Finnish war reparations to the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
War reparations of Finland to the Soviet Union were originally the worth 300 000 000 US dollars, at 1938 prices. Finland agreed to pay the reparations in the Moscow Armistice
signed on 19 September 1944. Armistice had started already 5 September 1944. The actual protocol to determine more precisely the war reparations to the Soviet union was signed in December 1944, by the prime minister Juho Kusti Paasikivi
and the chairman of the Allied Control Commission (Finland) for controlling the Moscow Armistice
in Helsinki, Andrei Zhdanov
.
Finland was originally obliged to pay 300 000 000 US gold dollars to be paid in the form of ships and machinery, over six years,. The Soviet Union agreed to prolong the paying period from six to eight years in late 1945. In summer 1948 the sum was cut to 226 500 000 USDs. The last dispatched train of the deliveries paying the war reparations crossed the border between Finland and the Soviet Union on 18 September, 1952, in Vainikkala
railway border station. Altogeher for the deliveries were needed 340 000 railway wagons.
The authority responsible for deliveries, and also organising production agreements with the manufacturers according to the protocols, was Sotakorvausteollisuuden valtuuskunta, the delegation of the war reparations industry. The preliminary committee was established already on 9 October 1944. It was chaired by the mining counselor
Walter Gräsbeck. The other members were Gunnar Jaatinen, Juho Jännes, Johan Nykopp, Arno Solin, Wilhelm Wahlforss
. The secretary of committee was Jaakko Rautanen.
Lokomo
Lokomo together with Tampella produced 525 narrow gauge locomotives, PT-4 series.
Tampella
Lokomo together with Tampella produced 525 narrow gauge locomotives, PT-4 series.
Valmet
Icebreaker
Schooner
All the schooners were mainly 300-dead-weight-tonne schooners. 91 of them were delivered to the Soviet union.
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
signed on 19 September 1944. Armistice had started already 5 September 1944. The actual protocol to determine more precisely the war reparations to the Soviet union was signed in December 1944, by the prime minister Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi was the seventh President of Finland . Representing the Finnish Party and the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister of Finland , and was generally an influential figure in Finnish economics and politics for over fifty years...
and the chairman of the Allied Control Commission (Finland) for controlling the Moscow Armistice
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
in Helsinki, Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician.-Life:Zhdanov enlisted with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party manager in Leningrad after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934...
.
Finland was originally obliged to pay 300 000 000 US gold dollars to be paid in the form of ships and machinery, over six years,. The Soviet Union agreed to prolong the paying period from six to eight years in late 1945. In summer 1948 the sum was cut to 226 500 000 USDs. The last dispatched train of the deliveries paying the war reparations crossed the border between Finland and the Soviet Union on 18 September, 1952, in Vainikkala
Vainikkala
Vainikkala is a small village in Lappeenranta South Karelia, Eastern Finland. Vainikkala is known to most people as a border town between Finland and Russia. All passenger trains between Finland and Russia stop at Vainikkala border post. The distance between Lappeenranta and Vainikkala is about ....
railway border station. Altogeher for the deliveries were needed 340 000 railway wagons.
The authority responsible for deliveries, and also organising production agreements with the manufacturers according to the protocols, was Sotakorvausteollisuuden valtuuskunta, the delegation of the war reparations industry. The preliminary committee was established already on 9 October 1944. It was chaired by the mining counselor
Vuorineuvos
Vuorineuvos is a Finnish honorary title granted by the President of Finland to leading industry figures. The title is honorary and has no responsibilities and no privileges. All Finnish titles are non-hereditary. The only title of equal rank is valtioneuvos.There is no official or established...
Walter Gräsbeck. The other members were Gunnar Jaatinen, Juho Jännes, Johan Nykopp, Arno Solin, Wilhelm Wahlforss
Wilhelm Wahlforss
Emil Wilhelm Wahlforss was a notable Finnish industrialist. He studied at the Helsinki University of Technology graduating in 1916 with a master's degree...
