Moscow Armistice

Last updated
Moscow Armistice
Finnish areas ceded in 1944.png
The areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Continuation War. Porkkala was returned to Finland in 1956. [1]
TypeBilateral treaty
Signed19 September 1944 (1944-09-19)
Location Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Parties
Ratifiers
  • Flag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg Soviet Union
  • Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
  • Flag of Finland.svg Finland

The Moscow Armistice [2] was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modifications.

Contents

The final peace treaty between Finland and many of the Allies was signed in Paris in 1947.

Conditions for peace

Finnish and Soviet officers gather for negotiations on September 5, 1944 End of Soviet Finland war 1944.jpg
Finnish and Soviet officers gather for negotiations on September 5, 1944

The conditions for peace were similar to what had been agreed in the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940: Finland was obliged to cede parts of Karelia and Salla, as well as certain islands in the Gulf of Finland. The new armistice also handed all of Petsamo to the Soviet Union, and Finland was further compelled to lease Porkkala to the Soviet Union for a period of fifty years (the area was returned to Finnish control in 1956). [1] Territories ceded to the Soviet Union constituted approximately 11.50% (44,106.23 km2) of Finland's territory (382,561.23 km2) prior to the Winter War and the Continuation War as dictated by the Treaty of Tartu.

Other conditions included Finnish payment of nearly $300,000,000 ($5.2 billion in today's US dollars) in the form of various commodities over six years to the Soviet Union as war reparations. [3] Finland also agreed to legalise the Communist Party of Finland (after it had made some changes to the party rules) and ban parties that the Soviet Union considered fascist. [4] Further, the individuals that the Soviets considered responsible for the war had to be arrested and put on trial, the best-known case being that of Risto Ryti. [5] The armistice compelled Finland to drive German troops from its territory, leading to a military campaign in Lapland.

Surrendered territory

Municipalities annexed by the Soviet Union  [ fi ]
Municipality
of Finland
Russian Cyrillic namekm2Sq milesPart of present-day
populated place in Russia
Notes
Antrea Каменногорск486.4302.23 Kamennogorsk
Harlu Харлу252.6156.96 Kharlu  [ ru ]
Heinjoki  [ fi ]Хейнйоки342.1212.57 Veshchevo
Hiitola Хийтола464288.32 Khiytola
Impilahti Импилахти904561.72 Impilahti
Jaakkima Яккима501.9311.87 Yakkima
Johannes Советский217.6135.21 Sovetsky
Kanneljärvi Победа246.3153.04 Pobeda
Kaukola Севастьяново293.7182.5 Sevastyanovo
Kirvu Свободное695.22432 Svobodnoye
Kivennapa Первомайское650.52404.21 Pervomayskoye
Koivisto  [ fi ]Койвистон283.1175.91 Primorsk
Kuolemajärvi Пионерское400248.55 Pionerskoye
Kurkijoki  [ fi ]Куркийоки539.5335.23 Kurkiyoki  [ ru ]
Käkisalmi  [ fi ]Какисалмен188.54117.15 Priozersk
Lumivaara  [ fi ]Лумиваара292.4181.69 Lakhdenpokhsky District
Metsäpirtti  [ fi ]Метсапиртти186.9116.13 Zaporozhskoye
Muolaa  [ fi ]Муолаа750.02466.04 Pravdino
Petsamo  [ fi ]Печенгский10,4706,505.76 Pechengsky District
Pyhäjärvi Пюхаярви522324.35 Otradnoye
Rautu Рауту339.6211.02 Sosnovo
Ruskeala  [ fi ]Рускеала519322.49 Ruskeala
Räisälä Райсала492.95306.30 Melnikovo
Sakkola Саккола349.4217.11 Gromovo
Salmi Салми1,423884.21 Salmi
Soanlahti  [ fi ]Соанлахти504313.17 Suoyarvsky District
Sortavala  [ fi ]Сортавалан690.88429.3 Sortavala
Suistamo  [ fi ]Суистамо1,623.801,009 Suoyarvsky District
Suojärvi  [ fi ]Суоярви3,688.402,292 Suoyarvsky District
Terijoki  [ fi ]Терийоки122.4276.07 Zelenogorsk
Uusikirkko Уусикиркко641.70398.73 Polyany
Valkjärvi  [ fi ]Валкъярви400248.55 Michurinskoye
Viipuri Выборг613.93381.48 Vyborg
Vuoksela Вуоксела13583.88 Vuoksela
Vuoksenranta Вуоксенранта300.22186.55 Ozyorskoye
Äyräpää  [ fi ]Эуряпяя205.7127.82 Baryshevo

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continuation War</span> Finnish war against the Soviet Union (1941–44)

The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war and invasion on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 September 1944 with the Moscow Armistice. The Soviet Union and Finland had previously fought the Winter War from 1939 to 1940, which ended with the Soviet failure to conquer Finland and the Moscow Peace Treaty. Numerous reasons have been proposed for the Finnish decision to invade, with regaining territory lost during the Winter War regarded as the most common. Other justifications for the conflict include Finnish President Risto Ryti's vision of a Greater Finland and Commander-in-Chief Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's desire to annex East Karelia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juho Kusti Paasikivi</span> President of Finland from 1946 to 1956

Juho Kusti Paasikivi was a Finnish politician who served as the seventh president of Finland from 1946 to 1956. Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he previously served as senator, member of parliament, envoy to Stockholm (1936–1939) and Moscow (1940–1941), and Prime Minister of Finland. He also held several other positions of trust, and was an influential figure in Finnish economics and politics for over fifty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic</span> Constituency of the USSR through 1940–1956

