Did the Soviet had any plans to re-conquer finnish lands during WW2?

by godcyric

1939: Despite stubborn finnish resistance, soviets troops managed to snatch some lands off them.

1941, Finnish troops re-capture those lands

I understand that in 1941-42 the soviet were pretty busy with the german army, but once they got the upper hand and Berlin was getting closer everyday, were any plans to re-conquer those lands?

Were there any troops available? Were they wary of the finnish resistance? Would the allies disaprove of such venture?

Could not find anything online, so I am trying here for an answer, thanks!

wotan_weevil

Finland's offensive in the Continuation War not only recaptured the territory lost as a result of the Winter War, but also pushed well beyond the old border into Soviet territory. The Soviet offensive stage at the end of the Continuation War recaptured a lot of these Finnish gains, especially in the Karelian Isthmus and the area between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Further north, the front line was still well into Soviet territory. The final stages of the Soviet offensive, consisting of Finnish defensive victories, resulted in a peace agreement with the front lines mostly in either the territory lost by Finland in the Winter War, or Soviet territory. For a map of the front lines at the end, see

The dark grey dots show the post-Winter War border, and the lighter grey dots the pre-Winter War Border. For a map showing the maximum extent of the Finnish advance into the Soviet Union, see

The peace at the end of the Continuation War restored the post-Winter War border in Karelia and Salla, and also ceded Petsamo to the Soviet Union (thus, Finland lost its Arctic Ocean border):

The Soviet Union was committed to, at minimum, at least restoring the post-Winter War border - Finland was not going to gain territory from the Continuation War. In the end, they also gained Petsamo (valuable for its minerals, more that the territory in general).

What is unknown is whether the Soviets had greater territorial ambitions, possibly to conquer all of Finland. This was denied by the Soviet government, which claimed (afterwards) that the final offensive was just intended to force Finland to accept their peace offer, rather than to conquer Finland. A common Finnish claim is that the final offensives were intended to conquer Finland, with intent to incorporate Finland into the Soviet Union, and that the Soviet claims of lesser goals are face-saving. Since the pre-Winter War plan was to make Finland a puppet state (thus, the establishment and recognition of the Kuusinen "government"), it is quite believable that the Soviets aimed for the same goal in the Continuation War, but were willing to accept lesser outcomes. The truth is not known, and both extreme viewpoints are possible. For more discussion of this, see