Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1948 was used by the USSR throughout the Cold War as coercion in an attempt to limit
Finland's interaction with the West.
A savvy political head was needed to negotiate these choppy waters, and Finland found
it in the astute if controversial figure of Urho K Kekkonen, president from 1956 to 1981
and a master of diplomacy.
Canny and unorthodox, Kekkonen realised that he was the devil the Kremlin knew, and
he used this to his advantage. Similarly, he did so with the West's fear that Finland would
fall completely under the sway of the USSR. He signed a free-trade agreement with the
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1961 which brought Finland closer to a
European orbit, but also signed a parallel agreement for preferential trade with the Soviets.
Kekkonen and his government had a close relationship with many of the KGB's big
men in Finland, and political nominations were submitted to Moscow for approval within
a framework of 'friendly coexistence'. Many Finns regard his era with embarrassment, be-
lieving that Kekkonen abased the country by such close contact with the Bear, and that his
grip on power and web of behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings were uncomfortably reminis-
cent of the Kremlin itself. Nevertheless, Kekkonen presided over a period in which the na-
tion moved from an impoverished agricultural state to a modern European democracy with
a watertight welfare system and healthy economy, all in the shadow of a great power
whose actions in Eastern Europe had given ample reason for Finland to tread with extreme
caution.
After Kekkonen's resignation due to ill health at 81, the Soviets continued to dabble in
Finnish politics, mostly with the aim of reducing US influence and preventing Finland
joining what is now the EU. That particular chapter of Finland's long and complicated re-
lationship with its eastern neighbour came to a close with the collapse of the USSR.
In the first elections in 1907, 19 female members were elected to the Eduskunta, the first
woman MPs in the world. Finland has been a trailblazer for equality in politics ever since.
Mannerheim had a fascinating life divided into several distinct phases. Check out
www.mannerheim.fi
for an extremely comprehensive online biography.
