The Karelian Isthmus is a territory similar to a triangle, located between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga and narrowing towards the Neva. In the political sense, the Karelian Isthmus is still called only a part of it, which was part of Finland in 1811-1940. The Karelian Isthmus is distinguished by the uniqueness of its ethnic history: its population has completely changed three times over three centuries. At the same time, the last settlement began in 1940, and in fact - in 1944. Because of this, the inhabitants of the region cannot be inspired by centuries-old traditions, unlike the inhabitants of many other Russian lands. In essence, the formation of a special identity of the inhabitants of the isthmus begins only in our time. There is no need to talk about local traditional art yet. But most of the settlers of the 40s. were citizens, everyone was literate, and even today, thanks to the proximity of St. Petersburg and the presence of their own educational institutions, thanks to which the inhabitants of the region are distinguished by a high level of education. And, probably, it is precisely from here that one can expect a rapid rise in culture and science.

The Karelian Isthmus is one of the most picturesque places in the Leningrad region. Its nature is good and majestic. Severe mighty coniferous forests; endless expanses and lakes with rocky shores; the huge, moss-covered boulders found everywhere are bizarre.

From north to south, the length of the isthmus is 150-180 km, from west to east - 55-110 km. From the west, the Karelian Isthmus is washed by the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea; from the east - by the stormy and deep Lake Ladoga. Coastal terraces overgrown with coniferous and birch forests rise above the strip of beaches stretching along the coast of the bay. In the northwestern part of the isthmus, the skerries of the Vyborg Bay deeply cut into the land.

People appeared on the land of the isthmus 6 thousand years ago. In the 9th century, the isthmus became the ethnic homeland of the Karelians. From about that time on, the Karelians became allies of Veliky Novgorod. At the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, on a large island formed by two branches of the Vuoksa River, the center of Novgorod possessions arose - the city of Korela.

From the middle of the XII century, the Karelian land became a theater of operations in the continuous wars of Sweden with Novgorod, and then with the Moscow state. During these wars, the Swedes managed to push the Russians in the northwestern part of the isthmus. In 1293, the Swedish barons, who had captured all of Finland before that, landed on the small Volovy Island of the Vyborg Bay and, next to the old Novgorod settlement that had existed here since the beginning of the 11th century, laid their fortress, which received the name "Vyborg", that is, "sacred fortress". In 1323, according to the Orekhovets Treaty, the Russian-Swedish border was established. Karelian lands were divided. The westernmost part of the Karelians, having become Swedish citizens, converted to Catholicism and joined the Finnish ethnos. Most of the Karelians remained in Russian possessions.

In 1617, according to the Peace of Stolbov, the entire Karelian Isthmus fell under the rule of Sweden. A significant part of the Orthodox population, both of Slavic and Finnish origin, refused to live under the rule of the Lutheran king, and moved to Russia. So the Karelian Isthmus lost the Karelians. The Finns-Suomi began to settle on the Karelian Isthmus, which later formed the ethnic group of the Ingrian Finns. So for the first time the entire population of the isthmus changed.

During the Northern War, the Karelian Isthmus was again reunited with Russia. The territory of the isthmus made up a separate Vyborg province of Russia, which also included the northern shore of Lake Ladoga. For a century, the history of the isthmus was no different from the history of the outskirts of the imperial capital.

But since 1811, the ethnic history of the isthmus has changed radically again. In this year, the idealist tsar Alexander I, annexed the Vyborg province, which occupied the isthmus, to the newly created Grand Duchy of Finland. Recall that after the last in the history of the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809, the Russians occupied all of Finland. At the same time, Finland did not at all become several new Russian provinces, but turned into an autonomous Grand Duchy. In essence, Finland became an independent state, connected with Russia only by a personal union - the autocratic Emperor of All Russia concurrently was also the constitutional Grand Duke of Finland. Wishing to bind new subjects to himself even more, Emperor Alexander I made such a royal gift to the principality. Interestingly, the Vyborg province in the principality was also called Old Finland.

So, from that time on, the Karelian Isthmus became part of Finland for 130 years. For the ethnic development of the isthmus, this historical period meant the final Finnization of the population of the isthmus, including its cities. For the economy of the Vyborg province of Finland, the proximity of St. Petersburg became the basis of prosperity.

Two revolutions in 1917 led to the collapse of the Russian state. Finland, which after the fall of the monarchy had nothing to do with Russia, declared independence. On December 31, 1917, this independence was recognized by Lenin.

In Finland, a civil war immediately began between the local Reds and Whites, which ended with the victory of the Finnish Whites. At the head of the White Finns was a Russian general of Swedish origin, a native of the Grand Duchy, K.G. Mannerheim, who became a "Finn" at the age of 50, and until the end of his long life (he died in 1951 at the age of 84) never learned to speak Finnish correctly. However, this war was not reduced only to civil strife among the Finns. The result of the war was the ethnic cleansing of Finland, and especially the isthmus close to the Soviet border, from the Slavic population.

So, Finland, in which the whites won, and whose official ideology was Russophobia, began to pose a threat to those who were 32 km away from Leningrad. This state of affairs persisted for 20 years!

During the short but very bitter war of the winter of 1939-40. Finland was defeated. According to the peace treaty of March 12, 1940, the new border approximately corresponded to the border of the Russian Empire and Sweden in 1721. The territories of the Karelian Isthmus and the islands in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea were ceded to the Soviet Union. The border from Leningrad was moved 150 km away, which increased the city's defense capability during the Great Patriotic War.

The territory ceded to the USSR amounted to almost 7% of the territory of Finland as of 1939, and the total area of ​​the USSR, taking into account water areas, increased by 35,000 square meters. km. This territory was empty - the entire civilian population was evacuated from the isthmus in the autumn of 1939, before the war.

So, a rather significant territory went to the USSR, which had to be settled and developed. This task was all the more urgent because, firstly, almost all industrial enterprises and all infrastructure were destroyed during the hostilities and during the retreat of the Finns, who, leaving, blew up and destroyed everything that was possible. Thus, the newly annexed Karelian Isthmus was a huge pile of ruins.

Secondly, in 1940, the Soviet leadership had no doubt that after the “small” war with Finland, a big war with Germany and its allies would soon follow, among which Finland, thirsting for revenge, would inevitably turn out to be. Because of this, the issues of settling new territories were ten-degree for the Soviet leadership.

Nevertheless, the resettlement movement to the new Soviet territories carried out by the Soviet government in 1940-41 proved to be quite effective. Resettlement to the newly annexed areas were busy in 1940-41. The Resettlement Department under the Council of People's Commissars of the Karelian-Finnish SSR, the Resettlement Department under the Leningrad Region Executive Committee, as well as regional resettlement departments. The whole process of resettlement was carried out in the shortest possible time with austerity of funds, in the conditions of the militarized economy of the country.

The organized mass resettlement of Soviet people to the lands of the Karelian Isthmus began in May-July 1940. The state supported the settlers financially. They were provided with benefits that at that time looked very attractive: free travel, transportation of property and livestock (up to two tons per family were allowed); lifting - 1000 rubles for employees, and 300 rubles for dependents (the average salary in the USSR at that time was 339 rubles a month); house in the place of settlement - free of charge; a cow or a loan for its acquisition - in the amount of three thousand rubles. In addition, the settlers were forgiven for arrears and were given a three-year exemption from taxes and mandatory state deliveries.

As of January 1, 1941, the population of the new districts was 144.3 thousand people, including the urban population - 70.9 thousand, the rural population - 73.4 thousand people, of which there were 36.3 thousand collective farmers. This number does not include numerous military and temporarily seconded specialists and workers from Leningrad. By the summer of 1941, the number of settlers had increased even more, and reached the number of 197,600 people.

The results were not long in coming. By the beginning of June 1941, all pulp and paper mills in the new Soviet territories were restored and began to produce products. Also in the annexed areas for 1940-1941. A number of power plants were put into operation, giving current to both industry and the population of new territories.

From other branches of the Finnish industry of the Northern Ladoga region and the Karelian Isthmus, sawmilling, woodworking, logging, fishing, food and local industries were developed.

At the beginning of 1941, there were 202 primary, 33 incomplete secondary and 10 secondary schools in the regions of the Northern Ladoga and the Karelian Isthmus. An industrial technical school, a pedagogical school with a department of the Finnish language, an obstetric and dental school in Vyborg, an agricultural technical school in Sortavala, a forest technical school in Kexholm, two vocational schools in Vyborg and Enso, and some others were opened. Since immigrants arrived from all over the Soviet Union, it is not surprising that schools with national languages ​​of instruction began to open on the isthmus. So, only in the Vyborg region in 1940-1941. 6 schools were created to teach children in the Tatar language.

Along with educational institutions, cultural institutions were created on the former Finnish territory: theaters, cinemas, libraries, clubs, red corners, etc. A network of medical institutions was also established - hospitals, clinics, medical and obstetric stations, etc.

In the almost completely destroyed Vyborg, in a short time, most industrial enterprises were raised from ruins, streets, squares, squares were put in order, a significant number of residential buildings, water supply and sewerage were restored, electric lighting was installed, a tram began to function in the city, schools, clubs, theater, cinema, railway transport.

Settlement of the Karelian Isthmus regions in the period from 1940 to 1941. was the first experience of the Soviet development of deserted, but previously inhabited territories. The experience of the Karelian Isthmus was used after the Great Patriotic War in the settlement of the Kaliningrad region and South Sakhalin.

In 1941-44, Finland again crossed arms with the USSR, but was again defeated. First, in the summer of 1941, the Finns captured the Karelian Isthmus and a number of "old" Soviet territories. In modern Finland and among the “free” Russian media, there is a myth that the Finns stopped near Leningrad on the personal order of Mannerheim, who was sentimental about the city of his youth. However, in reality, the Finns seriously planned to take Leningrad along with the Germans. The authorities of Finland, as the modern Russian researcher N. I. Baryshnikov notes, “a speech was specially prepared on the Finnish radio, which was supposed to be delivered immediately after the capture of Leningrad. This speech said: “For the first time in its history, the once so magnificent Russian capital, located close to our borders, has fallen. This news, as expected, lifted the spirit of every Finn.

Although the Finnish offensive against Leningrad bogged down, the territory of the Karelian Isthmus was again under Finnish rule. At the same time, the Russian population on the isthmus was no longer there - from the end of July 1941, the evacuation of the Soviet civilian population began.

But in the summer of 1944, Soviet troops again went on the offensive. In September 1944, Finland withdrew from the war. The Karelian Isthmus became Russian again. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 between the USSR and Finland finally confirmed the accession of these territories to the USSR.

