What was the Western involvement in Finland's deal with the Soviets to be neutral?
Upvote:9
The comparison between Ukraine and Finland is an attempt to shift the blame for the current war from Russia to the West. Alas, there are plenty of "useful idiots" in the West who are promoting this narrative.
In short, there is nothing in common.
Finland
History
Finns are not Slavs. Their languages are completely different.
Finland was incorporated into Russia only in 1809 and enjoyed significant autonomy until its independence in 1917, despite policy of Russification of Finland.
1940-ies
Stalin tried to conquer Finland and saw that the cost will be too high (guerrilla war) while the value is low (little industry). So he settled for some (developed) land and military bases - getting all the benefits of conquest without the cost of an insurgency and bad PR with the West.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a slavic country, so Russians can claim it to be theirs with some credibility among the credulous.
Ukraine has been the battlefield between Poland, Turkey and Russia for centuries, eventually landing in the Russian hands.
Ukraine is heterogeneous - East speaks mostly Russian, West speaks a version of Ukrainian unintelligible to the rest - however, everyone understands and can speak the "Kiev TV Ukrainian" (cf. "BBC English").
This, the benefits (to Russia, not Ukraine!) of peaceful incorporation of Ukraine into Russia are immense.
Russia miscalculated the costs of the invasion. It might well be that this war will help Ukraine overcome the internal divisions, but this is no longer history...
The bottom line
The West did nothing to save Finland - it fought and won its independence by demonstrating that the occupation cost will be too high. (actually, not quite true, IIRC, US did lobby on behalf of Finland - but that was inconsequential compared to the Finnish war effort).
The West could do nothing to prevent Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the only thing it can do now is keep arming and feeding Ukraine - and not listening to Russian shills.
More post
- 📝 Are there precedents of 'I am not a racist' from US Presidents?
- 📝 When and why did "Near East" become "Middle East?"
- 📝 Was there other research focusing on the medical uses of ether in the 18th Century?
- 📝 What mysterious Flemish peasant activity is depicted in this painting?
- 📝 Oldest manuscript of Arthashastra
- 📝 Is there any example of one country devastating a third?
- 📝 Aside from Henry VIII, did a king ever take part in a joust as an unknown knight (incognito)?
- 📝 What are the 'mushroom trusts' referenced in Churchill's "Second World War"?
- 📝 Can you please help identify this military uniform (1700's)?
- 📝 Why did Ottoman Army use camels in the Siege of Vienna 1683?
- 📝 What did medical treatments for fractured or broken bones cost in 1900-1915?
- 📝 Is there an established metric in historiography for what constitutes a “modernized” country?
- 📝 How prevalent were recreational drugs in the ancient world?
- 📝 What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?
- 📝 Who is speaking here?
- 📝 In 2018 US Dollars, how much was Picasso's painting sold for in 1912?
- 📝 Did the PLO coordinate with Arab armies during the Six Day War?
- 📝 Did Jim Morrison ever comment on his father's career choice or role in the Vietnam war?
- 📝 Why did Canada, Australia and New Zealand separate from the UK?
- 📝 Why did Rome adopt Greek culture?
- 📝 My Grandfather-Nationalist boarding schools in Nazi Germany
- 📝 What were the population demographics in the South during the Hayes/Tilden election?
- 📝 What language(s) were spoken in 11th century Romania?
- 📝 Did the Axis engage in trade with other countries during the war?
- 📝 An Austrian Emperor who thought taking his own sweet time about rewarding his underlings was the best way to inspire respect?
- 📝 What were the typical arguments against women's higher education in XIX century Germany?
- 📝 Were death rates greater than birth rates in premodern urban populations?
- 📝 Can anyone identify this warship?
- 📝 What was the official policy of British administration about the integration of Indian Princely States in 1947?
- 📝 Did small rural newspaper offices in 1895 use rotary presses with rolls of paper or sheets?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the Western involvement in Finland's deal with the Soviets to be neutral?
- 📝 What was the size of surface of a cereal crop needed per man per year during the Dark Ages in Western Europe?
- 📝 What was El Greco's relationship with the Spanish Inquisition?
- 📝 What was Poland's involvement in the Vietnam War?
- 📝 Considering what was known about Hitler in 1933, why would German bishops declare that Catholics could cooperate with the new State?
- 📝 What was Ghulam Ahmad's relationship with the British authorities in India?
- 📝 What was the reaction of Western Communist Parties to Kruschev's 1956 speech denouncing Stalin?
- 📝 How did the helmsman know what he was sailing towards with a big mast in his face?
- 📝 What was the estimated population of the Mississippi Valley before contact with Europeans?
- 📝 What title did the merchants permitted to deal with Canton's 13 Factories carry?
- 📝 What was the typical error with dead reckoning navigation?
- 📝 What was the combat effectiveness of German infantry in the western front of the Second World War?
- 📝 What was the role of the Catholic church with regard to the Holocaust?
- 📝 What was wrong with carrying a bag on one's back in a town in the USA in the first decades of the 1900?
- 📝 What involvement did Jonathan Edwards have with the Conspiracy of 1741?
- 📝 What was the name of the torpedo boat with mechanical problems accompanying the Wilhelm Gustloff?
- 📝 After the split with Stalin, what was Yugoslavia's official attitude towards Soviet history before Stalin's takeover?
- 📝 What was Hitler’s personal involvement in the Holocaust?
- 📝 What was the commandant of Okhotsk's involvement in Russian-American Company hiring?
- 📝 When was the term "Dravida" first used and what is the context with which it was presented?
- 📝 What are the largest numerical units that the median-wealthy person in Western civilization was aware of through the centuries?
- 📝 What was up with "Alicorn" in the 1920's and 30's
- 📝 Is there evidence to suggest the British Parliament was reluctant to deal with the Nassau Pirates because they made a convenient bogeyman?
- 📝 What was the practical reason for East Germany to reunify with West Germany?
- 📝 What was the role of U.S. involvement in World War II?
- 📝 To what extent was Christianity responsible for the dark ages of Western Europe?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?