How did Finland manage to avoid falling into the Eastern Bloc after WWII?

by renegadetoast

With Finland being on the more Eastern end of Europe and on the Axis side, how did Finland manage to avoid falling into the Soviet Bloc after WWII ended, while countries such as Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia were trapped in the communist sphere? It seems like it would have made sense for Finland to fall into Soviet influence, due to their conflicts with the Soviet Union during the war. I guess I get that many Eastern European states were "liberated" by the USSR, but again, how did Finland (of course, not "liberated" by the Soviets) manage to stay within the western sphere of influence, despite events in WWII, former Russian domination, and geographical location (especially being so close to the Baltic states)?

pobotuga

I remember reading some interesting texts about it, and about Finlandization (Wikipedia Link since it is easier and wider information)

After the Winter war, during WWII, the peace deal between Finland and Soviet Union, Finland got a little smaller with less 11% territory and the loss of the important Karelia that accounted for 30% of the Finnish Economy. Despite the war losses for Soviet Union, they managed to gain some territory and stay the friendship with the Allied countries. Having a common enemy, helped the relations between Comintern and the Allies.

In 1948, Finland was standing almost alone, so they signed the Finno-Soviet Treaty with their major neighbor and threat, in order to maintain their independence and democracy. It was a defensive pact in which Finland would resist to attacks from Germany and Allies (Western Powers). This treaty was very different from the Warsaw Pact.

In 1956, while the cold war tension was growing, a new president rose to power in Finland, Urho Kekkonen, and he was known as the responsible for Finlandization, since he managed to make economic agreements with both the Soviets and Western European Countries.

According to this article in NYTimes, Urho made clear for Soviets that:

  • Finland would defend its independence, as it had done in repelling two Soviet attacks in 1939 and 1944. Second, he convinced them that Finland’s economy would suffer and that Russia’s own interests would be harmed if the Soviet Union prevented Finland’s integration into postwar West European economic arrangements such as the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Community. Finland remained the Soviet Union’s largest Western trading partner until the 1970s.