Since 1944, even before the end of the war, a new stage in the development of the Karelian Isthmus began. Just as in 1940-1941, the returning and newly recruited population began to restore industrial enterprises, collective farms and state farms, educational, cultural and health institutions. All the destruction of the two wars was removed by hard work.

In 1948, almost all Finnish names of settlements, rivers and lakes of the isthmus were renamed. Most of the new names were fairly standard Soviet ones (Pervomaiskoye, Primorsk, Zelenogorsk, Gorkovskoye). A number of names immortalized the heroes of the wars with the Finns (Kirillovskoye, Balakhanovo, Veshcheva, Serovo, Tsvelodubovo). The village was named after the famous botanist, president of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, V. L. Komarov, in which the dachas of many scientists and cultural figures were located. The ancient Russian city of Korela, under the Swedes called Kexholm (in Finnish - Kyakisalmi), was named Priozersk. However, this is logical, since there are no Karelians left on the isthmus, and the city is really located near Lake Ladoga. Only Vyborg has retained its historical name.

The population of the Karelian Isthmus grew rapidly both due to the arrival of new settlers and as a result of a rather high natural increase. In 1959, the Resettlement Department under the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee of the Council of Workers' Deputies and local resettlement structures were abolished as having fully completed their task.

Since that time, the population of the Karelian Isthmus and the northern Ladoga region (in Karelia) has grown due to natural growth. In 1989, in addition to the military and vacationers, approximately 383,000 permanent civilians lived in the Karelian territories that belonged to Finland. Of these, 65% were city dwellers.

In Vyborg at the turn of the millennium, 80 thousand inhabitants lived, in Priozersk - 20 thousand, Svetogorsk - 15 thousand, Primorsk - 6 thousand.

The industry of the subregion also developed very effectively. So, in the city of Primorsk (formerly Koivisto), the Buran reusable spacecraft was assembled, capable of flying autonomously, without a crew, which the American Shuttles could not do.

However, the main wealth of the isthmus is its unique natural conditions. In 1946, the creation of the resort area of ​​Leningrad began here, which acquired all-Union significance. Soon after the war, the health resorts of the Karelian Isthmus received up to 1.2 million vacationers a year. 300 thousand small Leningraders annually rested in pioneer camps and other children's institutions of the subregion.

In addition, many Petersburgers have their summer cottages here, so the real number of inhabitants of the isthmus is several times higher. Finally, there are constantly a large number of transit passengers traveling to or from the European Union.

The economic and political upheavals caused by the collapse of the USSR affected the Karelian Isthmus less painfully than in most regions of Russia. Of course, this does not mean that the Karelian Isthmus is flourishing. Unemployment, a high rise in crime, and other delights of Russian life during the triumph of democracy affected this subregion very sharply. In particular, like most of the lands of Russia, the death rate here also exceeds the birth rate. Proximity to Finland, which is a member of the European Union, contributed to the spread of AIDS. The space plant in Primorsk also closed.

But, on the other hand, due to the favorable geographical position of the isthmus, the general decline of the economy did not become comprehensive. At the beginning of the 21st century, the region experienced an economic boom. As already noted, the high level of education (in addition to the nearby northern capital with many universities, in Vyborg alone at the beginning of the century there were 7 universities), as well as a number of secondary educational institutions) allows us to hope for a future cultural upsurge, and that new art directions. So one can look at the future of the Karelian Isthmus with cautious optimism.

Ippo B. B., Turchaninov N. N., Shtin A. N. Karelian Isthmus. Lenizdat, 1962//http://hibaratxt.narod.ru/sprav/karelskyp/index.html

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - T.32. - M., 1955. - S. 456.

V-n-baryshnikov.narod.ru/blokada.html

After the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, Germany began a war with Poland, and relations between the USSR and Finland began to splinter. One of the reasons is a secret document between the USSR and Germany on the delimitation of spheres of influence. According to it, the influence of the USSR extended to Finland, the Baltic states, western Ukraine and Belarus, and Bessarabia.

Realizing that a big war was inevitable, Stalin sought to protect Leningrad, which could be fired upon by artillery from the territory of Finland. Therefore, the task was to push the border further north. For a peaceful solution of the issue, the Soviet side offered Finland the lands of Karelia in exchange for moving the border on the Karelian Isthmus, but any attempts at dialogue were suppressed by the Finns. They did not want to agree.

Reason for war

The reason for the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 was the incident near the village of Mainila on November 25, 1939 at 15:45. This village is located on the Karelian Isthmus, 800 meters from the Finnish border. Mainila was subjected to artillery fire, as a result of which 4 representatives of the Red Army were killed and 8 were wounded.

On November 26, Molotov called the Finnish ambassador in Moscow (Irie Koskinen) and handed a note of protest, stating that the shelling was carried out from the territory of Finland, and only the fact that the Soviet army had an order not to succumb to provocations saved from starting a war.

On November 27, the Finnish government responded to the Soviet note of protest. Briefly, the main points of the answer were as follows:

• The shelling really was and lasted approximately 20 minutes.
• The shelling was carried out from the Soviet side, approximately 1.5-2 km southeast of the village of Mainila.
• It was proposed to create a commission that would jointly study this episode and give it an adequate assessment.

What actually happened near the village of Mainila? This is an important question, since it was as a result of these events that the Winter (Soviet-Finnish) War was unleashed. It can only be unequivocally stated that the shelling of the village of Mainila really took place, but it is impossible to document who carried it out. Ultimately, there are 2 versions (Soviet and Finnish), and you need to evaluate each. The first version - Finland shelled the territory of the USSR. The second version was a provocation prepared by the NKVD.

Why did Finland need this provocation? Historians speak of 2 reasons:

1. The Finns were an instrument of politics in the hands of the British, who needed a war. This assumption would be reasonable if we consider the winter war in isolation. But if we recall the realities of those times, then at the time of the incident there was already a world war, and England had already declared war on Germany. England's attack on the USSR automatically created an alliance between Stalin and Hitler, and sooner or later this alliance would strike with all its might against England itself. Therefore, to assume such a thing is tantamount to assuming that England decided to commit suicide, which, of course, was not.
2. They wanted to expand their territories and influence. This is a completely stupid hypothesis. This is from the category - Liechtenstein wants to attack Germany. Brad. Finland had neither the strength nor the means for the war, and everyone in the Finnish command understood that their only chance of success in the war with the USSR was a long-term defense that exhausted the enemy. With such layouts, no one will disturb the bear's den.

The most adequate answer to the question posed is that the shelling of the village of Mainila is a provocation by the Soviet government itself, which was looking for any excuse to justify the war with Finland. And it was this incident that was later presented to Soviet society as an example of the perfidy of the Finnish people, who needed help to carry out the socialist revolution.

The balance of forces and means

It is indicative how the forces were correlated during the Soviet-Finnish war. Below is a brief table that describes how the opposing nations approached the Winter War.

In all aspects, except for the infantry, the USSR had a clear advantage. But to conduct an offensive, surpassing the enemy by only 1.3 times, is an extremely risky undertaking. In this case, discipline, training and organization come to the fore. With all three aspects, the Soviet army had problems. These figures once again emphasize that the Soviet leadership did not perceive Finland as an enemy, expecting to destroy it in the shortest possible time.

The course of the war

The Soviet-Finnish or Winter War can be divided into 2 stages: the first (December 39th - January 7, 40th) and the second (January 7, 40th - March 12, 40th). What happened on January 7, 1940? Timoshenko was appointed commander of the army, who immediately set about reorganizing the army and putting things in order in it.

First stage

The Soviet-Finnish war began on November 30, 1939, and the Soviet army failed to hold it briefly. The army of the USSR actually crossed the state border of Finland without declaring war. For its citizens, the justification was as follows - helping the people of Finland to overthrow the bourgeois government of the warmonger.

The Soviet leadership did not take Finland seriously, believing that the war would be over in a few weeks. Even the figure of 3 weeks was called as a deadline. More specifically, there should be no war. The plan of the Soviet command was approximately as follows:

• Bring in the troops. We did it on November 30th.
• Creation of a workers' government controlled by the USSR. On December 1, the Kuusinen government was created (more on that later).
• Lightning offensive on all fronts. It was planned to reach Helsinki in 1.5-2 weeks.
• Declination of the real Finnish government towards peace and complete surrender in favor of the Kuusinen government.

The first two points were implemented in the first days of the war, but then problems began. Blitzkrieg failed and the army got stuck in the Finnish defense. Although in the early days of the war, until about December 4, it seemed that everything was going according to plan - the Soviet troops were moving forward. However, very soon they came across the Mannerheim Line. On December 4, the armies of the eastern front (near Lake Suvantojärvi) entered it, on December 6 - of the central front (direction Summa), on December 10 - of the western front (Gulf of Finland). And it was a shock. A huge number of documents indicate that the troops did not expect to meet a well-fortified line of defense. And this is a huge question for the intelligence of the Red Army.

In any case, December was a disastrous month, which frustrated almost all the plans of the Soviet Headquarters. The troops moved inland slowly. Every day the pace of movement only decreased. Reasons for the slow advance of Soviet troops:

1. Locality. Almost the entire territory of Finland is forests and swamps. In such conditions, it is difficult to apply equipment.
2. Aviation application. Aviation in terms of bombing was practically not used. There was no point in bombing the villages attached to the front line, as the Finns retreated, leaving scorched earth behind. It was difficult to bomb the retreating troops, since they retreated with civilians.
3. Roads. Retreating, the Finns destroyed roads, arranged landslides, mined everything that was possible.

Formation of the Kuusinen government

On December 1, 1939, the people's government of Finland was formed in the city of Terijoki. It was formed on the territory already occupied by the USSR, and with the direct participation of the Soviet leadership. The Finnish People's Government included:

• Chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs - Otto Kuusinen
• Minister of Finance - Maury Rosenberg
• Minister of Defense - Aksel Antila
• Minister of the Interior - Tuure Lehen
• Minister of Agriculture - Armas Eikia
• Minister of Education - Inkeri Lehtinen
• Minister of Affairs of Karelia - Paavo Prokkonen

Outwardly - a full-fledged government. The only problem is that the Finnish population did not recognize him. But already on December 1 (that is, on the day of formation), this government concluded an agreement with the USSR on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and the FDR (Finland Democratic Republic). On December 2, a new agreement is signed - on mutual assistance. From that moment on, Molotov says that the war continues because a revolution has taken place in Finland, and now it is necessary to support it and help the workers. In fact, it was a clever trick to justify the war in the eyes of the Soviet population.

Mannerheim line

The Mannerheim Line is one of the few things that almost everyone knows about the Soviet-Finnish war. Soviet propaganda said about this system of fortifications that all world generals recognized its impregnability. It was an exaggeration. The line of defense was, of course, strong, but not impregnable.