The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, also called Soviet Karelia or simply known as Karelia, was a republic of the Soviet Union. It existed from 31 March 1940 until it was made part of the Russian SFSR on 16 July 1956 as the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The latter became the Republic of Karelia, a federal subject of Russia, on 13 November 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Peace Treaties, 1947</span> Treaties signed in Paris on 10 February 1947

The Paris Peace Treaties were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of peace treaties with those former Axis allies, namely Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland, which had switched sides and declared war on Germany during the war. They were allowed to fully resume their responsibilities as sovereign states in international affairs and to qualify for membership in the United Nations. Nevertheless, the Paris Peace Treaties avoided taking into consideration the consequences of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially known as the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, whose secret clauses included the division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the occupation of the Baltic States, and the annexation of parts of Finland and Romania. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact changed the borders agreed after the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), and was signed on August 23, 1939. One week later, World War II started with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland, followed three weeks later by the Soviet invasion of Poland, which was completely erased from the map. In the following years, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union changed the borders established by the peace treaties at the end of World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porkkalanniemi</span> Peninsula in Finland

Porkkalanniemi is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland.

Co-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy with or without a military alliance. Generally, the term is used for cases where no formal treaty of alliance exists. Likewise, allies may not become co-belligerents in a war if a casus foederis invoking the alliance has not arisen. Co-belligerents are defined in the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law as "states engaged in a conflict with a common enemy, whether in alliance with each other or not".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moscow Peace Treaty</span> Peace treaty signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940

The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The treaty was signed by Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrei Zhdanov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky for the Soviet Union, and Risto Ryti, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Rudolf Walden and Väinö Voionmaa for Finland. The terms of the treaty were not reversed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Karelian question refers to the debate within Finland over the possible reacquisition of this ceded territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine</span> Type of foreign policy

The Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine was a foreign policy doctrine established by Finnish President Juho Kusti Paasikivi and continued by his successor Urho Kekkonen, aimed at Finland's survival as an independent sovereign, democratic country in the immediate proximity of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finland in World War II</span>

Finland participated in the Second World War initially in a defensive war against the Soviet Union, followed by another, this time offensive, war against the Soviet Union acting in concert with Nazi Germany and then finally fighting alongside the Allies against Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karelian question</span> Dispute in Finnish politics

The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War-responsibility trials in Finland</span> 1945-46 trial of Finnish leaders responsible for the Continuation War

The war-responsibility trials in Finland were trials of the Finnish wartime leaders held responsible for "definitely influencing Finland in getting into a war with the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in 1941 or preventing peace" during the Continuation War, the Finnish term for their participation in the Second World War from 1941–1944. Unlike other World War II war-responsibility trials, the Finnish trials were not international. The trials were conducted from November 1945 through February 1946 by a special court consisting of the presidents of the Supreme Court of Finland, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, a professor from the University of Helsinki and twelve MPs appointed by the Parliament of Finland. The accused were convicted and were imprisoned until they were eventually paroled and then pardoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Finland</span>

The military history of Finland consists of hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viipuri–Joensuu railroad</span> Railway line in Finland

The old Karelian railroad between Viipuri and Joensuu was a 1,524 mm broad gauge line that used to link Joensuu, Sortavala, Hiitola, Antrea and Viipuri. Originally built in 1892-1894 by Finnish State Railways in the Grand Duchy of Finland, in the 1940s most of the railway up to Niirala was ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Peace Treaty, Moscow Armistice and Paris Peace Treaty as a result of the Winter War and Continuation War. Now the track is located in Leningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia and North Karelia. The Sortavala–Joensuu link across the border was abolished after the Continuation War, but was since restored and is currently in use for cargo traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liinakhamari</span> Posyolok in Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Liinakhamari is an ice-free harbour and a rural locality in Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. The harbour belonged to Finland from 1920 until 1944 when it was ceded to the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soviet prisoners of war in Finland</span>

Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet-Finnish conflicts of that period: the Winter War and the Continuation War. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porkkala Naval Base</span> Former Soviet naval base in Uusimaa, Finland

Porkkala Naval Base was a Soviet naval base operational from 1944–1956 in the municipalities of Kirkkonummi, Ingå and Siuntio on the Porkkala peninsula, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of Helsinki, Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanko Naval Base</span> Soviet naval base in Uusimaa region, Finland (1940-41)

Hanko Naval Base was a Soviet naval base from 1940 to 1941 in the town of Hanko at the Hanko Peninsula, which is located 100 kilometers (62 mi) from Helsinki, the Finnish capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic People's Movement (1993)</span> Political party in Finland

The Patriotic People's Movement was a political organization in Finland. It regarded itself as the successor of the original Patriotic People's Movement that had operated in the interwar years until the end of the Continuation War. After a few active years and moderate success fighting for the legacy of the bankrupt populist Finnish Rural Party, IKL failed to be admitted to the party register and its activities died out after 1998.

This is the history of Finland from 1917 onwards.

References

  1. 1 2 "Return of Porkkala by Soviets 50 years ago had strings attached". Helsingin Sanomat. 25 January 2006.
  2. Armistice Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on the one hand, and Finland on the other
  3. "HS Home 3.9.2002 – Last war reparation train crossed Finnish-Soviet border 50 years ago". 2012-02-06. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  4. (in Finnish) Jukka Nevakivi (2006) Jatkosodasta nykypäivään. (From Continuation War to Today. In: Suomen poliittinen historia 1809–2006. WSOY, Helsinki
  5. Jakobson, Max (former Finnish Ambassador to the UN) Finnish wartime leaders on trial for "war guilt" 60 years ago Helsingin Sanomat International edition, 28 October 2005

Further reading