Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic

Red Finland/FSWR was an attempt to establish a socialist nation, based on the legacy of Scandinavian-Finnish culture, socialist ideas originating from Central Europe and Finnish nationalism, including plans to expand the Finnish territory. The political visions included principles of democracy, but as Red Finland was primarily the formation of revolution and civil war, the acts of violence and warfare were emphasized in the policy. The Red Guards included a minor faction of Finnish Bolsheviks who supported association of FSWR to Soviet Russia. FSWR/Red Finland never gained a true status and form of state and republic as the Reds lost the Civil War on 5 May 1918.[2]

The geographical area of Red Finland as well as the front line between White and Red Finland took shape approximately between 28 January and 3 February 1918, and it remained largely unchanged until the general offensive of the Whites in March 1918.[3]

The Finnish People's Delegation, mainly Otto Ville Kuusinen, formulated and set forth, on 23 February 1918, a draft for a constitution of Red Finland/FSWR, on the basis of the Finnish Social Democratic principles and mentality. The Marxist concept of dictatorship of the proletariat was absent from the program. Instead, it represented an idea of democratic socialism and it was influenced by the constitutions of Switzerland and United States, and French Revolution. The constitution model included most of democratic civil rights for the Finnish citizens, including an extensive use of referendum in political decision making, but private property rights were excluded and given to state and local administration. The draft was never finally formulated and approved in Red Finland, before the defeat of FSWR in the 1918 war.[4]

The power political situation after the January Revolution in Finland raised a major question in terms of the constitution draft, among the Finnish (moderate) socialists: would the power gained via revolution allow democracy a true chance in Finnish society Finally, led to marked controversy between the principles of democracy and the situation in the country.[5]

Although the Finnish Socialist Worker's Republic was supported by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), led by Vladimir Lenin, and the 1 March 1918 Red Treaty was signed between these two unstable socialist states, an ideal level of co-operation and co-ordination was never achieved, due to both states being preoccupied with their own respective civil wars. The goal of the Finnish Reds' majority was a neutral and independent Finland, and some of them demanded annexation of Aunus, Viena Karelia and Petsamo areas of Russian Karelia to Finland. The Russian-Finnish Red treaty had only minor importance for the Bolsheviks as they carried out peace negotiations with the German Empire. In the end, the fate of the Finnish Reds and FSWR was determined through the power political decisions made between Russia and Germany.[6]

Lenin aimed to halt a complete collapse of Russia after the revolutionary year 1917. While in political opposition prior to the October Revolution, Lenin emphasized the policy of nations' right to self-determination for the former parts of the Russian Empire. After the successful seizure of power in October 1917 and in January 1918, the Bolsheviks' power political strategy shifted gradually toward federalism. As for Finland, Lenin plotted its annexation by Russia, but the Russian Civil War, German-Russian Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Finland-operation of the German Army, the victory of the White Guards in the Finnish civil war and the marked nationalism among the Finnish socialists stalled his plan.[7]

After the start of the Finnish Civil War, on January 28, 1918, Kullervo Manner was appointed chairman of the People's Delegation, the Red Government. On April 10 of the same year, the Reds reformed their entire administration and Manner was appointed leader of the Red Finland and the Supreme Commander of the Red Guard under the authority of the dictator.[8]

The warfare between the Reds and Whites took major attention and energy of the Red leadership, and the situation wasn't alleviated by the loss of many strategically important sites, such as Tampere, to the Whites.[8] Therefore, the formation of the local Red civil administration remained unfinished and waited for the result of the Civil War. The top and middle-rank civil servants of the pre-civil war administration refused to co-operate with the Reds, and new leadership had to be chosen and trained from the lower rank servants.[9]

The Finnish Civil War ended with the German invasion of Finland and the consequent defeat of the Finnish Red Guards and FSWR on 5 May 1918. After the war, the initially powerful and well-organized Finnish Social Democrats, born and bred in the relatively free and nationalistic social atmosphere, within the Scandinavian and Russian culture, and affected primarily by socialist ideas of Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia (pre-World War I Austria-Hungary), were split in two. The moderate socialists continued their pre-1918 political culture, adhered to the society and political system of Finland, while the far-left faction formed the Communist Party of Finland in August 1918 in Moscow, with the main leaders living in exile in Russia and a marked part of the common supporters living in Finland.[10]

