Why is the Soviet-Finnish war called winter. The myth of war - Finnish "cuckoos"

22.09.2019

On the eve of the World War, both Europe and Asia were already blazing with many local conflicts. International tension was due to the high probability of a new big war, and all the most powerful political players on the world map, before it began, tried to secure favorable starting positions for themselves, while not neglecting any means. The USSR was no exception. In 1939-1940. the Soviet-Finnish war began. The reasons for the inevitable military conflict lay in the same impending threat of a major European war. The USSR, more and more aware of its inevitability, was forced to look for an opportunity to move the state border as far as possible from one of the most strategically important cities - Leningrad. With this in mind, the Soviet leadership entered into negotiations with the Finns, offering their neighbors an exchange of territories. At the same time, the Finns were offered a territory almost twice as large as the USSR planned to receive in return. One of the demands that the Finns did not want to accept in any case was the request of the USSR to deploy military bases in Finland. Even the admonitions of Germany (Helsinki's ally), including Hermann Goering, who hinted to the Finns that Berlin's help could not be counted on, did not force Finland to move away from its positions. Thus, the parties that did not come to a compromise came to the beginning of the conflict.

The course of hostilities

The Soviet-Finnish war began on November 30, 1939. Obviously, the Soviet command was counting on a quick and victorious war with minimal losses. However, the Finns themselves were also not going to surrender to the mercy of their big neighbor. The President of the country is the military Mannerheim, who, by the way, was educated in Russian Empire, planned to delay the Soviet troops with a massive defense for as long as possible, until the start of assistance from Europe. The complete quantitative advantage of the country of the Soviets was obvious both in human resources and in equipment. The war for the USSR began with heavy fighting. Its first stage in historiography is usually dated from 11/30/1939 to 02/10/1940 - the time that became the most bloody for the advancing Soviet troops. The line of defense, called the Mannerheim Line, became an insurmountable obstacle for the soldiers of the Red Army. Fortified pillboxes and bunkers, Molotov cocktails, later called "Molotov cocktails", severe frosts, reaching up to 40 degrees - all this is considered to be the main reasons for the failures of the USSR in the Finnish campaign.

Turning point in the war and its end

The second stage of the war begins on February 11, the moment of the general offensive of the Red Army. At that time, a significant amount of manpower and equipment was concentrated on the Karelian Isthmus. For several days before the attack, the Soviet army carried out artillery preparation, subjecting the entire surrounding area to heavy bombardment.

As a result of the successful preparation of the operation and the further assault, the first line of defense was broken through within three days, and by February 17, the Finns completely switched to the second line. During February 21-28, the second line was also broken. On March 13, the Soviet-Finnish war ended. On this day, the USSR stormed Vyborg. The leaders of Suomi realized that there was no longer any chance to defend themselves after breaking through the defense, and the Soviet-Finnish war itself was doomed to remain a local conflict, without outside support, which Mannerheim counted on so much. Given this, the request for negotiations was the logical end.

The results of the war

As a result of protracted bloody battles, the USSR achieved the satisfaction of all its claims. In particular, the country has become the sole owner of the waters of Lake Ladoga. In total, the Soviet-Finnish war guaranteed the USSR an increase in territory by 40 thousand square meters. km. As for losses, this war cost the country of the Soviets dearly. According to some estimates, about 150 thousand people left their lives in the snows of Finland. Was this company necessary? Given the fact that Leningrad was the target of the German troops almost from the very beginning of the attack, it is worth recognizing that yes. However, heavy losses seriously called into question the combat capability Soviet army. By the way, the end of hostilities was not the end of the conflict. Soviet-Finnish war 1941-1944 became a continuation of the epic, during which the Finns, trying to return the lost, again failed.

75 years ago, on November 30, 1939, the Winter War (Soviet-Finnish War) began. The winter war was almost unknown to the inhabitants of Russia for quite a long time. In the 1980s and 1990s, when it was possible to blaspheme the history of Russia-USSR with impunity, the point of view dominated that "bloody Stalin" wanted to seize "innocent" Finland, but the small, but proud northern people rebuffed the northern "evil empire". Thus, Stalin was blamed not only for the Soviet Finnish war 1939-1940, but also for the fact that Finland was "forced" to enter into an alliance with Nazi Germany 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 the creation of basic state institutions, and the formation of 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 the 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 - 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 Germany, and then with the powers of the Entente ( Read more in a series of articles - How Russia Created Finnish Statehood; Part 2; Finland allied with Imperial Germany against Russia; Part 2; Finland is in alliance with the Entente against Russia. First Soviet-Finnish war; Part 2 ). 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. started Civil War between 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 Soviet power. Exterminated 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 . 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 of 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 held 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 fully liberated the territory of Karelia from 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 started general mobilization and the 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's 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, while 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.

