Portal:Finland
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The Finland Portal
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland covers an area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi) and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, of which 84.9 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue and 5.1 percent the latter. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of the Swedish Empire as a result of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state ruled by the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and the idea of full independence began to take hold. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its full independence. In 1918 the young nation was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. As a result, it lost parts of its territory but retained its independence. (Full article...)
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The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization.
The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons – primarily the protection of Leningrad, 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. Most sources conclude that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and cite the establishment of the puppet Finnish Communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols as evidence of this, while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders in temperatures as low as −43 °C (−45 °F). The battles focused mainly on Taipale along the Karelian Isthmus, on Kollaa in Ladoga Karelia and on Raate Road in Kainuu, but there were also battles in Salla and Petsamo in Lapland. (Full article...)Selected image - show another
Did you know (auto-generated)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that politician Kalervo Kummola introduced karaoke to Finland?
- ... that Kaija Saariaho's 2021 opera Innocence includes traditional Finnish cow-herding calls?
- ... that Plevna in Tampere, Finland, was the first building in the Nordic countries and the Russian Empire (of which Finland was part at the time) to be lit by electric lights?
- ... that the 1972 Finnish film The Sheep Eaters gathered more than a million viewers opposite the 1975 Ice Hockey World Championships match between Finland and the Soviet Union?
- ... that Matti Lehtinen, a baritone of the Finnish National Opera and professor of singing at the Sibelius Academy, was the voice of God at age 93?
- ... that the United States severed diplomatic ties with Finland in 1944 because of a personal letter sent to Hitler?
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You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know - show different entries
- ...that the Finnish company YIT was responsible for the construction of the Finnish National Opera house, the Helsinki Fair Centre and Cirrus, the tallest high-rise building in Finland?
- ...that the paintings in the Espoo Cathedral were painted over in the 18th century, as they were thought to be "crude and superstitious'?
- ...that there are three unilingually Swedish municipalities in one province of mainland Finland?
- ...that Maria, the Finnish form of Mary, is the most popular Finnish name used during the modern era?
- ...that Finnish film director Valentin Vaala was reportedly so disappointed with his first film that he dumped the original camera negatives into the sea?
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Henri Pauli Toivonen (25 August 1956 – 2 May 1986) was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a professional circuit racer.
Toivonen's first World Rally Championship victory came with a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus at the 1980 Lombard RAC Rally in Great Britain, just after his 24th birthday. He had the record of being the youngest driver ever to win a world rally until his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala won the 2008 Swedish Rally at the age of 22. After driving for Opel and Porsche, Toivonen was signed by Lancia. Despite nearly ending up paralysed at the Rally Costa Smeralda early in 1985, he returned to rallying later that year. He won the last event of the season, the RAC Rally, as well as the 1986 season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally, which his father had won exactly 20 years earlier. (Full article...)General images
- Image 2A group of Finnish soldiers operating a Bofors gun during the Continuation War in 1943 (from History of Finland)
- Image 3Wehrmacht soldiers with a local Sámi reindeer herder, Lappland, Sodankylä, Finland 1942 (from History of Finland)
- Image 4The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 6Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 7Signing the Helsinki Accords are the West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, East Germany's leader Erich Honecker, US president Gerald Ford and the Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky (from History of Finland)
- Image 9Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 11A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 12Kreeta Haapasalo Playing the Kantele in a Peasant Cottage (1868), by Robert Wilhelm Ekman (from History of Finland)
- Image 14The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
- Image 16The part of Finland controlled by the Reds at its largest in February–March 1918 (from History of Finland)
- Image 17Portrait of Finnish poet Elias Lönnrot who wrote "the Kalevala" (1802 - 1884) (from History of Finland)
- Image 22Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Finland)
- Image 24Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 27Stone Age stone axe engraved with human face found from Kiuruvesi. (from History of Finland)
- Image 28In the middle is the patron saint of Finland, Saint Henry, on the right side of him is Bishop Konrad Bitz and on the left is Dean Magnus Stjernkors; from Missale Aboense (1488) (from History of Finland)
- Image 33Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 34The decision of the Soviet of the People's Comissars' to recognise Finnish independence, signed by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Petrovsky, Joseph Stalin, Isaac Steinberg, Vladimir Karelin, and Alexander Schlichter (from History of Finland)
- Image 35This 1825 map of the Grand Duchy of Finland is from a larger work, geographical atlas of the Russian Empire. (from History of Finland)
- Image 40Captain Aarne Juutilainen at the front at Kollaa during the Winter War (from History of Finland)
- Image 41Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
- Image 42Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visit in Germany, 1942 (from History of Finland)
- Image 43Lapua Movement supporters beating the "red officer" Eino Nieminen in front of the Vaasa courthouse during the 4 June 1930 riot. (from History of Finland)
- Image 46Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)
- Image 49The public education system founded during earlier Swedish rule resulted the literacy of Grand Duchy of Finland being higher than its host country Russian Empire (map of 1897 census literacy data) (from History of Finland)
- Image 50A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 51Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
- Image 54The first government of independent Finland. P. E. Svinhufvud, the first Prime Minister of Finland, sitting at the head of the table. (from History of Finland)
- Image 55Jussipaita (transl. Jussi sweater); a traditional sweater from the Finnish region of Southern Ostrobothnia (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 56The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
- Image 57S/S Urania in Hanko harbor in 1893, with 509 emigrants on board on their way to America (from History of Finland)
- Image 58Pekka Halonen's painting "against persecutors" from 1896 depicts the warfare of the ancient Finns. (from History of Finland)
- Image 62A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 63Imagery collage of Birger Jarl conquering Häme and the construction of Häme Castle (from History of Finland)
- Image 65The area of Finland in the years 1920–1940. The 1935 county and municipality division on the map. (from History of Finland)
- Image 66Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 67People gathered in the Senate Square for a demonstration against the February Manifesto in March 1899. (from History of Finland)
- Image 68Map of Finnish areas ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944, after the Continuation War (from History of Finland)
- Image 69Battle of Gangut (Hanko) was part of the Great Northern War during 1700–1721. (from History of Finland)
- Image 702007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 71Women in sauna with Vihtas
- Image 72Finland Ostrobothnia regiment uniforms in 1705 (from History of Finland)
- Image 73Mikael Agricola hands over the Finnish Translation of the New Testament to King Gustav Wasa. (from History of Finland)
- Image 75Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland, from ca. 3800–2200 BC (from Culture of Finland)
- Image 78Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
In the news
- 12 July 2024 – Finland–Russia relations, Russian emigration during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Parliament of Finland passes a law allowing border guards to restrict trafficked asylum seekers from crossing the Finland–Russia border. (CNN)
- 22 May 2024 – Russia–NATO relations
- The Russian Ministry of Defence proposes to unilaterally adjust Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea, prompting comments of concern made by Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania. The Ministry of Defense later retracts the proposal. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- 2 April 2024 – Viertola school shooting
- A student is killed and two others are injured in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland. A 12-year-old student is detained. (AP) (Yle)
- 1 March 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is sworn in as the 13th President of Finland. (Reuters)
- 11 February 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.(Yle)
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