The Mannerheim Line (it received such a name already during the war) consisted of 101 concrete fortifications. For comparison, the Maginot Line, which Germany crossed in France, was about the same length. The Maginot Line consisted of 5,800 concrete structures. In fairness, the difficult terrain of the Mannerheim Line should be noted. There were swamps and numerous lakes, which made movement extremely difficult and therefore the defense line did not require a large number of fortifications.

The largest attempt to break through the Mannerheim line at the first stage was made on December 17-21 in the central section. It was here that it was possible to take the roads leading to Vyborg, gaining a significant advantage. But the offensive, in which 3 divisions took part, failed. This was the first major success in the Soviet-Finnish war for the Finnish army. This success became known as the "Miracle of the Sum". Subsequently, the line was broken through on February 11, which actually predetermined the outcome of the war.

Expulsion of the USSR from the League of Nations

On December 14, 1939, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations. This decision was promoted by England and France, who talked about Soviet aggression against Finland. Representatives of the League of Nations condemned the actions of the USSR in terms of aggressive actions and unleashing a war.

Today, the exclusion of the USSR from the League of Nations is cited as an example of the limitation of Soviet power and as a loss in image. In fact, everything is a little different. In 1939, the League of Nations no longer played the role that it was assigned at the end of the First World War. The fact is that back in 1933, Germany withdrew from it, which refused to fulfill the requirements of the League of Nation for disarmament and simply withdrew from the organization. It turns out that at the time of December 14 de facto the League of Nations ceased to exist. After all, what kind of European security system can we talk about when Germany and the USSR left the organization?

Second phase of the war

January 7, 1940 Headquarters of the North-Western Front was headed by Marshal Timoshenko. He had to solve all the problems and organize a successful offensive of the Red Army. At this point, the Soviet-Finnish war took a breather, and active operations were not conducted until February. From February 1 to 9, powerful strikes began along the Mannerheim Line. It was assumed that the 7th and 13th armies were to break through the defense line with decisive flank attacks and occupy the Vuoksi-Karkhul sector. After that, it was planned to move to Vyborg, occupy the city and block the railways and highways leading to the West.

On February 11, 1940, a general offensive of the Soviet troops began on the Karelian Isthmus. This was the turning point of the Winter War, as units of the Red Army managed to break through the Mannerheim Line and begin to advance inland. They advanced slowly due to the specifics of the terrain, the resistance of the Finnish army and severe frosts, but most importantly, they advanced. In early March, the Soviet army was already on the western coast of the Vyborg Bay.

On this, in fact, the war ended, since it was obvious that Finland did not have a lot of forces and means to contain the Red Army. Since that time, peace negotiations began, in which the USSR dictated its conditions, and Molotov constantly emphasized that the conditions would be tough, because the Finns were forced to start a war, during which the blood of Soviet soldiers was shed.

Why did the war drag on so long

The Soviet-Finnish war, according to the plan of the Bolsheviks, was to be completed in 2-3 weeks, and the troops of the Leningrad district alone were to give a decisive advantage. In practice, the war dragged on for almost 4 months, and divisions were assembled throughout the country to suppress the Finns. There are several reasons for this:

• Poor organization of troops. This concerns the poor work of the command staff, but the big problem is the coherence between the branches of the armed forces. She was practically non-existent. If you study archival documents, then there are a lot of reports according to which some troops fired on others.
• Bad security. The army was in need of almost everything. The war was also fought in the winter in the north, where the air temperature dropped below -30 by the end of December. And while the army was not provided with winter clothing.
• Underestimation of the enemy. The USSR did not prepare for war. It was plinthed to quickly suppress the Finns and solve the problem without a war, blaming everything on the border incident of November 24, 1939.
• Support for Finland by other countries. England, Italy, Hungary, Sweden (first of all) - provided assistance to Finland in everything: weapons, supplies, food, aircraft, and so on. The greatest effort was made by Sweden, which itself actively helped and facilitated the transfer of assistance from other countries. In general, in the conditions of the Winter War of 1939-1940, only Germany supported the Soviet side.

Stalin was very nervous because the war was dragging on. He repeated - The whole world is watching us. And he was right. Therefore, Stalin demanded the solution of all problems, the restoration of order in the army and the speedy resolution of the conflict. To some extent, this has been done. And fast enough. The offensive of the Soviet troops in February-March 1940 forced Finland to peace.

The Red Army fought extremely undisciplined, and its management does not stand up to criticism. Almost all reports and memos on the situation at the front were with an addition - "an explanation of the reasons for the failures." Here are some quotes from Beria's memorandum to Stalin No. 5518 / B dated December 14, 1939:

• During the landing on Saiskari Island, a Soviet aircraft dropped 5 bombs that landed on the Lenin destroyer.
• On December 1, the Ladoga flotilla was fired twice by its own aircraft.
• During the occupation of the island of Gogland, during the advance of the landing units, 6 Soviet aircraft appeared, one of which fired several bursts of shots. As a result, 10 people were injured.

And there are hundreds of such examples. But if the situations above are examples of the exposure of soldiers and troops, then further I want to give examples of how the Soviet army was equipped. To do this, let's turn to Beria's memorandum to Stalin No. 5516 / B dated December 14, 1939:

• In the Tulivara area, the 529th Rifle Corps needed 200 pairs of skis to bypass the enemy's fortifications. It was not possible to do this, since the Headquarters received 3000 pairs of skis with broken mottling.
• In the replenishment that arrived from the 363rd communications battalion, 30 vehicles require repair, and 500 people are dressed in summer uniforms.
• To replenish the 9th Army, the 51st Corps Artillery Regiment arrived. Missing: 72 tractors, 65 trailers. Of the 37 tractors that arrived, only 9 were in good condition, and 90 of the 150 tractors. 80% of the personnel were not provided with winter uniforms.

It is not surprising that against the background of such events, there was desertion in the Red Army. For example, on December 14, 430 people deserted from the 64th Infantry Division.

Help Finland from other countries

In the Soviet-Finnish war, many countries provided assistance to Finland. To demonstrate, I will cite Beria's report to Stalin and Molotov No. 5455 / B.

Helping Finland:

• Sweden - 8 thousand people. Mostly reserve staff. They are commanded by regular officers who are on vacation.
• Italy - the number is unknown.
• Hungary - 150 people. Italy demands to increase the number.
• England - 20 fighter planes are known, although the actual figure is higher.

The best proof that the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 was supported by the Western countries of Finland is the speech of the Minister of Finland Greensberg on December 27, 1939 at 07:15 to the English agency Gavas. The following is a literal translation from English.

The Finnish people are grateful to the English, French and other nations for their help..

Greensberg, Minister of Finland

Obviously, the Western countries opposed the USSR's aggression against Finland. This was expressed, among other things, by the exclusion of the USSR from the League of Nations.

I also want to give a photo of Beria's report on the intervention of France and England in the Soviet-Finnish war.

Making peace

On February 28, the USSR handed over to Finland its conditions for concluding peace. The negotiations themselves took place in Moscow on March 8-12. After these negotiations, the Soviet-Finnish war ended on March 12, 1940. The terms of the peace were as follows:

1. The USSR received the Karelian Isthmus along with Vyborg (Viipuri), the bay and the islands.
2. Western and Northern coasts of Lake Ladoga, together with the cities of Kexholm, Suoyarvi and Sortavala.
3. Islands in the Gulf of Finland.
4. The island of Hanko with the maritime territory and the base was leased to the USSR for 50 years. The USSR annually paid 8 million German marks for rent.
5. The agreement between Finland and the USSR of 1920 has lost its force.
6. On March 13, 1940, hostilities ceased.

Below is a map showing the territories ceded to the USSR as a result of the signing of the peace treaty.

USSR losses

The question of the number of dead Soviet soldiers during the Soviet-Finnish war is still open. The official history does not give an answer to the question, speaking covertly about "minimal" losses and focusing on the fact that the tasks have been achieved. In those days, they did not talk about the scale of the losses of the Red Army. The figure was deliberately underestimated, demonstrating the successes of the army. In fact, the losses were huge. To do this, just look at report No. 174 of December 21, which provides figures on the losses of the 139th Infantry Division for 2 weeks of fighting (November 30 - December 13). Losses are as follows:

• Commanders - 240.
• Privates - 3536.
• Rifles - 3575.
• Light machine guns - 160.
• Machine guns - 150.
• Tanks - 5.
• Armored vehicles - 2.
• Tractors - 10.
• Trucks - 14.
• Horse composition - 357.

Belyanov's memorandum No. 2170 dated December 27 talks about the losses of the 75th Infantry Division. Total losses: senior commanders - 141, junior commanders - 293, privates - 3668, tanks - 20, machine guns - 150, rifles - 1326, armored vehicles - 3.

This is data for 2 divisions (much more fought) for 2 weeks of fighting, when the first week was a "warm-up" - the Soviet army advanced relatively without losses until it reached the Mannerheim line. And for these 2 weeks, of which only the last one was really combat, OFFICIAL figures - the loss of more than 8 thousand people! A huge number of people got frostbite.

On March 26, 1940, at the 6th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, data on the losses of the USSR in the war with Finland were announced - 48,745 killed and 158,863 injured and frostbitten. These figures are official, and therefore greatly underestimated. Today, historians call different figures for the losses of the Soviet army. It is said about the dead from 150 to 500 thousand people. For example, the Book of Records of Combat Losses of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army states that 131,476 people died, went missing or died from wounds in the war with the White Finns. At the same time, the data of that time did not take into account the losses of the Navy, and for a long time people who died in hospitals after wounds and frostbite were not taken into account as losses. Today, most historians agree that about 150 thousand soldiers of the Red Army died during the war, excluding the losses of the Navy and border troops.

Finnish losses are called the following: 23 thousand dead and missing, 45 thousand wounded, 62 aircraft, 50 tanks, 500 guns.

Results and consequences of the war

The Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, even with a brief study, indicates both absolutely negative and absolutely positive moments. Negative - a nightmare of the first months of the war and a huge number of victims. By and large, it was December 1939 and the beginning of January 1940 that demonstrated to the whole world that the Soviet army was weak. So it really was. But there was also a positive moment in this: the Soviet leadership saw the real strength of their army. We have been told since childhood that the Red Army has been the strongest in the world almost since 1917, but this is extremely far from reality. The only major test of this army is the Civil War. We will not analyze the reasons for the victory of the Reds over the Whites now (after all, we are talking about the Winter War), but the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks lie not in the army. To demonstrate this, it is enough to cite one quote from Frunze, which he voiced at the end of the Civil War.

All this army rabble must be disbanded as soon as possible.