Another old record of mine hit the top after 4 years. Of course, I would correct some statements of that time today. But, alas, there is absolutely no time.

gusev_a_v in the Soviet-Finnish war. Losses Ch.2

The Soviet-Finnish war and Finland's participation in World War II are extremely mythologized. A special place in this mythology is occupied by the losses of the parties. Very small in Finland and huge in the USSR. Mannerheim wrote that the Russians walked through the minefields, in tight ranks and holding hands. Any Russian person who has recognized the incommensurability of losses, it turns out, must simultaneously admit that our grandfathers were idiots.

Again I will quote the Finnish commander-in-chief Mannerheim:
« It happened that the Russians in the battles of early December marched with songs in dense rows - and even holding hands - into the minefields of the Finns, not paying attention to the explosions and the accurate fire of the defenders.

Do you represent these cretins?

After such statements, the loss figures named by Mannerheim are not surprising. He counted 24923 people killed and died from wounds of the Finns. Russian, in his opinion, killed 200 thousand people.

Why pity these Russes?

Finnish soldier in a coffin...

Engle, E. Paanenen L. in the book "Soviet-Finnish War. Breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line 1939 - 1940". with reference to Nikita Khrushchev, they give the following data:

Thus, the Russians won, filling the Finns with "meat".

Finnish military cemetery...

About the reasons for the defeat, Mannerheim writes as follows:
"At the final stage of the war, the weakest point was not the lack of materials, but the lack of manpower."

Why?
According to Mannerheim, the Finns lost only 24 thousand killed and 43 thousand wounded. And after such meager losses, Finland began to lack manpower?

Something doesn't add up!

But let's see what other researchers write and write about the losses of the parties.

For example, Pykhalov in The Great Slandered War claims:
« Of course, during the hostilities, the Soviet Armed Forces suffered significantly greater losses than the enemy. According to the name lists, in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. 126,875 soldiers of the Red Army were killed, died or went missing. The losses of the Finnish troops amounted, according to official figures, to 21,396 killed and 1,434 missing. However, another figure of Finnish losses is often found in Russian literature - 48,243 killed, 43,000 wounded. The primary source of this figure is the translation of an article by Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff of Finland Helge Seppäl, published in the newspaper “Za rubezhom” No. 48 for 1989, originally published in the Finnish edition of “Maailma ya me”. Regarding the Finnish losses, Seppälä writes the following:
“Finland lost in the “winter war” more than 23,000 people killed; over 43,000 people were wounded. During the bombing, including of merchant ships, 25,243 people were killed.

The last figure - 25,243 killed in the bombing - is in doubt. Perhaps there is a newspaper typo here. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to read the Finnish original of Seppälä's article.

Mannerheim, as you know, estimated the losses from the bombing:
"More than seven hundred civilians were killed and twice as many were injured."

And finally, Finnish losses on Wikipedia:
Finnish data:
25,904 killed
43,557 wounded
1000 prisoners
According to Russian sources:
up to 95 thousand soldiers killed
45 thousand wounded
806 captured

As for the calculation of Soviet losses, the mechanism of these calculations is given in detail in the book Russia in the Wars of the 20th Century. The Book of Losses. In quantity irretrievable losses The Red Army and the Navy even took into account those with whom relatives cut off contact in 1939-1940.
That is, there is no evidence that they died in the Soviet-Finnish war. And our researchers ranked these among the losses of more than 25 thousand people.

