Finland (Differently)

Kingdom of Finland
*Suomen kuningaskunta*
Timeline: Differently
Kingdom of Finland Suomen kuningaskuntaTimeline: Differently
	File:= Finland Lesser CoA MF.png
Flag	Coat of arms
	Anthem: ; Maamme; ("Our Land");
	Location of Finland (Differently) Location of Finland in Europe
Capital; (and largest city)	Helsinki
Official languages	Finnish, Swedish
Other languages	Sámi
Religion	78.5% Evangelical Lutheran Church; 5.4% Eastern Orthodox; 4.3% other Christian; 11.9% other/none
Demonym(s)	Finnish
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
Establishment
Area
Population
Currency	markka
Drives on the	right

Finland, officially the Kingdom of Finland, is a country in Northeastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia on the east, Norway on the north, and Sweden on the northwest. The Baltic Sea bounds the country's west, southwest, and south. Finland's surface area of over 338,000 square kilometers make it the eighth-largest country in Europe, ranking 72nd globally. It has a population of over 5.5 million people, being Europe's 19th and the the world's 104th most populous country. Helsinki is Finland's capital and most populous city.

The majority of the population lives in central and southern Finland with over 1.4 million people living in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces a third of the country's GDP. The main language is Finnish, a Finnic language of the Uralic language family, which is unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Swedish is the second official language of Finland, and is mainly spoken in certain coastal areas of the country and on Åland.

Finland gained independence from Russia during the Great War. However, it underwent a civil war between the Finnish Whites and the Finnish communists. The communists won, and established a new communist state, which was supported by the Russian reds. In 1923 it became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In July 1982, in the final months of the Soviet Union, pro-democracy independence movements struck the republic. In December of that year, Finland became independent again, turning into a Kingdom.

History[]

Grand Duchy of Finland[]

Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the King of Sweden, the country became autonomous after its annexation by Russia in the Finnish War of 1808–1809. The Grand Duke of Finland was the Romanov Emperor of Russia, represented by the Governor-General. Due to the governmental structure of the Russian Empire and Finnish initiative, the Grand Duchy's autonomy expanded until the end of the 19th century. The Senate of Finland, founded in 1809, became the most important governmental organ and the precursor to the modern Government of Finland, the Supreme Court of Finland, and the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. Economic, social and political changes in the Grand Duchy of Finland paralleled those in the Russian Empire and the rest of Europe. The economy grew slowly during the first half of the 19th century. The reign of Alexander II (1855–1881) saw significant cultural, social and intellectual progress, and an industrializing economy. Tensions increased after Saint Petersburg adopted Russification policies in 1898; the new circumstances saw the reduction of Finnish autonomy and cultural expression. Unrest in Russia and Finland during the First World War (1914–1918) and the subsequent collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 resulted in the Finnish Declaration of Independence and the end of the Grand Duchy.

Independence from Russia and civil war[]

World War I led to the collapse of the Russian Empire, causing a power vacuum in Finland, and the subsequent struggle for dominance led to militarisation and an escalating crisis between the left-leaning labour movement and the conservatives. The Reds carried out an unsuccessful general offensive in February 1918, supplied with weapons by Soviet Russia. A counteroffensive by the Whites began in March, reinforced by the German Empire's military detachments in April. The decisive engagements were the Battles of Tampere and Viipuri, won by the Whites, and the Battles of Helsinki and Lahti, won by German troops, leading to overall victory for the Whites and the German forces. Political violence became a part of this warfare. Around 12,500 Red prisoners died of malnutrition and disease in camps. About 39,000 people, of whom 36,000 were Finns, died in the conflict. The Communists won the civil war and Finland became a communist state of the Soviet Union.

Communist Finland[]

communist state

Collapse of the USSR and recent years[]

After the collapse of the USSR