Frunze

Before the war with Finland, the leadership of the USSR hovered in the clouds, believing that it had a strong army. But December 1939 showed that this was not the case. The army was extremely weak. But starting from January 1940, changes were made (personnel and organizational) that changed the course of the war, and which largely prepared a combat-ready army for the Patriotic War. It is very easy to prove this. Almost the entire December of the 39th Red Army stormed the Mannerheim Line - there was no result. On February 11, 1940, the Mannerheim Line was broken through in 1 day. This breakthrough was possible because it was carried out by another army, more disciplined, organized, trained. And the Finns did not have a single chance against such an army, so Mannerheim, who served as Minister of Defense, already then began to talk about the need for peace.

Prisoners of war and their fate

The number of prisoners of war during the Soviet-Finnish war was impressive. At the time of the war, it was said about 5393 captured Red Army soldiers and 806 captured White Finns. The captured fighters of the Red Army were divided into the following groups:

• political leadership. It was precisely political affiliation that was important, without highlighting the title.
• Officers. This group included persons equated to officers.
• junior officers.
• Privates.
• National minorities
• Defectors.

Particular attention was paid to national minorities. The attitude towards them in Finnish captivity was more loyal than towards representatives of the Russian people. The perks were minor, but they were there. At the end of the war, a mutual exchange of all prisoners was carried out, regardless of their belonging to one group or another.

On April 19, 1940, Stalin orders everyone who has been in Finnish captivity to be sent to the Southern Camp of the NKVD. Below is a quote from the Politburo resolution.

All those returned by the Finnish authorities should be sent to the Southern Camp. Within a three-month period, ensure the completeness of the necessary measures to identify persons processed by foreign intelligence services. Pay attention to dubious and alien elements, as well as those who voluntarily surrendered. In all cases, take cases to court.

Stalin

The southern camp, located in the Ivanovo region, began work on April 25. Already on May 3, Beria sent a letter to Stalin, Molotov and Timoshchenko, announcing that 5277 people had arrived in the Camp. On June 28, Beria sends a new report. According to him, the Southern Camp "accepts" 5157 Red Army soldiers and 293 officers. Of these, 414 people were convicted of treason and treason.

The myth of war - Finnish "cuckoos"

"Cuckoos" - so the Soviet soldiers called snipers who continuously fired at the Red Army. It was said that these are professional Finnish snipers who sit on trees and hit almost without a miss. The reason for such attention to snipers is their high efficiency and the inability to determine the point of the shot. But the problem in determining the point of the shot was not that the shooter was in a tree, but that the terrain created an echo. It disorientated the soldiers.

Stories about "cuckoos" is one of the myths that the Soviet-Finnish war gave rise to in large numbers. It is hard to imagine in 1939 a sniper who, at temperatures below -30 degrees, is able to sit on a tree for days, while making accurate shots.

+ 80 photo cards ....>>>

Soviet soldiers on a pillbox taken on the Karelian Isthmus. 1940

A paramedic assists a wounded soldier

A rare photo of the Soviet flamethrower tank OT-130 captured by the Finns (one of the modifications of the T-26).

Machine-gun crew at a firing position at a quadruple machine gun. The Karelian Isthmus.

The offensive of the troops of the 7th Army in Karelia. December 1939

Preparation of the SB bomber for a sortie, suspension of bombs. 1939-40s

The TT-26 teletank from the 217th separate chemical battalion, shot down in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bheight 65.5

Deceased Red Army soldier.

Party meeting in the trenches.

Flame throwing from the KhT-130 tank of the 210th separate chemical tank battalion.

General view of the Finnish fortifications at a height of 65.5. 1940

Outfit of border guards on patrol. Karelian Isthmus. 1939

Personnel under the wing of the I-15bis fighter. Calculation of holes received in battle

Red Army soldiers at the captured guns captured after the battles with the Finns. Vyborg District

Light tank T-26 from the 35th light tank brigade.

General view of the destroyed Mannerheim Fortification Line. Karelian Isthmus. 1939

Red Army soldiers with the captured Finnish flag of the Shutskor.

A group of captured Finnish soldiers. 1940

Column of medium tanks T-28 of the 20th heavy tank brigade, Karelian Isthmus.

Fighter I-16 on skis.

Captured Soviet medium tank T-28 with additional armor in the Finnish army.

Captured Soviet light tank T-26 in the Finnish army.

View taken from the Finns height 38.2. 1939

Capture of Vyborg (Viipuri). March 1940.

Armored tractors T-20 "Komsomolets" with 45-mm anti-tank guns

Armored car "FAI" of the 44th separate reconnaissance battalion of the 90th rifle division overcomes the rise. Karelian Isthmus, December 1939

Fighters-skiers in the campaign. 1940

The soldiers of the rifle unit are attacking from the forest. The Karelian Isthmus. 1939

Fighters deliver ammunition to the front line. Karelian Isthmus. 1939

Artillery crew at their guns in a firing position. 1939

Finnish soldiers evacuate a captured Soviet T-28 tank from the 90th Battalion of the 20th Tank Brigade in the Hottinen region.

Finnish tank "Vickers" in the forest.

A Finnish soldier fires from a Lahti-Saloranta M-26 light machine gun (Lahti-Saloranta M-26).

Finnish tanks "Vickers" shot down on February 26, 1940 in the Honkaniemi area.
In the background is a Soviet T-28 tank of the 20th Heavy Tank Brigade. February 1940

Finnish calculation of anti-aircraft machine gun "Maxim".

Soviet soldiers inspect the destroyed fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus.

Finnish ski battalion with deer and drags.
Soldiers of the ski battalion of the Finnish troops on the march. Reindeer and drags are used to transport cargo. March 28, 1940.

The photo has traces of manual retouching.

Finnish soldiers in the forest are trying to disperse, noticing the approach of Soviet aircraft. January 19, 1940.

Blood transfusion before surgery in a Soviet military hospital during the Winter War. 1940

Finnish soldiers in the trenches near Suomussalmi Finnish soldiers in the trenches near Suomussalmi during the Winter War. December 1939.

In the period from December 7, 1939 to January 8, 1940, as a result of hostilities near the village of Suomussalmi, Finnish troops defeated the advancing units of the Red Army (163rd and 44th divisions).

Finnish civilians who left their homes in the frontline zone.
The photo was taken after the start of the offensive of the Red Army during the Winter War. Winter 1939-1940.

A captured Red Army soldier from the 163rd Rifle Division eats bread in a Finnish POW camp. 1940

A captured wounded lieutenant of the Red Army with torn off insignia in a Finnish prisoner of war camp. January 1940

Captured Red Army soldiers in a Finnish POW camp. 1940

Red Army soldiers play volleyball. Vyborg (Viipuri), 1940.

Station Terioki. December 1939.

Soldiers and commanders talk with the inhabitants of Terioki. 1939

Red Army soldiers who died during the assault on Vyborg. 1940

The orderly on a motorcycle transmits a message to the crew of the Soviet BA-10 armored car. December 1939.
The rear wheels of the machine are "shod" in removable caterpillar chains of the "Overroll" type. Karelian isthmus. December 1939.

Destroyed Soviet tank BT-5 and a dead tanker.

Captured Finnish tank Renault FT-17.
Trophies of the Red Army at the exhibition "The Defeat of the White Finns". Leningrad, March 1940.

Padded Finnish tank "Vickers" 6-ton. 1940

Lieutenant Alexander Vorobyov, wounded in battles with Finnish troops. 1939

Red Army skiers with a captured Finnish flag.

Soviet scouts with 6.5 mm Fedorov assault rifles.

Soviet motorcyclists at TMZ. 1939-40s

The Soviet T-28 tank that exploded after the detonation of ammunition at a height of 65.5.

Border guard Zolotukhin at the post at the outpost of the Finns Beloostrov.

Finnish machine gunners with a captured Soviet machine gun "Maxim" mod. 1910/30

Calculation of the Soviet 122-mm howitzer model 1910/30. position during the Winter War. 1940

Mehlis and Ortenberg are armed with PPD-34/38 submachine guns.

David Iosifovich Ortenberg - the famous editor of the "Red Star" - the most popular newspaper of the war years. Veteran of Khalkhin Gol, Finnish and Great Patriotic War, general
Red Army. A friend of Mehlis from the Civil War.
By order of Stalin, he changed his surname to Vadimov for the duration of the war. Ortenberg liked to quote the words of his beloved leader: "Let's not tease Hitler, let the editor of the Red Star have a Russian surname." In 1943 he was transferred to the front - he was appointed head of the political department of the 38th Army.

Soviet soldiers dig a Finnish border post near the Mainil frontier post. In the background is the Sister River. 1939

Soviet soldiers inspect the observation cap of a captured Finnish bunker.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lieutenant Mikhail Ivanovich Sipovich (on the left, in a destroyed observation cap) and Captain Korovin on a captured Finnish bunker

Soviet border guards inspect captured Finnish weapons. The Finnish machine gun Maxim M1921 and the Finnish Mosin rifle model 1939 are visible. 1939

May 1st, 2012

The history of the Finnish state dates back to 1917. A month and a half after the October Revolution, on December 6 (19), 1917, the Finnish Parliament, under the leadership of Per Evind Svinhufvud, approved the declaration of state independence of Finland. Already 12 days later - on December 18 (31), the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Republic adopted a Decree recognizing the independence of Finland, signed personally by V. I. Lenin. The prerequisites for Finnish statehood were formed precisely in the Russian Empire. The Grand Duchy of Finland became part of Russia after the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809. Finland enjoyed wide autonomy, having its own bank, post office, customs, and since 1863 also the official Finnish language. It is the Russian period that becomes the time of the heyday of the national self-consciousness of the Finns, the heyday of Finnish culture, the Finnish language. On such favorable soil, the ideas of the brotherhood of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the ideas of the independence of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the unification of the Finno-Ugric peoples around it are formed.

It was these ideas that the leaders of Finland tried to put into practice after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Most of us are aware of the intervention of the troops of the Entente countries - France and Great Britain, during the Civil War. However, the Finnish intervention on the Northwestern Front remains, as a rule, an unknown page in history.

Declaration of Independence of Finland Decree of the Council of People's Commissars recognizing the independence of Finland

However, even then the Soviet government planned to start a socialist revolution in Finland through the hands of its Finnish supporters. The uprising broke out in Helsinki on the evening of January 27, 1918. The same date is also considered the date of the start of the Finnish Civil War. On January 28, the entire capital, as well as most of the cities of Southern Finland, were under the control of the Red Finns. On the same day, the Council of People's Deputies of Finland (Suomen kansanvaltuuskunta) was created, headed by the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, Kullervo Manner, and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was proclaimed ( Suomen sosialistinen tyoväentasavalta).

