Recently the President of Finland Alexander Stubb made an interesting remark regarding the boiling hot peace process happening in August, 2025. His words hinted at something very important from Finnish history:
“We found a solution in 1944 and I am sure that we will find a solution in 2025 as well, to end the Russian aggressive war” – Alexander Stubb
Mr. Stubb is referring to the fact that Finland bailed on the Nazis in 1944. This “betrayal” of Hitler worked out very well for post-war Finland as they became a neutral country that did not face the harsh consequences that Germany or Japan did. There was no regime change, division, or total occupation of the nation.
Calling Russia “aggressive” is a mandatory platitude necessary to say anything in contrast with the mad EU agenda. Thus, this is not something to focus on, but what is important was published in an article by TASS. It explains why and how the Finns left WWII in great detail.
“The Finnish government began to think about leaving the war after the failures of 1943, and from February 1944 it began actively looking for a way to conclude peace with the least political and economic losses for the country. Many world politicians foresaw such a development of events after the lifting of the Leningrad blockade, but all negotiations on this issue were strictly secret, and their conduct was officially denied.
The path to the conclusion of the armistice, signed by Finland with the USSR and Great Britain only in September 1944, was not easy both militarily and diplomatically. It was very difficult for contemporaries to follow this process, despite the fact that there was a lot of information on this topic in the press.”
Map above: Territorial concessions made by Finland to the USSR
Further in the article we can see the benefits for Finland from “knowing when to fold them” and being able to “walk away” a survivor.
“In 1946, Juho Kusti Paasikivi became the President of Finland. The new President declared a foreign policy aimed at establishing mutually beneficial and friendly relations with the USSR. Paasikivi’s policy was based on the belief that Finland should not allow its territory to be used as a route for attacking the USSR.
Finnish researchers believe that Paasikivi’s foreign policy always came before his domestic policy. Paasikivi himself described his policy as “the logic of caution, negotiation, and compromise.”
In April 1948, the famous Soviet-Finnish Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance was signed, which defined bilateral relations until 1992.”
In short, the Finns got lasting peace despite the fact that they fought on the side that perpetrated the worst crimes against humanity in history against citizens of the Soviet Union. Regardless of this fact the USSR/Russia and Finland have lived in harmony for generations ever since with the only dangerous blip on the international relations radar being Helsinki’s risky choice to join NATO. They might want to reconsider President Paasikivi’s policy towards its big neighbor.
We cannot forget though, one partial reason why they joined up with Hitler’s 1940s era coalition of the willing – The Finno-Soviet War (The Winter War) which happened right before the start of World War II. The key thing to note is that after this conflict, Finland made territorial concessions which define its current border with Russia. There was no further encroachment or attempt to take even more of a disputed Finland. Territory was sacrificed and Russia respected and continues to respect the border deal made many decades ago.
Finland’s 20th century history is proof that a lasting peace can occur and perhaps President Stubb was wise to bring this up to the public as a potential model for the end of the conflict. This is, as they say, “food for thought”.
(The idea for this piece was inspired by the East Calling telegram channel, follow the link to subscribe)