Winter War

battle_name=Winter war

Peace of Moscow

In the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 12 Finland was forced to cede the Finnish part of Karelia (with Finland's industrial center, including Finland's second largest city Viipuri, in all nearly 10% of the territory), even though large parts still were held by Finland's army. Some 422,000 Karelians, 12% of Finland's population, lost their homes. Military troops and remaining civilians were hastily evacuated in line with the terms of the treaty demanding the territories are handed over without their population.

Related Topics:
Moscow Peace Treaty - March 12 - Karelia - Viipuri

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Finland also had to cede a part of the Salla area, the Kalastajansaarento peninsula in the Barents Sea and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. The Hanko Peninsula was also leased to the Soviet Union as a military base for 30 years.

Related Topics:
Salla - Kalastajansaarento peninsula - Barents Sea - Gulf of Finland - Hanko Peninsula

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The Finns were shocked by the harsh peace terms. It seemed as if more territory was lost in the peace than in the war. Sympathy from world opinion, and from the Swedes in particular, seemed to have been of little worth. For better or worse, the harsh terms drove the Finns to seek support from the Third Reich and made many Finns regard revenge as justified.

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Only a year later hostilities continued in the Continuation War.

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Post Soviet times

After the breakup of the Soviet Union a small but vocal minority in Finland has been demanding the return to Finland of the ceded territories. Groups most active in this field include the ProKarelia group.

Related Topics:
Breakup of the Soviet Union - ProKarelia

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These demands have met no wider support in Finland, but discussion on the so called Karelia question has clogged many Internet discussion groups and forums (including Wikipedia).

Related Topics:
Karelia question - Internet - Wikipedia

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Karjalan liitto, the semi-official organization representing Karelian interests in Finland has, for the most part, stayed away from these demands.

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