Which language was spoken during negotiations between Finland and Russia in the interwar period?

by 79CetiB

Hello,

I've been reading about the Winter War and the events leading up to it. Can anyone tell me which language was spoken during the various talks and negotiations between Finland and Russia in the interwar period?

As I've been thinking about this, I realize that I have a host of related questions as well:

  • Was English an/the international language at that time? Is a given international language often used in negotiations between nations with a shared history? (Do the French and Germans use English today during their talks?)
  • Is the choice of language often a power play during such negotiations?
  • Did many Finns, or officials in the Finnish government, during that time speak Russian (and vice versa for those Russians living near Finland)? (This seems further complicated given Finland's recent history as a Russian duchy and other circumstances concerning language in Finland: the fact that Swedish was still prominent, the elevation of Finnish as a national language, the attempted russification, and so on.

Thanks!

georgeindahood

I'd dare to say that during the negotiations of the Talvisota was Russian, since most of the finnish officers and politicians were born during the Czar's reign.

-The ''lingua franca'' at time was French, but English started to be regarded as a viable option too

-Indeed it is in some aspects, but I wouldn't know how to explain that( I'd wait for a more appropriate analysis on that point).

-Russian wasn't spoken anymore since it was replaced by the national language given the recent historical facts

jamesh08

Most likely all negotiation would have been in Russian. Due to their history Finnish government leaders would have spoken Russian and specifically Juho Paasikivi (who did the in person negotiating with Molotov and Zhdanov) spoke fluent Russian. I can't find sources that confirm Prime Minister Risto Ryti spoke Russian, but I cannot believe he could have participated in such high level negotiations taking place in Moscow without speaking Russian.

https://imgur.com/JPJYnqu

Also, if you scroll to the bottom of this link you will see that the original Treaty of Moscow in 1940 was written in Russian, Finnish, and Swedish.

http://heninen.net/sopimus/1940_e.htm