. The secretary of committee was Jaakko Rautanen.
Electrical
- 52 500 electric engines, 1 140 transformational stations ja 30 mills with power stations
LokomoLokomoLokomo was a Finnish manufacturer of railroad equipment and steam locomotives, situated in Tampere, Finland. The Lokomo factories in Tampere produced the MIR submersibles for the Soviet Academy of Sciences.They later merged into the Metso Corporation....
Lokomo together with Tampella produced 525 narrow gauge locomotives, PT-4 series.TampellaTampellaOy Tampella Ab was a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the city of Tampere....
Lokomo together with Tampella produced 525 narrow gauge locomotives, PT-4 series.ValmetValmet' was a Finnish state-owned conglomerate. Valmet was formed in 1951, when the state of Finland decided to group their various factories working on war reparations to the Soviet Union under one company...
- Move 21, a railway engine for narrow 750 mm gauge, 76 units produced, 66 units delivered to the Soviet Union, the remaining 10 units, Valmet sold those to Saalasti Engineering, which sold them to the private narrow gauge railways, five of them were converted to 5-feet-gauge (1 524 mm) museum exhibit, Jokioinen Museum RailwayJokioinen Museum RailwayThe Jokioinen Museum Railway is located in Jokioinen, Finland. It is based on the last narrow gauge railway in Finland, the gauge Jokioinen Railway....
Vessels
Finland delivered to the Soviet union 619 vessels of which 119 were used. 104 vessels were commercial ones.IcebreakerIcebreakerAn icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s
- S/S Turso, a harbour icebreaker originally built for Finnish use, 8th February, 1945 to the Soviet Union in LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, bought back to Finland 2004 by Satamajäänsärkijä S/S Turso registered society, 2006 in HietalahtiHietalahtiHietalahti can refer to several places in Finland:* Hietalahti, Helsinki is a seaside district in Helsinki.* Hietalahti, Vaasa is a seaside district in Vaasa.* Hietalahti shipyard...
harbour, HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
- The delivery was followed by a class of similar icebreakers.
SchoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
s
All the schooners were mainly 300-dead-weight-tonne schooners. 91 of them were delivered to the Soviet union. Laivateollisuus
- 300-dead-weight-tonnes ocean three mast schoners with a 225 hp-Jane Munktel- engine or Valmet Linnavuori licence production, 45 units, in TurkuTurkuTurku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
- one golden Schooner named Zarja
- one of the schooners, VegaVegaVega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
, is a museum in Pietarsaari Vega was written off in 1979 and it was moved to a dry docks in 1986. Eesti Meremuseum had a project for its restoration, but the work did not start. The schooner was not well protected and its condition started to worsen. The Finns planned saving Vega, but the plans did not succeed. Pietarsaaren Vanha Satama Oy decided to establish a Vega foundation, which was registered on 3 June 1996.
F. W. Holming docks
- 300-dead-weight-tonnes ocean three mast schoners with 225 hp engine, 34 units, in RaumaRauma-Other:* Rauma dialect* Rauma class missile boat, a class of Finnish Fast Attack Craft* HNoMS Rauma , the second ship of the Norwegian Otra class minesweepers...
, 1st keel laying, 15 June 1946
August Eklöf docks
- 300-dead-weight-tonnes ocean three mast schoners with 225 hp engine, 7 units, in PorvooPorvooPorvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
Puutalo
For delivering the needed amount of the wood houses to the Soviet Union a joint venture Puutalo Oy was established. The last delivery of the wood houses took place in 28 January 1948. The deliveries started on 22 December 1944. Alltogerher the floor area of the delivered wood houses was 840 000 m2 for the war reparation itself added with 177 000 m2 as the compensation of the German property, which Finland did not hand to the Soviet Union, 37 208 railway wagons, which would have been as a one train 335 km long.- 522 wooden houses, Oulu company Pateniemi saw mill