Finnish Democratic Republic

Finnish Democratic Republic
Suomen kansanvaltainen tasavalta
Demokratiska Republiken Finland
1939–1940
Seal[1] of Finnish Democratic Republic
Seal[1]
Anticipated territorial changes of the Finnish Democratic Republic, with areas to be ceded to the Soviet Union (red) and to the Finnish Democratic Republic (green).
Anticipated territorial changes of the Finnish Democratic Republic, with areas to be ceded to the Soviet Union (red) and to the Finnish Democratic Republic (green).
StatusPuppet state of the Soviet Union
CapitalHelsinki (de jure)
Terijoki (de facto)
GovernmentOne-party socialist republic under a Stalinist totalitarian dictatorship
Chairman of the People's Government 
• 1939–1940
Otto Wille Kuusinen
Historical eraWorld War II
• Established
1 December 1939
12 March 1940
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Finland
Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic
Today part ofRussia

The Finnish Democratic Republic (Finnish: Suomen kansanvaltainen tasavalta or Suomen kansantasavalta, Swedish: Demokratiska Republiken Finland, Russian: Финляндская Демократическая Республика), also known as the Terijoki Government (Finnish: Terijoen hallitus), was a short-lived communist puppet state of the Soviet Union in occupied Finnish territory from December 1939 to March 1940.

The Finnish Democratic Republic was established by Joseph Stalin upon outbreak of the Winter War and headed by Otto Wille Kuusinen to govern Finland after Soviet conquest.[2][3][4][5] The Finnish Democratic Republic was only recognised by the Soviet Union and nominally operated in Soviet-occupied areas of Finnish Karelia from the de facto capital of Terijoki. The Finnish Democratic Republic was portrayed by the Soviet Union as the official socialist government of Finland capable of restoring peace, but lost favor as the Soviets sought rapprochement with the Finnish Government. The Finnish Democratic Republic was dissolved and merged into the Karelo-Finnish SSR upon the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty.

  1. ^ Juri Kilin. Suurvallan rajamaa: Neuvosto-Karjala Neuvostovaltion politiikassa 1920—1941. — Pohjois-Suomen Historiallinen Yhdistys, 2001. ISBN 952-9888-19-X, 952-9888-18-X, ISSN 0356-8199. (Document, issued by the Finnish Democratic Republic (Suomen kansanvaltainen tasavalta), published on the back cover of this book.)
  2. ^ Tanner, Väinö (1956). The Winter War: Finland Against Russia, 1939–1940, Volume 312. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. p. 114.
  3. ^ Trotter, William (2013). A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–1940. Algonquin Books. p. 58, 61.
  4. ^ Kokoshin, Andrei (1998). Soviet Strategic Thought, 1917–91. MIT Press. p. 93.
  5. ^ Killham, Edward L. (1993). The Nordic Way: A Path to Baltic Equilibrium. Howells House. p. 78.

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