What if the anti-communist Whites had defeated the Bolsheviks in Ukraine, as they did in Finland a century ago?
Would Ukraine have been spared seven decades of Soviet rule and instead have become a prosperous democracy, as Finland is today?
The world will never know.
But these questions of history came up during a Kyiv Post interview on March 6 with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
Soini also met with President Petro Poroshenko and held a press conference with Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin on his most recent trip.
Besides the assistance that comes from the European Union, the 28-nation bloc to which Finland belongs, the Scandinavian nation of 5.5 million people is also a major donor to Ukraine on its own. Finns have spent $42 million in assistance since the EuroMaidan Revolution and start of Russia’s ongoing war in 2014. For the next four years, through 2021, Finland has pledged another $18 million, with a focus on energy efficiency and education.
Part of Finland’s keen interest in helping Ukraine comes from the two nations’ shared histories that radically diverged in 1917.
Tragically, Finns and Ukrainians fought on both sides of the Russian Revolution of 1917 that dismantled the czarist autocracy and led to the rise of the Soviet Union under Bolshevik — or Red — rule. But the Bolsheviks did not prevail in Finland. The White forces won, giving the nation its independence after more than 100 years, since 1809, as part of the Russian Empire.
Stay united
“We worked together and did all the mistakes possible 100 years ago,” Soini said of the civil wars that accompanied the Russian Revolution.
From the bloody and traumatic experience, Finns learned to stay united, work for the national interest and foster social cohesion, Soini said.
“If we are killing and oppressing each other, we will lose in the long run,” Soini said. “Not many younger people know whether their ancestors were Reds or Whites. They don’t care anymore. We are all Finns.”
When asked whether Ukraine would have been better off today if the anti-communist forces had defeated the Bolsheviks in Ukraine, he laughed and replied: “You said it,” noting that the White victory in Finland “was a good thing.”
Instead, Ukrainians were condemned to seven decades of Soviet rule until 1991 independence.
Winter War of 1939-1940
The similarities don’t end there.
In Finland, the Soviet Union’s invasion ignited the bloody 1939–1940 Winter War in which at least 26,000 Finns were killed and another 44,000 wounded. Soviet casualties were much higher. Finland lost territory to Stalin’s Soviet Union that it has never recovered, but kept its independence. Finns won respect all over the world. It may be one reason why Finland has had generally good relations with its Russian neighbor — with whom it shares a 1,340-kilometer border — since then.
“The aggression by the Soviet Union against us is in the memory of the Finnish people,” Soini said. “That’s why we have never gotten rid of our conscription army. We did not cut off our military budget. We don’t feel threatened (by the Kremlin today) because we have a history where we will fight if necessary.”
Still, there has been friction. Russian propaganda has questioned the legitimacy of Finland’s declaration of independence in 1917, and Finland is alarmed enough to have created an international center in Helsinki to combat hybrid wars of the kind that Russia specializes in — combining military, cyber-threats, propaganda and interference with democratic elections.
Finland has stayed out of NATO, but takes the same approach with Russia as the military alliance: “Deterrence and dialogue.”
Ukraine is going through yet another Russian invasion of its territory. In 2014, Russia invaded and seized Ukrainian lands that it continues to hold today — the Crimean peninsula and part of the eastern Donbas. After more than 10,000 deaths in four years of fighting, the outcome is in doubt. Following the Finnish example of national unity and social cohesion will increase Ukraine’s odds of prevailing.
Supporting Ukraine
“Finns have a personal, moral interest to be on the side of Ukrainians because we have been attacked too,” Soino said. “This is our home ground. Kyiv is closer to Helsinki than Brussels.”
Economic sanctions against Russia have been ineffective in getting Vladimir Putin to end the war and have damaged Finland’s economy. Yet Finland’s support for them will be unwavering, Soini said.
“We think that what Russia did was so wrong that there hasn’t been a serious discussion in Finland to get rid of the sanctions. That is our firm policy,” Soini said. “Russia feels the sanctions, even though they try to underestimate the effects. If we get rid of the sanctions, what would be the message to the world if you can attack other countries and take their territories without any consequences? That is unacceptable.”
Soini notes that “the killings are more or less every day” in Russia’s war. “It doesn’t look in that sense very promising.” If there’s any reason for optimism, the foreign minister said, it’s the hope that the idea of United Nations-led peacekeepers will bear fruit.
Better corruption fight
While Finnish-Ukrainian relations are friendly, they are not each other’s major trading partners. Ukraine’s lack of rule of law discourages Finnish investment, Soini said.
“You must have an anti-corruption reality and you must be in that kind of political climate so that firms can invest and take the risk to come over,” Soini said. “We know the courts are not functioning…There must be better results with this anti-corruption fight.”
Energy, education
Finnish priorities include helping improve energy efficiency so that Ukraine is not so reliant on imports.
Another push is in education. Next year, a Finnish-style public school will open as a pilot project. Finland puts an emphasis on gender equality and places a high value on the teaching profession.
“Finland was the first country to have women’s voting rights in 1906. This is equity between man and woman. (Also) there are two important persons in the classroom. One is the teacher and the other is the pupil. If we look at the results, we are in the top 10 practically all the time.”