• Eero Haapalainen
• Republic of Finland
• Finnish Democratic Republic — short-lived Soviet puppet government during World War II
• Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic
• Kingdom of Finland (1918)
• Kullervo Manner
• Otto Wille Kuusinen
• Revolutions of 1917–23
• Santeri Nuorteva

• Alapuro, Risto (1988), State and Revolution in Finland, University of California Press, Berkeley, ISBN 0-520-05813-5.
• Haapala, Pertti (2014), "The Expected and Non-Expected Roots of Chaos: Preconditions of the Finnish Civil War", in Tepora, T.; Roselius, A. (eds.), The Finnish Civil War 1918. History, Memory, Legacy, Brill Academic Press, pp. 21–50, ISBN 978-900-4243-66-8.
• Jussila, Osmo (2007), Suomen historian suuret myytit (in Finnish), WSOY, ISBN 978-951-0-33103-3.
• Jyränki, Antero (2014), Kansa kahtia, henki halpaa. Oikeus sisällissodan Suomessa? (in Finnish), ISBN 978-951-884-520-4.
• Kalela, Jorma (2008), "Yhteiskunnallinen kysymys ja porvarillinen reformismi", in Pernaa, V.; Niemi, K. Mari (eds.), Suomalaisen yhteiskunnan poliittinen historia (in Finnish), pp. 31–44, ISBN 978-951-37-5321-4.
• Keränen, Jorma; Tiainen, Jorma; Ahola, Matti; Ahola, Veikko; Frey, Stina; Lempinen, Jorma; Ojanen, Eero; Paakkonen, Jari; Talja, Virpi; Väänänen, Juha (1992), Suomen itsenäistymisen kronikka (in Finnish), Gummerus, ISBN 951-20-3800-5.
• Kettunen, Pauli (1986), Poliittinen liike ja sosiaalinen kollektiivisuus: tutkimus sosialidemokratiasta ja ammattiyhdistysliikkeestä Suomessa 1918-1930, Historiallisia tutkimuksia (in Finnish), Jyväskylä: Gummerus, ISBN 951-9254-86-2.
• Klemettilä, Aimo (1989), "Lenin ja Suomen kansalaissota", in Numminen, J.; Apunen, O.; von Gerich-Porkkala, C.; Jungar, S.; Paloposki, T.; Kallio, V.; Kuusi, H.; Jokela, P.; Veilahti, V. (eds.), Lenin ja Suomi II (in Finnish), pp. 163–203, ISBN 951-860-402-9.
• Manninen, Ohto (1995), "Vapaussota - osana suursotaa ja Venäjän imperiumin hajoamista", in Aunesluoma, J.; Häikiö, M. (eds.), Suomen vapaussota 1918. Kartasto ja tutkimusopas (in Finnish), pp. 21–32, ISBN 951-0-20174-X.
• Payne, Stanley G. (2011), Civil War in Europe, 1905-1949, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-107-64815-9.
• Pietiäinen, Jukka-Pekka (1992), "Suomen ulkopolitiikan alku", in Manninen, O. (ed.), Itsenäistymisen vuodet 1917–1920, III Katse tulevaisuuteen (in Finnish), pp. 252–403, ISBN 951-37-0729-6.
• Piilonen, Juhani (1993), "Rintamien selustassa", in Manninen, O. (ed.), Itsenäistymisen vuodet 1917-1920, II Taistelu vallasta (in Finnish), pp. 486–627, ISBN 951-37-0728-8.
• Pipes, Richard (1996), A Concise History of the Russian Revolution, ISBN 0-679-74544-0.
• Rinta-Tassi, Osmo (1986), Kansanvaltuuskunta Punaisen Suomen hallituksena (in Finnish), Opetusministeriö, ISBN 951-860-079-1.
• Suodenjoki, Sami (2009), "Siviilihallinto", in Haapala, P.; Hoppu, T. (eds.), Sisällissodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish), pp. 246–269, ISBN 978-951-0-35452-0.
• Upton, Anthony F. (1973), The Communist Parties of Scandinavia and Finlan, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-99542-1.
• Upton, Anthony F. (1981), Vallankumous Suomessa 1917-1918, II (in Finnish), Gummerus Oy, ISBN 951-26-2022-7.

• Treaty of Friendship with the Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic, a Russian-Finnish treaty.
• Treaty with the Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic, Lenin's writings on the matter.