Red Army soldiers examine captured Boffors anti-tank guns

Who and how considered the Finnish losses is absolutely incomprehensible. It is known that by the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, the total number of Finnish armed forces reached 300 thousand people. The loss of 25 thousand fighters is less than 10% of the strength of the Armed Forces.
But Mannerheim writes that by the end of the war, Finland experienced a shortage of manpower. However, there is another version. There are few Finns in general, and even insignificant losses for such a small country are a threat to the gene pool.
However, in the book “Results of the Second World War. Conclusions of the vanquished ”Professor Helmut Aritz estimates the population of Finland in 1938 at 3 million 697 thousand people.
The irretrievable loss of 25 thousand people does not pose any threat to the gene pool of the nation.
According to the calculation of Aritz, the Finns lost in 1941 - 1945. more than 84 thousand people. And after that, the population of Finland by 1947 increased by 238 thousand people!!!

At the same time, Mannerheim, describing the year 1944, again cries in his memoirs about the lack of people:
“Finland was gradually forced to mobilize its trained reserves up to the age of 45, which did not happen in any of the countries, not even in Germany.”

Funeral of Finnish skiers

What kind of cunning manipulations the Finns are doing with their losses - I don’t know. In Wikipedia, Finnish losses in the period 1941 - 1945 are indicated as 58 thousand 715 people. Losses in the war of 1939 - 1940 - 25 thousand 904 people.
In total, 84 thousand 619 people.
But the Finnish site http://kronos.narc.fi/menehtyneet/ contains data on 95 thousand Finns who died in the period 1939-1945. Even if we add here the victims of the “Lapland War” (according to Wikipedia, about 1000 people), the numbers still do not converge.

Vladimir Medinsky in his book “War. Myths of the USSR claims that hot Finnish historians pulled off a simple trick: they counted only army casualties. And the losses of numerous paramilitary formations, such as shutskor, were not included in the general statistics of losses. And they had a lot of paramilitaries.
How much - Medinsky does not explain.

"Fighters" of the "Lotta" formations

Whatever the case, two explanations arise:
The first - if the Finnish data on their losses are correct, then the Finns are the most cowardly people in the world, because they "raised their paws" almost without suffering losses.
The second - if we consider that the Finns are a brave and courageous people, then Finnish historians simply underestimated their own losses on a large scale.

Do you represent these cretins?

After such statements, the loss figures named by Mannerheim are not surprising. He counted 24923 people killed and died from wounds of the Finns. Russian, in his opinion, killed 200 thousand people.

Why pity these Russes?

Engle, E. Paanenen L. in the book "Soviet-Finnish War. Breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line 1939 - 1940". with reference to Nikita Khrushchev, they give the following data:

"Out of a total of 1.5 million people sent to fight in Finland, the USSR's losses in killed (according to Khrushchev) amounted to 1 million people. The Russians lost about 1,000 aircraft, 2,300 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as a huge amount of various military equipment ... "

Thus, the Russians won, filling the Finns with "meat".
About the reasons for the defeat, Mannerheim writes as follows:
"At the final stage of the war, the weakest point was not the lack of materials, but the lack of manpower."

Stop!

Why?
According to Mannerheim, the Finns lost only 24 thousand killed and 43 thousand wounded. And after such meager losses, Finland began to lack manpower?

Something doesn't add up!

But let's see what other researchers write and write about the losses of the parties.

Mannerheim, as you know, estimated the losses from the bombing:
"More than seven hundred civilians were killed and twice as many were injured."

The largest numbers of Finnish losses are given by the Military History Journal No. 4, 1993:
“So, according to far from complete data, the losses of the Red Army in it amounted to 285,510 people (72,408 killed, 17,520 missing, 13,213 frostbitten and 240 shell-shocked). The losses of the Finnish side, according to official figures, amounted to 95 thousand killed and 45 thousand wounded.

And finally, Finnish losses on Wikipedia:
Finnish data:
25,904 killed
43,557 wounded
1000 prisoners
According to Russian sources:
up to 95 thousand soldiers killed
45 thousand wounded
806 captured

