Getting There - Stockholm & Helsinki

Tsar Alexander II monument and Helsinki Cathedral, Senate Square - Helsinki

There were numerous reminders in Helsinki of our close proximity to Russia and the Soviet Union, including the statues in the photos on this page. Finland became a part of the Russian Empire in the early 1800's, after centuries of Swedish rule, and Finland's relationship with Russia has been a key factor in its political status and international posture ever since. The statue in the photo above honors Tsar Alexander II of Russia for re-establishing the Diet (legislature) of Finland in 1863 and for other reforms that granted Finland a limited measure of autonomy within the Russian Empire.

Mannerheim monument - Helsinki

The equestrian statue to the left depicts Baron Carl Mannerheim, the most important Finnish military leader and statesman in the first half of the 20th century. He played a crucial role in establishing and preserving Finland as an independent nation. I knew his name from my interest in history. I thought it was very cool to see this statue and take the photo you see here. Like I said, I was a history geek.

Mannerheim was probably best known in America for his leadership of the Finnish military forces when Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union in 1939. The Finns put up a stubborn defense based on fortified positions called the "Mannerheim Line." The story had a lot of emotional appeal in the United States, for a variety of reasons: "little" Finland as the plucky underdog, resistance to unprovoked aggression, anti-Soviet and anti-communist attitudes.


As you can see, I've slipped into full "Mr. History Teacher" mode. The information that I am recounting here is readily available on the internet through Wikipedia and other sites, but I enjoy the research, thinking about it and writing it up, so here you are. Click the "Read more" link below if you are interested in more historical background on Finland.


The name "Finland," by which that country is generally known, is actually Swedish in origin. In Finnish, the name of the country is "Suomi." Finland was part of Sweden for centuries. The coastal areas of Finland were heavily settled by Swedes, and the country's economic and political life was dominated well into the 20th century by an elite primarily of Swedish ancestry. It is still an official language of the country (along with Finnish). Of the three honored Finns whom I have mentioned here, only Paavo Nurmi was ethnically Finnish. Jean Sibelius' family was Swedish, and Carl Mannerheim's ancestry was Swedish and German. Sibelius and Mannerheim both spoke Swedish as their first language.

Sweden ceded Finland to the Russian Empire in the early 1800's, during the Napoleonic Wars, and Finland was under Russian rule for the next century. National feeling grew in Finland over the course of the 19th century, as it did in many other parts of Europe. This was the period when Italy and Germany each united into a single national state. (For centuries, each of those countries had been divided into many smaller political entities.) It was also a time when ethnic and national pressures grew in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual states such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. Finns, like others, were increasingly restive under foreign rule. As I noted earlier, Jean Sibelius gave musical voice to the Finn's national aspirations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Finland declared its independence in 1917, in the aftermath of Russia's Bolshevik (communist) revolution. With considerable German assistance, Carl Mannerheim led the anti-communist "White" forces to success in the Finnish civil war that followed. In the next few years he acted briefly as Regent (effectively, the head of state), and he negotiated recognition of Finland's independence by the United Kingdom, the United States, and other western powers. Mannerheim later came out of retirement to lead Finnish forces in military struggles with the Soviet Union and Germany during World War II. Late in the war, he served as President of Finland and negotiated peace terms with the Soviet Union that preserved Finland's independence. 

New challenges arose with Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies. Finland was able to preserve its independence, democratically-elected government and market economy through a scrupulous policy of non-alignment with either of the competing blocs. 

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland became a member of the European Union (but not NATO). Its currency is now the Euro.