5 - History of Finland
ACTUAL REPUBLIC
In order to understand Finland today, one must first discover the history of Finland and its neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Russia. Finland is a republic with a president elected by universal suffrage, unlike its neighbouring countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which are constitutional monarchies.
Moreover, I did not even know who the president was until not very long ago, and it was while talking with friends that I realized that I had forgotten.
The current president has been Sauli Niinistö since 1 March 2012.
FINLAND AND SWEDEN
Until the 11th century, people living on Finnish territory were at peace and had no political cohesion. But at the beginning of the 12th century, Finland became a strategic gateway to the East for the new kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark. As a result, Finland became part of the Kingdom of Sweden. During its rule, Sweden tried to convert Finland to Catholicism.
TURKU
In 1229 Turku (Åbo in Swedish, the city were I study this year) became the first territory under the jurisdiction of an archbishop and thus became the first city in Finland. However, Finland still has no status and remains part of Sweden.
FINLAND AND RUSSIA
During the Napoleonic domination, Sweden was forced to cede Finland to Russia. As a result, from 1809 to 1917 Russia made Finland the autonomous "Grand Duchy" with Helsinki as its capital. In the 19th century, Finnish independence movements made themselves felt. On 6 December 1917, after the Russian Revolution, Finland became independent.
WINTER WAR AND CONTINUATION WAR
From 1939 to 1944, Finland was in conflict with Russia in numerous wars such as the Winter War and the Continuation War. These wars were provoked by Stalin because he wanted to protect St. Petersburg from the Germans by reclaiming part of Finland. As a result of this war Finland lost and had to give up a small part of its territory, rebuild itself and pay tribute to Russia. After this victory, Russia forced Finland to industrialise at a forced march. While this was initially a negative thing for the country, in the years to come Finland will have to wait for this industrialisation in the economic sphere.
CRISIS 1990
Despite a major economic crisis in the early 1990s due to the collapse of the Finnish banking system, Finland has experienced considerable economic growth. Since 1995 Finland has been a member of the European Union and the World Trade Organisation.
POPULATION
The official languages of the country are Finnish, spoken by 91% of the population, and Swedish, spoken by 5.4% of the population. In terms of religion, Finland is a secular, predominantly Christian country with 79.9% of the population being Lutheran and 1.1% Orthodox.
In order to understand Finland today, one must first discover the history of Finland and its neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Russia. Finland is a republic with a president elected by universal suffrage, unlike its neighbouring countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which are constitutional monarchies.
Moreover, I did not even know who the president was until not very long ago, and it was while talking with friends that I realized that I had forgotten.
The current president has been Sauli Niinistö since 1 March 2012.
FINLAND AND SWEDEN
Until the 11th century, people living on Finnish territory were at peace and had no political cohesion. But at the beginning of the 12th century, Finland became a strategic gateway to the East for the new kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark. As a result, Finland became part of the Kingdom of Sweden. During its rule, Sweden tried to convert Finland to Catholicism.
TURKU
In 1229 Turku (Åbo in Swedish, the city were I study this year) became the first territory under the jurisdiction of an archbishop and thus became the first city in Finland. However, Finland still has no status and remains part of Sweden.
FINLAND AND RUSSIA
During the Napoleonic domination, Sweden was forced to cede Finland to Russia. As a result, from 1809 to 1917 Russia made Finland the autonomous "Grand Duchy" with Helsinki as its capital. In the 19th century, Finnish independence movements made themselves felt. On 6 December 1917, after the Russian Revolution, Finland became independent.
WINTER WAR AND CONTINUATION WAR
From 1939 to 1944, Finland was in conflict with Russia in numerous wars such as the Winter War and the Continuation War. These wars were provoked by Stalin because he wanted to protect St. Petersburg from the Germans by reclaiming part of Finland. As a result of this war Finland lost and had to give up a small part of its territory, rebuild itself and pay tribute to Russia. After this victory, Russia forced Finland to industrialise at a forced march. While this was initially a negative thing for the country, in the years to come Finland will have to wait for this industrialisation in the economic sphere.
CRISIS 1990
Despite a major economic crisis in the early 1990s due to the collapse of the Finnish banking system, Finland has experienced considerable economic growth. Since 1995 Finland has been a member of the European Union and the World Trade Organisation.
POPULATION
The official languages of the country are Finnish, spoken by 91% of the population, and Swedish, spoken by 5.4% of the population. In terms of religion, Finland is a secular, predominantly Christian country with 79.9% of the population being Lutheran and 1.1% Orthodox.
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