Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

and the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

. The treaty ceded parts of Finland to the Soviet Union. However, it preserved Finland's independence, ending the Soviet attempt to annex the country. The treaty was signed by Vyacheslav Molotov

Vyacheslav Molotov

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...

, Andrey Zhdanov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky

Aleksandr Vasilevsky

Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...

for Soviet Union, and Risto Ryti

Risto Ryti

Risto Heikki Ryti was the fifth President of Finland, from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a political background figure during the interwar period. He made a wide range of international contacts in the world of banking and within the...

, 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...

, Rudolf Walden

Rudolf Walden

Karl Rudolf Walden was a Finnish industrialist and general.He received his military education in Hamina Cadet School 1892–1900....

and Väinö Voionmaa

Väinö Voionmaa

Kaarle Väinö Voionmaa was a Finnish professor, member of the parliament of Finland, senator, minister and chancellor. He also was one of the most influential politicians during the early times of independent Republic of Finland...

for Finland.

Background

The Finnish government received the first tentative peace conditions from the Soviet Union (through Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

) on 29 January. Until then, the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

had fought to occupy all of Finland. By this point, the Soviet government was prepared to temper its claims. The demands were that Finland cede the Karelian Isthmus

Karelian Isthmus

The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...

, including the city of Viipuri, and Finland's shore of Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...

. The Hanko Peninsula

Hanko Peninsula

The Hanko Peninsula , also spelled Hango, is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs...

was to be leased to the Soviet Union for 30 years.

Finland rejected these demands and intensified their pleas to Sweden, France and the United Kingdom for military support by regular troops. Although Finland in the long run had no chance against a country fifty times its size, the reports from the front still held out hope for Finland anticipating a League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

intervention. Positive signals, however inconstant, from France and Britain, and more realistic expectations of troops from Sweden, for which plans and preparations had been made all through the 1930s, were further reasons for Finland not to rush into peace negotiations. (See Foreign Support for a detailed account.)

In February 1940, Finland's Commander-in-Chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

marshal Mannerheim

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...

expressed his pessimism about the military situation, prompting the government to start peace negotiations on 29 February, the same day the Red Army commenced an attack against Viipuri

Vyborg

Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...

(now Vyborg).

Harsh peace

On 6 March, a Finnish delegation led by Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Finland

The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...

Risto Ryti

travelled to Moscow. During the negotiations, the Red Army broke through the Finnish defence lines around Tali

Tali

-Places:* Tali, township, part of Kozhikode, Kerala* Tali, Finland, town in Finland* Tali, Helsinki, Finland* Tali, South Sudan, town in South Sudan* Tali, Estonia, village in Saarde Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia...

and were close to surrounding Viipuri.

The Peace Agreement was signed on the evening of 12 March, Moscow time, i.e. 1 hour on March 13, Finnish time. The protocol appended to the treaty stipulated that the fighting should be ended at noon, Leningrad

Leningrad

Leningrad 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...

time (11:00 Finnish time), and the fighting continued until that time.

Finland was forced to cede nearly all of Finnish Karelia

Finnish Karelia

Karelia is a historical province of Finland. It refers to the Western Karelia that during the second millennium has been under western dominance, religiously and politically. Western, i.e. Finnish Karelia is separate from Eastern, i.e...

(with Finland's industrial center, including Vyborg/Viipuri, Finland's second largest city, Kakisalmi, Sortavala, and Suojarvi and the whole of Viipuri bay with its islands; in total, nearly 10% of the territory), even though large parts were still held by Finland's army. Military troops and remaining civilians were hastily evacuated to inside the new border

Evacuation of Finnish Karelia

As a result of the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty that concluded the Winter War, Finland ceded the area of Finnish Karelia and other territories to the Soviet Union...

. 422,000 Karelians, 12% of Finland's population, lost their homes.

Interestingly, there was also an area that the Russians captured during the war, which remained in Finnish hands according to the Peace Treaty: Petsamo

Pechengsky District

Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...

. However, the peace treaty also stipulated that Finland would grant free passage for Soviet civilians through Petsamo

Pechengsky District

to Norway.

