Country Profile on Finland

The Bolshevik October Revolution brought Vladimir Lenin to power. Lenin’s vow to end the war and open negotiations with the Germans provoked the Allies and led to the detachment of a military excursion to oppose the newly established government and aid rebels who had begun a civil war to oust the Bolsheviks.

The treaty of Brest Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on march the 3rd 1918. Between the Central powers and the Bolshevik Government, the bolsheviks had to sign the humiliating peace treaty which brought the end of the war between Russia and Germany. This did bring the end of wold war.

The Russian Revolutions of 1917 There were two revolutions that occurred in Russia in 1917. The first one, in February, overthrew the Russian monarchy. The second one, in October, created the world’s first Communist state. The Russian revolutions of 1917 involved a series of uprisings by workers and peasants throughout the country and by soldiers, who were predominantly of peasant origin, in the Russian army.

Russia fought on the Allied side in the war and suffered sever damages and loss. More that three million lives were lost and the country became broke. After Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and the Russian Revolution ended, the Communists took over power and Russia pulled themselves out of the war two months later. Russia became renamed as the Soviet Union and fought alongside Germany and the United States in World War II. After the war, the Soviet Union turned on the United States and faced off against them in the Cold War which ended at the fall of Communism in 1991. Russia then became a democracy under the President Vladimir Putin. Now, he is the prime minister but has turned back democratic reforms to reassert influence over neighbors. Russia then invaded Georgia. Many civilians of the United States saw the attack. This sparked new tension with the United States. Although the Presidents, Obama and Dmitri Menvedev agreed to move past the Cold War, many believe it will be not as easily done and

The Russian government collapsed in March 1917,and a revolution in November followed by a further military defeat brought the Russians to terms with the Central Powers via the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which granted the Germans a significant victory After stunning Germans offensive on November 4 1918,the Austro-Hungarian empire

Joseph Stalin used the early years of WWII to gain Territory, which include Finland and Baltic States. (WorldWar2history.info). Later they signed a neutrality pact with Japan. “On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, thereby beginning Operation Barbarossa,” because of the invasion Soviet Union joined the war (WorldWar2History.info).

In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources. There was shortage of food throughout the country, which left people starving. At the battlefront, millions of Russian soldiers were dying, they did not possess many of the powerful weapons that their opponents had. The government under Czar Nicholas II was disintegrating, and a provisional government had been set up. In November of 1917, Lenin and his communist followers known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and set a communist government in Russia. However, in 1924, Lenin died and Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, which was the name for the communist Russia. Stalin was a ruthless leader who brought

According to Daina Stukuls this was led by the devastation it did to the civilian population in the three countries. For example, Latvia population before the war was 2.5 million and by the end of the war it plummeted to 1.58 million (p.232). During this time some in the Baltic States supported the Bolshevik revolution. However, others wanted an independent state especially in Latvia. While others in Latvia specifically the German population wanting to unify with Germany. However, the fight for independence was won by the nationalist with help from the British. All three Baltic countries declared their independence in

During World War One, the Russians had to pull out from the war because they had a revolution going on. The Bolshevik Revolution changed Russia by making it communist. Since the USA is capitalist, they did not get along and the citizens were scared of a communist revolution in America. The first Red

According to the History.com Staff, “The October Revolution began on November 6 and 7, 1917 (or October 24 and 25 on the Julian calendar).” (Russian Revolution”). The October Revolution has also been called the Bolshevik Revolution since the Bolshevik Party played a crucial role in the revolution. The leader of the Bolshevik Party, Vladimir Lenin was a big supporter of Karl Marx. Another Marxist who leads this revolution was Leon Trotsky. In an article by the History.com Staff, “Lenin had created an, almost, bloodless coup d’état against the provisional government.” (“Russian Revolution”). The Bolshevik revolution started when, Alexander Kerensky, rather than follow an order. On October 24th, Kerensky ordered troops that were loyal, to act against the Bolshevik. Encyclopædia Britannica tells us that, “Kerensky was a socialist revolutionary who served as head of the Russian Provisional Government.” (“Aleksandr Kerensky”).

The Russian Revolution is a series of political events that occurred during the years 1905 to 1924. The February Revolution, in which overthrew the imperial government and the October Revolution, placed the Bolsheviks in power (britannica.com). The Russian Revolution happened because of discontentment of with the tsar, poverty in Russia, and lack of control over the government. During the In January of 1905, protesters were protesting in front of the winter palace because of extreme poverty and starvation due to peasants’ wages decreasing. The Russian workers and peasants wanted a better working and living conditions. More than 1000 protesters were killed and injured after the tsar, Nicholas the II, ordered his army to gun down the protesters. This incident, known as Bloody Sunday, led to the 1905 revolution. During the 1905 revolution, Russian Social Democratic Social Party split into two factions, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. Later in October of 1905, Nicholas the II issued the October Manifesto, which ended the Russian Revolution of 1905. In July of 1914, World War I begun which caused the Russians a lot of damage because four million Russian soldiers killed, wounded or captured. The Russian Soldiers refused the fight and people back in Russian were starving because of the lack of income from the war. World War I also caused the tsar to lose control of Russia as the war has caused chaos in Russia. Soon, continuous protests and revolts led to the March Revolution of

In 1917, the Bolsheviks managed to take complete power over Russia. A multitude of events lead to the overrun of Russia. These events include Russia’s failure in World War I, The weakness of Tsar Nicholas II and The failure of the duma. These events were significant because it gave the Bolsheviks the upper hand in attempting to overrun the Russian empire.

After the fall of Poland in September of 1939, Russia sought to expand further over the Baltic between September and November of the same year. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were all made to sign treaties “of mutual assistance" that allowed Russia to establish military bases in each of the three Baltic states. On October 5th, the Soviet Union invited Finnish ambassador,  J.K. Paasikivi, to negotiate Russia’s demands of moving borders, destroy all fortifications on Karelian Isthmus, etcetera. Accepting Soviet demands would have forced the Finns to dismantle their defences and the offer divided the Finnish government, but was eventually rejected. On November 30, 1939, Soviet forces attacked Finland with 21 divisions with

War Communism was in favour of Lenin being able to consolidate power as the Bolsheviks used terror effectively. There was a six week period known as the Red Terror that saw any remaining aristocracy (most begun to flee the country after February revolution). Monarchists and riches middle class, were arrested, executed, exiled or stripped of their power, estates and privilege. Additionally, in March, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed with the Germans, was the Bolsheviks ending the war. Russia lost the Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic territories, and Finland. The treaty was hugely unpopular in Russia but necessary if the Bolsheviks were to establish control of Russia. Lenin believed that the revolution would soon spread to Germany and this would reduce the effect of the Treaty.

The Russo-Finnish War, or Winter War, began on 30 November 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. The objectives of the Red Army were simply, conquer and subjugate all of Finland and re-establish the borders that existed prior to the First World War. The Soviet Union held the advantage in manpower, equipment, and resources, but the Finnish Army inflicted casualties on the Red Army that far exceeded their own. Not a single Red Army unit reached its initial objectives and Stalin was forced to come to the negotiation table and make a peace that left Finland as a sovereign state. The Finnish military was successful because the Red Army lacked competent leadership, didn’t have the proper equipment to fight in subzero temperatures, and the Finnish Army was able to adapt to a changing environment and use their smaller numbers to their advantage. The gaping holes in Soviet military capabilities helped fuel Hitler’s willingness to initiate Operation Barbarossa. Additionally, by invading Finland the Soviet Union turned a disinterested and essentially neutral into an enemy that had the capabilities to strike into the heart of Russia.