Front line in February 1918

The attempt of the Red offensive in the northern direction failed, and in early March the Whites, under the command of General Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, went over to the counteroffensive. March 8 - April 6 there is a decisive battle for Tampere, in which the Reds are defeated. Almost at the same time, the Whites are victorious on the Karelian Isthmus near the village of Rautu (the current village of Sosnovo). During the Civil War, military assistance to the White Finns was constantly provided by Swedish volunteers, and after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Soviet Russia on March 3, the troops of Kaiser Germany also intervened. On March 5, German troops landed on the Aland Islands, on April 3, an expeditionary force of about 9.5 thousand people under the command of General Rüdiger von der Goltz landed on the Hanko Peninsula, where it strikes in the back with red and begins an offensive on Helsinki, which was taken on April 13. On April 19, Lahti was taken by the White Finns, and the Red groups were thus cut. On April 26, the Soviet government of Finland fled to Petrograd, on the same day the White Finns took Viipuri (Vyborg), where they carried out mass terror against the Russian population and the Red Guards who did not have time to escape. The civil war in Finland was actually over, on May 7, the remnants of the red units were defeated on the Karelian Isthmus, and on May 16, 1918, a victory parade was held in Helsinki.

But in the meantime, the Civil War in Russia had already flared up ...

Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army General
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim

Having gained independence, and waging war with the Red Guards, the Finnish state decided not to stop at the borders of the Grand Duchy of Finland. At that time, among the Finnish intelligentsia, the ideas of Panfilanism, that is, the unity of the Finno-Ugric peoples, as well as the ideas of Great Finland, which were supposed to include the territories adjacent to Finland inhabited by these peoples, gained great popularity - Karelia (including the Kola Peninsula), Ingria (neighborhood of Petrograd) and Estonia. The Russian Empire was collapsing, and new state formations arose on its territory, sometimes considering a significant expansion of their territory in the future.

Thus, during the Civil War, the Finnish leadership planned to expel Soviet troops not only from Finland, but also from the territories, the annexation of which was planned in the near future. So on February 23, 1918, at the Antrea railway station (now Kamennogorsk), Mannerheim pronounces the "Oath of the Sword", in which he mentions: "I will not sheathe my sword ... until the last warrior and hooligan of Lenin is expelled from both Finland and Eastern Karelia". War on Soviet Russia was not declared, but since mid-January (that is, before the start of the Finnish Civil War), Finland has been secretly sending partisan detachments to Karelia, whose task was the actual occupation of Karelia and assisting the Finnish troops during the invasion. Detachments occupy the city of Kem and the village of Ukhta (now the village of Kalevala). On March 6, in Helsinki (occupied at that time by the Reds), a Provisional Karelian Committee was created, and on March 15, Mannerheim approved the Wallenius Plan, aimed at the invasion of Finnish troops into Karelia and the seizure of Russian territory along the line Pechenga - Kola Peninsula - White Sea - Vygozero - Onega lake - Svir river - Lake Ladoga. Parts of the Finnish army were to unite at Petrograd, which was supposed to be turned into a free city-republic controlled by Finland.

Russian territories that were supposed to be annexed according to the Wallenius plan

In March 1918, by agreement with the Soviet government, British, French and Canadian troops landed in Murmansk in order to prevent the invasion of the White Finns. Already in May, after the victory in the Civil War, the White Finns begin an offensive in Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. On May 10, they attempted to attack the polar ice-free port of Pechenga, but the attack was repulsed by the Red Guards. In October 1918 and January 1919, Finnish troops occupied the Rebolsk and Porosozersk (Porayarvi) volosts in the west of Russian Karelia, respectively. In November 1918, after the surrender of Germany in the First World War, the withdrawal of German troops from Russian territory begins, and the Germans lose the opportunity to assist the Finns. In this regard, in December 1918, Finland changes its foreign policy orientation in favor of the Entente.

Areas occupied by the area are shown in light yellow.
Finnish troops as of January 1919

The Finns are striving to create a state of the Finno-Ugric peoples in another direction. After the withdrawal of German troops from the Baltic states, Soviet troops attempt to occupy this region, but they meet resistance from the already formed troops of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - young states (Lithuania declared itself the successor to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), proclaimed during the German occupation. They are assisted by the troops of the Entente and the Russian White movement. At the end of November 1918, the Red Guards took Narva, which was part of the young Estonian Republic, after the capture of Narva, the Estland Labor Commune was proclaimed there ( Eesti Töörahwa Kommuuna ) and formed the Soviet government of Estonia, headed by Viktor Kingisepp. Thus began the Estonian War of Independence ( Eesti Vabadussõda). The Estonian army, led by Major General Ernest Pydder (on December 23, he transferred his powers to Johan Laidoner), retreats towards Reval (Tallinn). The Red Army occupied Dorpat (Tartu) and about half of the territory of Estonia and by January 6 was 35 kilometers from Tallinn. On January 7, the Estonian army launches a counteroffensive.

Ernest Pydder Johan Laidoner Viktor Kingisepp

Tartu was taken on January 14, Narva on January 19. In early February, units of the Red Army were finally forced out of Estonia. In May, the Estonian army is advancing on Pskov.

The allies of the Estonian army fought mainly in their own interests. The Russian White movement used the Estonian army (as well as other national armies that arose on the territory of Russia) as a temporary ally in the fight against the Bolsheviks, England and France fought for their own geopolitical interests in the Baltic states (back in the middle of the 19th century, before the Crimean War, the head of the foreign policy Department of Great Britain Henry Palmerston approved the plan of rejection of the Baltic States and Finland from Russia). Finland sent a volunteer corps of about 3.5 thousand people to Estonia. Finland's aspirations were to first drive the Reds out of Estonia, and then make Estonia part of Finland, as a federation of Finno-Ugric peoples. At the same time, Finland did not send volunteers to Latvia - Latvians do not belong to the Finno-Ugric peoples.

But back to Karelia. By July 1919, in the Karelian village of Ukhta (now the town of Kalevala), with the assistance of Finnish detachments that secretly penetrated there, a separatist North Karelian state was formed. Even earlier, on the morning of April 21, 1919, the Finnish troops, who had already occupied, as mentioned above, Reboly and Porosozero, crossed the Finnish-Russian border in the Eastern Ladoga region and in the evening of the same day occupied the village of Vidlitsa, and two days later - the city of Olonets, where a puppet Olonets government is created. On April 25, the White Finns go to the Yarn River, finding themselves 10 kilometers from Petrozavodsk, where they meet resistance from parts of the Red Army. The rest of the White Finnish detachments at the same time force the Svir and go to the city of Lodeynoye Pole. Anglo-French-Canadian troops were approaching Petrozavodsk from the north; the defense of Petrozavodsk lasted two months. At the same time, Finnish troops with smaller forces were conducting an offensive in North Karelia, using the North Karelian state to try to tear away the whole of Karelia.

On June 27, 1919, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive, occupying Olonets by July 8, and knocking the Finns out of the border line. However, the world did not settle on this. Finland refused to negotiate peace, and Finnish troops continued to occupy part of North Karelia.

On June 27, just on the day the defense of Petrozavodsk ended, the Finnish units under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Yurie Elfengren crossed the border on the Karelian Isthmus and found themselves in close proximity to Petrograd. However, they occupy territories inhabited mainly by Ingrian Finns, who at the beginning of June raised an anti-Bolshevik uprising, having become dissatisfied with the surplus appropriations carried out by the Bolsheviks, as well as punitive operations, which were a response to the population's evasion from mobilization into the Red Army. The Finnish troops meet resistance from the Red Army, in particular, the Finnish Red Army detachments, formed from the Red Finns who fled from Finland after the defeat in the Civil War, enter the battle with them. Two days later, Finnish troops retreat beyond the border line. On July 9, in the border village of Kiryasalo, the Republic of Northern Ingria is proclaimed, the head of which is a local resident Santeri Termonen. In September 1919, the Finnish units crossed the border again and held the territory of Northern Ingria for about a year. The republic becomes a state controlled by Finland, and in November, Yurie Elfengren himself takes the post of Chairman of the State Council.

Flag of the North Karelian State Flag of the Republic of Northern Ingria

Postage stamp of the Olonets government Postage stamp of the Republic of Northern Ingria

From September 1919 to March 1920, the Red Army completely liberates Karelia from the interventionist troops of the Entente, after which it begins to fight the Finns. On May 18, 1920, Soviet troops took the village of Ukhta without a fight, after which the government of the North Karelian state fled to Finland. By July 21, the Red Army had liberated most of Russian Karelia from Finnish troops. In the hands of the Finns, only the Rebolsk and Porosozersk volosts remained.

Yourie Elfengren North Ingrian Regiment in Kirjasalo

In July 1920, in the Estonian city of Tartu (where a peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Estonia was signed five months earlier), peace negotiations between Soviet Russia and Finland begin. Representatives of the Finnish side demand the transfer of Eastern Karelia. The Soviet side, in order to secure Petrograd, demands half of the Karelian Isthmus and an island in the Gulf of Finland from Finland. Negotiations last four months, but on October 14, 1920, the peace treaty was nevertheless signed. Finland as a whole remained within the borders of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Soviet Russia handed over to Finland the ice-free port of Pechenga (Petsamo) in the Arctic, thanks to which Finland gained access to the Barents Sea. On the Karelian Isthmus, the old border was also left, drawn along the Sestra River (Rayajoki). Rebolsk and Porosozersk volosts, as well as Northern Ingria, remained with Soviet Russia, and Finnish troops were withdrawn from these territories within a month and a half.

Finnish occupation of Karelia. The territories occupied at different times (dates of occupation are indicated) are allocated
light yellow color.

The Treaty of Tartu was intended to end hostilities between Russia and Finland. However, peace did not come here either. The Finnish leadership regarded it as a temporary truce and did not plan to give up its claims to Karelia at all. Finnish nationalist circles perceived the Treaty of Tartu as shameful and longed for revenge. Not even two months had passed since the signing of the peace, as on December 10, 1920, the United Karelian Government was created in Vyborg. Further, the Finns used the same tactics as in 1919 - during the summer of 1921 they sent partisan detachments to the territory of Soviet Karelia, which gradually occupied the border villages and engaged in reconnaissance, as well as carried out agitation and arming the local population and thus organized the Karelian national insurrection. In October 1921, in Soviet Karelia, on the territory of the Tungudskaya volost, an underground Provisional Karelian Committee was created ( Karjalan Valiaikainen hallitus), headed by Vasily Levonen, Hjalmari Takkinen and Osipp Borisainen.