Finland also had to cede a part of the Salla

Salla

Salla is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....

area, the Finnish part of the Kalastajansaarento (Rybachi) peninsula in the Barents Sea

Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

, and in the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

the islands of Suursaari, Tytärsaari, Lavansaari (now Moshchny Island

Moshchny Island

Moshchny is an island in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, located some 120 km west of Saint Petersburg. The island is a part of the Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the island is approximately 13.9 km²....

о. Мощный), Peninsaari (now Maly Island, о. Малый) and Seiskari

Seiskari

Seskar is an island in the Gulf of Finland, part of the Leningrad Oblast of Russia. The island was an independent municipality of Finland populated by Finns at least since 16th century, until 1940, when ownership was transferred to the Soviet Union following the Moscow Peace Treaty...

. Finally, the Hanko Peninsula

Hanko Peninsula

was leased to the Soviet Union as a naval base

Naval base

A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...

for 30 years at an annual rent of 8 million marks.

Contrary to common belief, the Soviet troop transfer rights by railway to the Hanko base

Transit of German troops through Scandinavia (WWII)

The matter of German troop transfer through Finland and Sweden during World War II was one of the more controversial aspects of modern Scandinavian history beside Finland's co-belligerence with Nazi Germany in the Continuation War, and the export of Swedish iron ore during World War II.The Swedish...

were not granted in the peace treaty, but they were demanded first on 9 July, after Sweden had acknowledged railway transit of Wehrmacht troops to occupied Norway.

Additional demands were that any equipment and installation on the ceded territories were to be handed over. Thus Finland had to hand over 75 locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s, 2,000 railroad car

Railroad car

A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

s, a number of cars, trucks and ships. The Enso industrial area, which was clearly on the Finnish side of the border, as it was drawn in the peace treaty, was also soon added to the Finnish losses of territory and equipments.

The new border was not arbitrary from the Soviet viewpoint.

Before the war, Finland had been a leading producer of high quality pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...

, which was an important raw material for explosives. Including the Enso factories, the Soviet Union captured 80% of Finland's production capacity.
Finland had to cede 1/3 of her built hydroelectric power, mainly in the form of hydroelectric power plants in River Vuoksi, which was badly needed in Leningrad where the industry suffered a 20% shortage of electricity.
The location of the new border was consistent with the Soviet defence doctrine, which envisioned taking the fight onto enemy soil through counter attacks and pre-emptive
Preemptive war
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived inevitable offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending war before that threat materializes. It is a war which preemptively 'breaks the peace'. The term: 'preemptive war' is...

strikes. Under this doctrine, the ideal border should not allow the enemy to have natural defensible barriers; so instead of running through natural border locations like the Bay of Viipuri or the swamp region at the isthmus between Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...

, the new border ran on the western side of those. But those positions were also very easy to encircle for an offensive enemy of the Red Army, which was soon to be shown.

The Finns were shocked by the harsh peace terms. It seemed as if more territory was lost in the peace than in the war, and the loss was in many ways some of the highest valued parts of Finland:

Large parts of the most populated southern region of remaining Finland had been connected to the world via the Saimaa Canal
Saimaa Canal
The Saimaa Canal is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 .It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968....

system, that now was severed at Vyborg where it connects to the Gulf of Finland.
The southern part of the lost area was Finland's industrial heart.
Karelia is considered the heart and origin of the Finnish culture. Before the Winter War, the Soviet sovereignty over the main part of Karelia, and Stalinist atrocities there, had been a major source of grief for many Finns. Under the terms of the treaty, the rest of Karelia was also lost. This started the Karelian question.

Sympathy from the world opinion seemed to have been of little worth. A certain bitter disappointment became a common feature of the Finns' view of other nations, not the least of Swedes, who had offered plenty of sympathy but did not fulfill their obligations of military support for Finland.

For better or for worse, the harsh terms made the Finns inclined to seek support from Nazis, and made many Finns regard revenge as justified. In the end, this might have been a necessary condition for Finland's survival in the World War.

Only a year later, in June 1941, hostilities resumed in the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

External links

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Background

Harsh peace

See also

External links