight various times during the Thirty Years' War
1640 The Royal academy of Turku was the first university established in Finland
1697-1698 About 33% of the Finnish population died in a severe famine
1714-1721 Great Wrath during the Great Northern War when Russian troops occupied Finland
1742-1743 Lesser Wrath during the Russo-Swedish War Russian troops occupied Finland again
1809 During the Napoleonic Wars Russia finally conquered Finland from Sweden and formed the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland
1835 The Finnish national epic "Kalevala" was released
1848 The Finnish flag was used for the first time in Helsinki and the national song was played for the first time as well
1853-1856 During the Russo-Turkish War the British-French navy attacked the Finnish coast destroying the Bomarsund fortress in Åland
1863 The Finnish language achieved equal legal status with Swedish
1866-1868 The famine killed 15% of the population
1906 Universal suffrage was adopted in Finland
1917 February Revolution in Russia, Tsardom is abolished
1917 Finland declared independence after the October Revolution on 6, December
1918 Finnish civil war started between the Whites and Reds
1919 Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg became the first president of Finland 
1939-1940 Winter War started when Soviet Union attacked Finland during the World War II, Finland defended successfully from the Soviet Union but lost Karelia
1941-1944 Continuation War when Finland allied with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union
1944-1945 Lapland War, Finnish troops fought against retreating Nazi German troops 
1948 The Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance signed by Juho Kusti Paasikivi
1956 Urho Kekkonen became the Finnish president until 1981
1995 Finland joined the European Union
2000 Tarja Halonen became the first female president of Finland

2 comments:

  1. Miten on, kaytat taysin Ruotsalaisten sensuroimaa lahdetietoa vuosien 800-1550 ajanjaksolle! Muista, etta Kustaa Vaasa poltatti kaikki kirkonkirjat Suomesta. Motto: "Kansa milla ei ole histoariaa ei ole mikaan kansa!"

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    1. Linkkaapa tähän tarkalleen ne kohdat mitkä on väärin ja kerro oikea tieto ja lähde siihen ! Muuten vaikea lähteä tekemään arvioita et miten oikeessa oot.

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