On November 6, 1921, Finnish partisan detachments begin an armed uprising in Eastern Karelia, on the same day the Finnish army, led by Major Paavo Talvela, crosses the border. Thus, the Finnish intervention in the Russian Civil War is resumed, although the Civil War in the North-West had already ceased by that time (not counting the Kronstadt uprising of 1921). The Finns counted on the weakness of the Red Army after the Civil War and a fairly easy victory. Leading the offensive, the Finnish detachments destroyed communications and destroyed Soviet authorities in all settlements. New detachments were sent from Finland. If at the beginning of the war the number of Finnish troops was 2.5 thousand people, then by the end of December the figure approached 6 thousand. There were detachments formed from the participants of the Kronstadt uprising, who fled to Finland after it was suppressed. On the basis of the Provisional Karelian Committee, the puppet North Karelian state was recreated, which was again planted in the village of Ukhta, occupied by Finnish troops. In Finnish historiography, these events are called the "East Karelian uprising" ( Itakarjalaisten kansannosu), and it is reported that the Finns came to the aid of the Karelian brothers, who voluntarily raised an uprising against the Bolsheviks who oppressed them. In Soviet historiography, what was happening was interpreted as "a bandit kulak uprising financed by the imperialist circles of Finland." As you can see, both points of view are politicized.

Soviet poster dedicated to the Finnish intervention in 1921

On December 18, 1921, the territory of Karelia was declared under a state of siege. The Karelian Front was restored, headed by Alexander Sedyakin. Additional units of the Red Army were transferred to Karelia. Red Finns who fled after the Finnish Civil War to Soviet Russia are fighting in the ranks of the Red Army. The Finnish revolutionary Toivo Antikainen formed a ski rifle battalion, which in December 1921 carried out several raids on the rear of the White Finns. The battalion of the Petrograd International Military School, commanded by the Estonian Alexander Inno, also distinguished himself.

Light yellow color shows the territory occupied
White Finns as of December 25, 1921

On December 26, Soviet units strike from the side of Petrozavodsk, and after a week and a half they occupy Porosozero, Padany and Reboly, and on January 25, 1922 they occupy the village of Kestenga. On January 15, in Helsinki, Finnish workers hold a demonstration in protest against the "Karelian adventure" of the White Finns. On February 7, the troops of the Red Army enter the village of Ukhta, the North Karelian state dissolves itself, and its leaders flee to Finland. By February 17, 1922, the Red Army finally knocks the Finns out of the state border line, military operations actually stop there. On March 21, an armistice was signed in Moscow.

Paavo Talvela. Finnish major, leader
East Karelian operation

Alexander Sedyakin. Commander of Karelian Toivo Antikainen. Finnish creator
front of the Red Army and the head of the defeat of the ski battalion of the Red Army
White Finnish troops

On June 1, 1922, a peace treaty was concluded in Moscow between Soviet Russia and Finland, according to which both parties were obliged to reduce the number of border troops.

Award for participation in the war
against the White Finns in 1921-1922.

After the spring of 1922, the Finns no longer crossed the Soviet border with weapons. However, peace between neighboring states remained "cool". Finland's claims to Karelia and the Kola Peninsula not only did not disappear, but vice versa, they began to gain even more popularity and sometimes turn into more radical forms - some Finnish nationalist organizations sometimes promoted the idea of ​​creating Greater Finland to the Polar Urals, which also had to enter the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Cis-Urals and the Volga region. A rather powerful propaganda acted in Finland, as a result of which the Finns formed the image of Russia as the eternal enemy of Finland. In the 1930s, the government of the USSR, observing such unfriendly political rhetoric from its northwestern neighbor, sometimes expressed concerns about the security of Leningrad, just 30 kilometers from which the Soviet-Finnish border passed. In Soviet propaganda, however, a negative image of Finland is also being formed as a "bourgeois" state, headed by an "aggressive imperialist clique" and in which the working class is allegedly oppressed. In 1932, a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Finland, however, even after that, relations between the two states remain very tense. And at a critical moment, a detonation occurred - in 1939, when the Second World War had already flared up, the tension of interstate relations resulted in the Soviet-Finnish (Winter) War of 1939-1940, which was followed in 1941 by Finland's participation in the Great Patriotic War in the Union with Hitler's Germany. The establishment of good-neighborly relations between the USSR and Finland, unfortunately, cost a lot of losses.

Fighting in the Gulf of Finland

On November 6, 1918, the head of the Naval Forces on the Baltic Sea gave the order to put the ships in Kronstadt and on Lake Ladoga on alert. Among the defensive measures of the Baltic Fleet was the laying of an additional minefield near Kronstadt, begun early in the morning on November 19 by the Narova minelayer. Suddenly, the minelayer was fired upon by the Finnish coastal battery, located near the village of Pumola. The battery fired 40 shells and scored two hits on the Narova. The minelayer was forced to give full swing and stop the mine setting. I specifically dwell on this small episode of hostilities in order to show how the hands of Trotsky and Co. were tied at the command of the Baltic Fleet in relation to Finland. Soviet battleships could open fire on the battery in Pumola directly from the Kronstadt raid and destroy it. However, they were silent, and the naval command asked Moscow: "What to do?" Finally, an order came from Moscow: “Tomorrow, on the 20th morning, the Krasnaya Gorka battery will demolish the Pumola battery by fire. Ammunition consumption is unlimited. Note: in order to avoid "international complications", that is, the wrath of the "aunt of the Entente", Trotsky refused to use naval artillery fire.

At 9 am on November 20, the 305/52-mm guns of Krasnaya Gorka opened fire on the battery in Pumola. Ninety 305-mm high-explosive shells were fired at it, and five shells were fired "just in case" at the towers of the blown-up Fort Ino. According to intelligence data received later, the battery near the village of Pumola and the village itself, as well as the neighboring village of Vitikulya, were completely destroyed. The next day, November 21, "Narova" calmly finished laying the minefield. The forecasts of the command of the Baltic Fleet were confirmed. Immediately after the conclusion of the armistice with Germany, England began to prepare for intervention in the Baltic. On November 28, a formation of British ships arrived in Copenhagen under the command of Rear Admiral Alexander Sinclair. It included the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron, a flotilla of destroyers and a transport with weapons for the White Estonians. Upon arrival in Reval, thousands of rifles, hundreds of machine guns and several 76-mm anti-aircraft guns were unloaded from the transport for the Estonians. Sinclair himself immediately moved to Narva, where there were battles between the Reds and the Whites. On the night of December 5, 1918, the English cruiser Cassandra hit a mine and sank. On December 14 and 15, British ships repeatedly fired on the red units on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The balance of forces in the Gulf of Finland was formally in favor of the Russian fleet. However, most of his ships were physically unable to leave their bases. Even a few ships from the so-called active detachment of ships were not repaired for several years. The discipline among the "brothers" left much to be desired. The commanders of the former tsarist officers were intimidated by the commissars, the fleet was controlled mainly by illiterate adventurers like F.F. Raskolnikov. The English ships were of the latest construction (1915-1918) and significantly surpassed the Russian ships in their characteristics. Therefore, the British quickly established dominance throughout the Gulf of Finland. On December 25 and 26, the destroyers "Avtroil" and "Spartak" surrendered to British ships, subsequently transferred to the Estonian fleet. This for a long time discouraged Soviet surface ships from going beyond the range of the guns of the Krasnaya Gorka fort. Fighting in the Baltic States in 1918-1919. are beyond the scope of this work, so I will not dwell on them, but will only touch on aspects of the war that directly concern Finland.