As for the calculation of Soviet losses, the mechanism of these calculations is given in detail in the book Russia in the Wars of the 20th Century. The Book of Losses. In the number of irretrievable losses of the Red Army and the fleet, even those with whom relatives cut off contact in 1939-1940 are taken into account.
That is, there is no evidence that they died in the Soviet-Finnish war. And our researchers ranked these among the losses of more than 25 thousand people.
Who and how considered the Finnish losses is absolutely incomprehensible. It is known that by the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, the total number of Finnish armed forces reached 300 thousand people. The loss of 25 thousand fighters is less than 10% of the strength of the Armed Forces.
But Mannerheim writes that by the end of the war, Finland experienced a shortage of manpower. However, there is another version. There are few Finns in general, and even insignificant losses for such a small country are a threat to the gene pool.
However, in the book “Results of the Second World War. Conclusions of the vanquished ”Professor Helmut Aritz estimates the population of Finland in 1938 at 3 million 697 thousand people.
The irretrievable loss of 25 thousand people does not pose any threat to the gene pool of the nation.
According to the calculation of Aritz, the Finns lost in 1941 - 1945. more than 84 thousand people. And after that, the population of Finland by 1947 increased by 238 thousand people!!!

The Russian-Finnish war began in November 1939 and lasted 105 days - until March 1940. The war did not end with the final defeat of any of the armies and was concluded on terms favorable to Russia (then the Soviet Union). Since the war was in the cold season, many Russian soldiers suffered from severe frosts, but did not retreat.

All this is known to any schoolchild, all this is studied in history lessons. Only now, how the war began, and what the Finns had to do with it, is less often said. It is not surprising - who needs to know the enemy's point of view? And our guys are great, they beat the opponents.

It is precisely because of this worldview that the percentage of Russians who know the truth about this war and accept it is so insignificant.

The Russian-Finnish war of 1939 did not break out suddenly, like a bolt from the blue. The conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland has been brewing for almost two decades. Finland did not trust the great leader of that time - Stalin, who, in turn, was dissatisfied with the union of Finland with England, Germany and France.

Russia, in order to ensure its own security, tried to conclude an agreement with Finland on terms favorable to the Soviet Union. And after another refusal, Finland decided to try to force it, and on November 30, Russian troops opened fire on Finland.

Initially, the Russo-Finnish war was not successful for Russia - the winter was cold, the soldiers got frostbite, some froze to death, and the Finns firmly held the defense on the Mannerheim Line. But the troops of the Soviet Union won, gathering together all the remaining forces and going on a general offensive. As a result, peace was concluded between the countries on favorable terms for Russia: a significant part of the Finnish territories (including the Karelian Isthmus, part of both the northern and western coasts of Lake Ladoga) passed into Russian possessions, and the Khanko Peninsula was leased to Russia for 30 years.

In history, the Russian-Finnish war was called "Unnecessary", since it gave almost nothing to either Russia or Finland. Both sides were to blame for its beginning, and both sides suffered huge losses. So, during the war, 48,745 people lost, 158,863 soldiers were wounded or frostbitten. The Finns also lost a huge number of people.

If not everyone, then at least many are familiar with the course of the war described above. But there is also such information about the Russian-Finnish war, which is not customary to speak out loud or they are simply unknown. Moreover, there is such unpleasant, in some ways even indecent information about both participants in the battle: both about Russia and Finland.

Thus, it is not customary to say that the war with Finland was unleashed vilely and illegally: the Soviet Union attacked it without warning, violating the peace treaty concluded in 1920 and the non-aggression pact of 1934. Moreover, by starting this war, the Soviet Union also violated its own convention, which stipulated that an attack on a participating state (which was Finland), as well as its blockade or threats against it, could not be justified by any considerations. By the way, according to the same convention, Finland had the right to attack, but did not use it.

If we talk about the Finnish army, then there were some unsightly moments. The government, taken by surprise by the unexpected attack of the Russians, drove to military schools, and then to the troops, not only all able-bodied men, but also boys, still schoolchildren, students in grades 8-9.

Somehow, children trained in shooting went to a real, adult war. Moreover, in many detachments there were no tents, not all soldiers had weapons at all - one rifle was issued for four. There were no drawers for machine guns, and the guys hardly knew how to handle the machine guns themselves. What can we say about weapons - the Finnish authorities could not even provide their soldiers with warm clothes and shoes, and young boys, lying in forty-degree frost in the snow, in light clothes and low shoes, froze their hands and feet, froze to death.

According to official data, during severe frosts the Finnish army lost more than 70% of the soldiers, while the sergeant major of the company warmed their feet in good boots. Thus, by sending hundreds of young guys to certain death, Finland itself ensured its own defeat in the Russian-Finnish war.