Battles for Karelia and Petrozavodsk

One of the first decrees of Regent Mannerheim was the decree on the Shutskor, which stated that the Shutskors “are called upon to increase the defense capability of the people and ensure lawful public order,” that is, they must fight the external enemy and carry out reprisals against the internal. By order of Mannerheim in 1919, the swastika became the national symbol of Finland, and all Finnish aircraft and tanks had identification marks in the form of a swastika until the spring of 1945. On December 30, 1918, Finnish troops under the command of Major General Wetzer landed in Estonia. Formally, the Wetzer Corps was considered voluntary, but in fact they were regular troops, the overall command of which was exercised by Mannerheim himself. The Finnish corps participated in battles with the Soviet troops until the end of February 1919. In January 1919, Finnish troops captured the Porosozernaya volost in Karelia, adjacent to the Rebolsk volost. In February 1919, at a peace conference in Versailles, Finland demanded that all of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula be annexed to it. Nevertheless, in January - March 1919, the Finns conducted limited military operations, mainly in the areas of Rebola and Porosozero. Under the leadership of Mannerheim, the Finnish command developed a plan of attack on the RSFSR. According to him, after the snow melts, the Southern Group (regular units of the Finnish army) begins an offensive in the direction of Olonets - Lodeynoye Pole. The northern group (shutskor, Swedish volunteers and people from Karelia) advances in the direction of Veshkelitsa - Kungozero - Syamozero. Mannerheim coordinated the offensive of the Finnish troops with the white general N.N. Yudenich, whose troops were in Estonia. For the union, Mannerheim demanded Karelia and the Kola Peninsula from Yudenich. On April 3, Yudenich agreed to give up Karelia, and promised to give up the Kola Peninsula after the construction of a direct railway line to Arkhangelsk. On April 21-22, 1919, the White Finnish troops unexpectedly crossed the Russian-Finnish state border at several points. Encountering no resistance on their way due to the absence of Soviet troops in this sector, the White Finns occupied Vidlitsa on April 21, Toloksa on April 23, Olonets on the evening of April 23, Veshkelitsa on April 24 and approached Pryazha by April 25, threatening directly Petrozavodsk. Separate Finnish units, despite the fierce battles that ensued around Pryazha and Manga, covering Petrozavodsk, penetrated over the next two to three days to Sulazhgora, 7 km from Petrozavodsk. A critical situation arose: the Karelian Territory could literally fall in a matter of days, given that Anglo-Canadian troops and White Guard units were advancing from the north in the direction of Kondopoga - Petrozavodsk. Therefore, in the last days of April, fierce battles unfolded on the outskirts of Petrozavodsk, as a result of which
the Finnish offensive was temporarily suspended. On May 2, 1919, the Defense Council of the RSFSR declared Petrozavodsk, Olonetsk and Cherepovets provinces under a state of siege. On May 4, a general mobilization of the North-Western region of the RSFSR was announced. Throughout May and June 1919, stubborn battles were going on east and north of Lake Ladoga, during which small detachments of the Red Army held back well-trained, fully equipped and heavily armed White Finnish troops, who also had a significant numerical superiority. The Belofinsk Olonets army was advancing on Lodeynoye Pole. Several Finnish detachments managed to cross the Svir below Lodeynoye Pole. Starting from May 4, patrol vessels "Kunica" and "Gornostai" (displacement 170 tons, armament: two 75/50-mm guns) fired daily at the coast occupied by the Finns from Olonets to Vidlitsa. On May 8, they sank a Finnish ship with artillery fire at the mouth of the Vidlitsa River. On May 16, the Berezina minelayer (displacement 450 tons, armament: two 102/60-mm and one 75/50-mm guns) joined the patrol vessels. On July 22, 1919, the order was given to the Soviet troops of the Mezhduozerny region: to push the enemy back beyond the Finnish border; go to the line: border - Vedlozero - Yarn; join the Petrozavodsk group along the Petrozavodsk highway and form a continuous front. To do this, one group of the Olonets sector to conduct an offensive from the Tuloksa River to the Vidlitsa River and further, to the border. The actions of the ground forces were to be supported by the fire of the ships of the Onega flotilla. The Vidlitskaya operation played a decisive role in the defeat of the White Finns in the Mezhduozerny region. The destroyers Amurets and Ussuriets (displacement 750 tons, armament: two 102/60-mm guns, one 37-mm anti-aircraft gun), patrol vessels Vydra and Laska, armored gunboats were involved in it. military departments No. 1, 2 and No. 4 (displacement 25 tons, armament: two 76-mm mountain guns), messenger ship No. 1 and four ships with landing. The landing detachment consisted of the Russian 1st Rifle Division and the 1st Finnish Rifle Regiment60. At 04:52 on the morning of June 27, the flotilla opened fire at the Finnish batteries located on the right bank of the Vidlitsa River (two 88-mm German guns and two 57-mm guns) from a distance of 10 cables61. By 7:20 the Finns' batteries were silenced. Gunboat No. 2 entered the Vidlitsa River and fired at the coast with 76-mm cannons and machine guns. The landing began at 07:45. At the same time, part of the landing force was landed south of Vidlitsa near the mouth of the Tuloksy River. So gunboats No. 1 and No. 4, together with the Otter patrol vessel, suppressed the Finnish battery (two 57-mm guns) with fire. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the landing began north of the mouth of the Tuloxa. Gunboats No. 1 and No. 4 supported the landing with fire, approaching the very shore. During both landings, the Finnish troops were defeated and retreated north in a panic. Our trophies were four 88-mm German guns, five 57-mm Russian naval guns, three Japanese mortars, twelve machine guns, four machine guns, two thousand rounds of ammunition and a car. By July 8, 1919, the Olonets section of the Karelian Front was completely liquidated: Finnish troops retreated beyond the border line. The Red Army was ordered not to pursue the Finnish troops beyond the state border. I note that the 6th Finnish Rifle Regiment fought side by side with the Red Army in Karelia. All Mannerheim's plans to organize a campaign against Petrograd through the Karelian Isthmus ended in failure. Both Yudenich and the Provisional Government of the Northern Region, created in Arkhangelsk, agreed to the capture of Petrograd by the Finns. From there, in early June 1919, a special representative, Lieutenant General Marushevsky, went to Helsinki (until 1918 - Helsingfors), who only asked Mannerheim to transfer control over it to the Yudenich administration after the capture of Petrograd. These “patriots” clearly did not think about what the White Finns would do in Petrograd. Opponents of the march on Petrograd were the Finnish Parliament (Rigsdag) and the British government. The first calculated how much this campaign would cost, and wept. The latter have already gained experience in communicating with the Bolsheviks from Baku to Arkhangelsk and easily calculated all the consequences of the campaign. There was no doubt in London that Mannerheim would be beaten. They were worried about another question - having thrown the baron away from Petrograd, will the Russians drive him to the Finnish border, or will they go further and, if they do, where will they stop? At Helsinki, at Abo or in Stockholm?
I note that the best units of the 7th Army, which defended Petrograd, were concentrated precisely on the Karelian Isthmus.
The field artillery on the Karelian Isthmus included eighty-76-mm and seven - 107-mm guns, twenty-four - 122-mm and eight - 152-mm howitzers. In the event of an offensive by the Finns, a flurry of fire from the ships of the Baltic Fleet and the Kronstadt fortress would inevitably fall on them. The Kronstadt forts could shell the Finnish territory not only with 305-mm, but also with 254/45-mm and 203/50-mm cannons, and the northern forts - with 152/45-mm Kane cannons. Taking into account the sufficiently developed railway network in the Petrograd region, if necessary, infantry and cavalry units from Central Russia could be quickly transferred to the Karelian Isthmus. As a result, the campaign against Petrograd failed, never having begun. As a consolation to the zealous White Finns, the British government allowed its fleet to hunt Russians in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. By the beginning of June 1919, there were three English light cruisers in the Gulf of Finland: Cleopatra, Dragon and Galatea, eight destroyers and five submarines. All these vessels entered service in 1917-1919. The Finnish government created a forward base for British ships in Biorke (now Primorsk), 90 km from Petrograd and 60 km from Kronstadt. On June 4, the destroyers Gavriil and Azard drove the English submarine L-55 onto the mines in Koporsky Bay. The entire crew of the boat was killed. In 1928, the L-55 was raised and entered service with the Red Fleet under the same name. More successful was the use of small torpedo boats by the British. The actions of the boats in the Gulf of Finland, and even the very delivery of them there, beg for an adventure film. The boats were secretly transported on several cargo ships to Sweden, and from there forwarded to Abo and Helsinki. Part of the team went to Finland as yachtsmen, and part - in the form of merchants. The first two boats were towed to Biorca by an English destroyer on June 8, 1919. Three days later, the boats moved to Terioki, 40 km from Petrograd. There, in the dilapidated base of the former Russian Imperial Yacht Club, a secret parking lot for English torpedo boats was created. In June 1919, British torpedo boats made 13 trips to Petrograd along the northern channel past the northern forts of the Kronstadt fortress. And only twice they were discovered and fired upon by rifle and machine-gun fire, but their high speed (33-37 knots) allowed them to leave. On one of the islands of the Neva Delta, boats landed or received British agents. On June 13, the garrisons of the Krasnaya Gorka and Gray Horse forts mutinied against the Bolsheviks. The revolt could have more than serious consequences both for Kronstadt and for Petrograd itself. However, "brothers" turned out to be "on both sides of the barricades" - loose, forgetting about discipline and the rules of shooting. The result was "much ado about nothing."
In response to the ultimatum of the Bolsheviks, at 3 pm on June 13, the Krasnaya Gorka fort opened fire from 305-mm guns on ships stationed in the Neva harbor. From the side of the Bolsheviks, the battleships Petropavlovsk (fired 568-305-mm shells) and Andrei the First-Called (170-305-mm shells), the cruiser Oleg, destroyers and Fort Rif fired at Krasnaya Gorka. Red seaplanes dropped almost half a ton of bombs, seven thousand arrows and tons of leaflets on the fort. The firing was carried out for two days - by the evening of June 15, Krasnaya Gorka stopped responding to the shelling. At night, Red intelligence entered the Krasnaya Gorka fort. The fort was empty, the rebels fled. Later, Soviet historians would tell stories about numerous explosions and fires in the fort, about heavy losses of the rebels, and so on. There was actually a fire - a residential town near the fort burned down. None of the fort's guns lost their combat effectiveness, except that the rebels removed important details of the castles from some of the guns. The rebels were not inferior to the Bolsheviks in terms of firing efficiency: not a single red ship received hits. Only a few inhabitants of Kronstadt suffered from the fire of the Krasnaya Gorka fort, who went out to the embankments of the Merchant and Middle harbors to look at the performance. From a military point of view, the most unpleasant consequence of the rebellion for the Bolsheviks was the failure of the 305-mm guns of the battleship "Petropavlovsk", completely shot during the "representation". The British and Finns could help the rebels, but did not want to. Only Commander Egar, head of the torpedo boat base in Terioki, decided to attack the red fleet. Subsequently (February 15, 1928), he claimed that he had asked London for an attack on the red ships and received an answer that his business was only the sending of spies to Petrograd. Egar allegedly decided to act at his own peril and risk62. On June 17, the cruiser Oleg was anchored at the Tolbukhin lighthouse, guarded by two destroyers and two patrol vessels. Egar's boat approached the cruiser almost point-blank and fired a torpedo. The cruiser sank. It is easy to understand how the service was carried out by the Red Naval Marines from the fact that neither on the cruiser nor on the ships guarding it, no one noticed a suitable boat in daylight and excellent visibility. After the explosion, indiscriminate fire was opened on the "English submarine", which the military men dreamed of. On June 18, British or Finnish airplanes flew over Kronstadt. Which ones - the document does not say, apparently, failed to determine the nationality. In any case, they were based in Finland. On June 20, Soviet aircraft made reconnaissance flights over the islands of Seskar, Biorca and over mainland Finland. Two ships were found off the Finnish coast, on which two pound bombs were dropped from aircraft.
On June 22, enemy hydroplanes bombarded Kronstadt. There were no losses or damage to ships. On June 29, the Krasnaya Gorka fort opened fire from 305/52-mm guns on enemy vehicles. The transport was damaged and began to leave for the Finnish coast, but soon exploded and sank. It was not possible to establish the cause of his death (from battery fire or from a mine explosion). In late June - early July, the English fleet was reinforced by the cruisers Delhi, Danae, Dentless and Caledan, as well as the Vindintiv seaplane base (12 aircraft). On June 30, seven more torpedo boats arrived in Biorca and another sank while being towed in the Baltic Sea. In July 1919, enemy planes flew over Kronstadt almost daily, but they bombed comparatively rarely. Soviet planes, in turn, flew over the islands of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and over the Finnish coast, bombing all oncoming ships, however, without much success. On August 1, daily bombardments of Kronstadt by aircraft based on Finnish territory began. In response, on August 6, four Soviet bombers, escorted by two fighters, were sent to bomb the airfield near Biorca. Due to intense anti-aircraft fire, three bombers returned without completing their mission, and only one dropped bombs on the hangars. During the bombardment of Kronstadt on August 13, a large fire broke out in timber warehouses, and the customs building also burned down.
On the night of August 17-18, British torpedo boats attacked the ships of the Baltic Fleet in the Kronstadt harbor. Five boats left Biorca and two boats from Terioki. They met in the area of ​​Fort Eno, and from there they went along the Northern Channel to Kronstadt. To divert the attention of the Bolsheviks, at 03:45 on August 18, English seaplanes appeared over Kronstadt, dropping 100-pound bombs and opening fire from machine guns. The result of the attack was the damage to the battleship "Andrew the First-Called" and the sinking of the disarmed old cruiser "Memory of Azov". In turn, three English boats were sunk by fire from the destroyer Gabriel. On August 19, Soviet aircraft attacked the airfield and railway station in the Finnish city of Biorca. The raid involved five seaplane bombers and two fighters. Seventeen bombs weighing 172 kg each and three incendiary bombs were dropped. From August 20 to August 28, enemy aircraft bombed Kronstadt daily, sometimes three to four times a day. On August 28, Soviet aircraft bombed Terioki. On August 31, the submarine Panther sank the English destroyer Vittorna near Sescar Island (built in 1917; displacement 1367 tons; speed 34 knots; armament: four 100-mm and one 76-mm guns, four 53-cm torpedo tubes ). And on September 4, the destroyer Verulam of the same type as the Vittorna was killed in a Russian minefield. On September 2, Soviet aircraft bombed Fort Eno. Six bombers dropped 270 kg of bombs. Intense artillery fire was opened on the aircraft. From September 4 to October 11, intensive (for that time) mutual daily air raids were carried out. I will give only a few examples. On September 4, four enemy planes dropped 12 bombs on the destroyer Svoboda. A sailor was wounded by a fragment of a bomb that exploded not far from the side. On September 7, our planes again bombed Fort Eno. Seven aircraft dropped 25 bombs with a total weight of 410 kg. The results of our bombardments are unknown. The most noticeable result of the enemy bombings can be called a bomb hit on October 3 in the old battleship Zarya Svoboda (former Alexander II). On October 11, Yudenich's troops launched an offensive against Petrograd. On October 17, Gatchina was taken, and three days later - Children's (Tsarskoye) Selo and Pavlovsk. However, on October 21, the red units launched a counteroffensive. By December 1, the Northwestern White Guard Army was finally defeated, the surviving units retreated across the Narova River to Estonia, where on December 5, 1919 were interned. The details of this operation are well described by Soviet authors and are beyond the scope of this work. I will only note the arrival of the Erebus monitor from England to the Gulf of Finland (displacement 8128 tons; armament: two 381/42-mm, eight 100-mm and two 76-mm guns). On October 27, the monitor, along with other ships, fired at the positions of the Reds. The English ships were in fog and were not fired upon. But when on October 30 "Erebus" fired at "Krasnaya Gorka", the 305-mm shells of the battery began to fall next to the monitor. After firing thirty shells, the Erebus was forced to leave. The firing of the fort was corrected from seaplanes. In December 1919 the English fleet left the Gulf of Finland. On December 31, 1919, an armistice with Estonia was signed in Tartu, and on February 21, 1920, a peace treaty between Russia and Estonia was also signed there. In February 1920, the Red Army put an end to the white "Provisional Government of the Northern Region", which fled abroad by sea. On March 7, the Red Army entered Murmansk. Now the Bolsheviks took up the so-called "North Karelian state". This "state" was created on July 21, 1919 by the Finns and Karelian kulaks. The "state" included five northern Karelian volosts of the Arkhangelsk province. The capital of the "state" was the village of Ukhta. The "Provisional Government of Arkhangelsk Karelia" announced its secession from Russia and turned to foreign states with a request for a diploma
tic recognition. Needless to say, Finland alone recognized the "North Karelian state" and even issued a loan to the "state" in the amount of eight million Finnish marks. On May 18, 1920, units of the Red Army took the village of Ukhta, and the “government” fled to the village of Voknavolok, 30 km from the border, and after a couple of weeks moved to rule in Finland. But since too many Karelian “governments” accumulated in Finland, which, naturally, was too expensive, the economical Finns created the “Karelian United Government” in Vyborg in December 1920. It included the “Olonets government”, the “Provisional government of Arkhangelsk Karelia”, the government of the Rebolsk and Porosozersk volosts, etc. From July 10 to July 14, 1920, peace negotiations between Russia and Finland were held in the city of Tartu. The latter demanded Karelian lands from Russia. It is clear that the negotiations ended in failure. On July 14-21, 1920, the Red Army finally drove out the last detachments of the Finns from the territory of Karelia, with the exception of two northern volosts - Rebola and Porosozero. After the defeat, the Finns became more accommodating, and on July 28 negotiations resumed. On October 14, 1920, the parties signed the Tartu Peace Treaty Since the territorial disputes between Finland and Russia were extremely important, let us dwell on them in more detail. According to the Treaty of Tartu, the entire Pechenga region (Petsamo), as well as the western part of the Rybachy Peninsula, from Vaida Bay to Motovsky Bay, and most of the Sredny Peninsula, along a line passing through the middle of both of its isthmuses, departed to Finland in the North, in the Arctic. All the islands to the west of the dividing line in the Barents Sea also went to Finland (Kiy Island and Ainovskie Islands). The border on the Karelian Isthmus was established from the Gulf of Finland along the Sestra River (Sisterbek, Rayajoki) and then went north along the line of the old administrative Russian-Finnish border that separated the Grand Duchy of Finland from the Russian provinces proper.

Border treaty with Finland

The Karelian volosts Rebolsk and Porosozersk occupied by Finnish troops were cleared of troops and returned to the Karelian labor commune (later the Karelian Autonomous Region). The sea border in the Gulf of Finland between the RSFSR and Finland went from the mouth of the Sestra River to Stirsudden along the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, then turned to Seskar Island and the Lavensaari Islands and, bypassing them from the south, turned directly to the mouth of the Narova River on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. (Thus, this border cut off Russia from access to the international waters of the Gulf of Finland.) Let us also note several important military articles of the treaty.
Finland must militarily neutralize the islands of the Gulf of Finland belonging to her, with the exception of the islands of the skerry region. This meant that she undertakes not to build fortifications, naval bases, port facilities, radio stations, military depots on the islands and not to keep troops there. Finland was deprived of the right to maintain aviation and submarine fleet in the Arctic Ocean. Finland could keep in the North up to 15 ordinary warships with a displacement of not more than 400 tons each, as well as any armed ships with a displacement of up to 100 tons each. Finland was obliged to destroy the forts "Ino" and "Pumola" on the Karelian Isthmus within one year. Finland did not have the right to build artillery installations with a firing sector that went beyond the boundaries of Finnish territorial waters, and on the coast of the Gulf of Finland between Stirsudden and Inoniemi - at a distance of less than 20 km from the coastline, as well as any structures between Inoniemi and the mouth of the Sestra River. Both sides could have military vessels on Lake Ladoga and the rivers and canals flowing into it with a displacement of not more than 100 tons and with artillery not exceeding a caliber of 47 mm. The RSFSR had the right to conduct military vessels through the southern part of Lake Ladoga and through the bypass canal to its internal waters. Finnish merchant ships with civilian cargo were given the right of free passage along the Neva River to Lake Ladoga from the Gulf of Finland and back. In October 1921, an underground "Provisional Karelian Committee" was created on the territory of the Karelian labor commune in the Tungudskaya volost, which began the formation of kulak "forest detachments" and gave the signal for the offensive of the White Guard troops from Finland. In the first half of November 1921, they carried out a series of sabotage attacks on individual objects and settlements in Karelia (the railway bridge over the Onda, the village of Rugozero) and the destruction of communists and Soviet employees in them. By the end of December 1921, Finnish detachments of 5-6 thousand people advanced to the Kestenga - Suomusalmi - Rugozero - Padany - Porosozero line, capturing the area from 30 ° to 33 ° E. e. Weak detachments of the border guards, disoriented by the fact that, according to the Tartu Treaty with Finland, the field military units of the Red Army were withdrawn from the area that was attacked, they could not hold back the mobile ski rifle detachments of the Finns and the kulak detachments of the “forest brothers”. Martial law was introduced on the territory of Karelia and the Murmansk Territory. By the end of December, the Soviet authorities concentrated 8.5 thousand people, 166 machine guns, 22 guns in Karelia. The communists were mobilized. Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army S.S. Kamenev. Commander of the Karelian Front was appointed commander Alexander Ignatievich Sedyakin. With a blow from Petrozavodsk in two directions, by the beginning of January 1922, Soviet troops occupied Porosozero on the southern flank of the front, Rebola and Kamasozero on the central sector of the front, defeating the main grouping of the Finns. On January 25, the northern group captured Kestenga and Kokisalma, and in early February 1922, together with the central group, they took the military-political center of the "Karelian Committee" - the village of Ukhta. By mid-February, the territory of Karelia was completely liberated. In the defeat of the interventionists, units formed from the Finns who emigrated to the RSFSR after the civil war in Finland took an active part: the ski battalion of the Petrograd International Military School under the command of A.A. Inno, who passed through the rear of the White Finns over 1100 km. In addition, Finnish lumberjacks created a partisan detachment of 300 people operating on the other side of the border. On January 15, 1922, demonstrations of workers protesting against the "Karelian" adventure took place in many cities of Finland. Together with the Finnish troops, 8,000 able-bodied people left Karelia or were forcibly taken away. The total damage to Karelia from the occupation amounted to 5.61 million rubles in gold.
After the expulsion of the Finns, the Karelian Labor Commune was transformed on July 25, 1923 into the Karelian ASSR within the RSFSR. So, in 1922 the first war between Finland and Russia ended. It was started by nationalists (White Finns) with attacks on Russian garrisons legally located in Finland. References to the fact that the Russian garrisons could present some
or a threat to the Finnish population are simply ridiculous. By the beginning of 1918, the Russian army was completely decomposed, and the soldiers were obsessed with only one desire - to go home! I note that the same picture was on all fronts. The soldiers seized the echelons and a few days later found themselves in the inner provinces of Russia. If the leaders of the nationalists thought at least a little about the interests of their own population, then they could provide the Russians with a “golden bridge”, and in a couple of weeks the Russians would generally be blown away from the territory of Finland by the wind. But the nationalists did not think about the interests of their citizens, they had a predatory instinct to seize as many weapons and other property of the former Russian Empire as possible and now belonged to its successor - Soviet Russia. Russia, bound by the bonds of the Brest peace, acted extremely indecisively.
The Soviet government actually betrayed the Red Finns and limited itself to passive resistance to Finnish aggression. Perhaps the combination of the words "aggression" and "Finland" will hurt someone's ear. But, alas, back in 1918, Mannerheim and Co. were not at all satisfied with the borders of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and even then the doctrine of Great Finland was formed. As we already know, Mannerheim sent his troops to Estonia and Karelia, and the Germans, and then the Entente, with difficulty kept him from attacking Petrograd. Finnish historians, of course, do not want to write the truth about the war of 1918-1922. and instead they created a beautiful myth about the "war of liberation". Moreover, they started it in 1918, but they do not know when to finish it: some believe that the liberation war ended in 1918, others - in 1919, etc. Well, if we consider the first Russo-Finnish war of liberation, then during it the Finnish population freed itself only from the quiet, calm life that it had for 110 years, being under the protection of the Russian Empire and giving practically nothing in return. Finland paid for the first war with many tens of thousands of dead, but the main thing was different - peaceful patriarchal Finland turned into a militaristic state that imposed a long conflict on its great neighbor.