Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic
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| 1918 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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Motto: "Kaikkien maiden proletaarit, liittykää yhteen!"
"Workers of the world, unite!" |
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Anthem: Kansainvälinen
The Internationale |
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Red: Red Finland
White: White Finland (February 1918) |
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| Capital | Helsinki | ||||||||
| Common languages | Finnish, Swedish | ||||||||
| Government | Socialist republic under a one-party proletarian dictatorship | ||||||||
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• Chairman of the Finnish People's Delegation
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Kullervo Manner | ||||||||
| Legislature | Finnish People's Delegation | ||||||||
| Historical era |
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• Established
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29 January 1918 | ||||||||
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• Disestablished
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5 May 1918 | ||||||||
| Currency | Markka | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Finland Russia |
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The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (FSWR), often called Red Finland, was a state that declared itself independent in Finland. It existed during the Finnish Civil War from January to May 1918. This state was set up by a group called the Finnish People's Delegation.
This group was formed by members of the Social Democratic Party. They wanted to create a new government to go against the existing one in Finland. They had strong support from the Red Guards. The FSWR controlled the capital city, Helsinki, and most of southern Finland. Kullervo Manner was its only leader. The FSWR ended when the Red Guards were defeated by the White Finns and soldiers from Germany. Manner and most of the People's Delegation then fled to Soviet Russia.
The name "Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic" (Finnish: Suomen sosialistinen työväentasavalta) was only used in a treaty. This treaty was signed on March 1, 1918, between the Finnish People's Delegation and the Russian government. The Russian leader, Vladimir Lenin, suggested adding "Socialist Workers' Republic" to the name during the talks. The Finnish group later felt that the official name should have been decided only by Finns.
Contents
What Red Finland Wanted to Achieve
Red Finland, or the FSWR, aimed to create a socialist state. This new state would combine Finnish culture with socialist ideas from Central Europe. They even had plans to make Finland's territory bigger.
Their political ideas included principles of democracy. However, because Red Finland was born out of a revolution and civil war, violence and fighting were a big part of their actions. A small group of Finnish Bolsheviks within the Red Guards wanted Red Finland to join Soviet Russia. The FSWR never fully became a stable state because the Reds lost the Civil War on May 5, 1918.
Where Red Finland Was Located
The area controlled by Red Finland and the fighting line between Red and White Finland became clear between January 28 and February 3, 1918. This line stayed mostly the same until the White forces launched a big attack in March 1918.
Plans for a New Constitution
The Finnish People's Delegation, especially Otto Ville Kuusinen, wrote a plan for a constitution for Red Finland. This plan was based on Finnish Social Democratic ideas. It did not include the Marxist idea of a "dictatorship of the proletariat."
Instead, it focused on "democratic socialism." It was influenced by the constitutions of Switzerland, the United States, and the French Revolution. The plan included many democratic civil rights for Finnish citizens. It also suggested using referendums (public votes) often for political decisions. However, private property rights were not included; they would belong to the state and local government. This draft constitution was never fully approved before the FSWR was defeated in the 1918 war.
The idea of a constitution after the "January Revolution" in Finland brought up a big question for Finnish socialists. They wondered if the power gained through revolution would truly allow democracy in Finnish society. The relationship between democracy and revolution was tricky for them.
Red Finland's Relationship with Lenin
The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was supported by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), led by Vladimir Lenin. A treaty was signed between these two new socialist states on March 1, 1918. However, they never fully worked together as well as they hoped. This was because both states were busy fighting their own civil wars.
Most Finnish Reds wanted Finland to be neutral and independent. Some even wanted to add areas like Aunus, Viena Karelia, and Petsamo from Russian Karelia to Finland. The treaty with Russia was not very important to the Bolsheviks. They were also having peace talks with the German Empire. In the end, the future of the Finnish Reds and the FSWR was decided by political agreements between Russia and Germany.
Edvard Gylling was key in starting the Finnish-Russian talks for the Red Treaty. He also wanted to work for peace talks between the Finnish Whites and Reds. He hoped to reduce Russia's influence in Finland. A few Finnish Bolsheviks, who were active in the Red Guards, supported Lenin's idea of Russian federalism. Finland got Petsamo, but the question of Aunus and Viena remained open.
Lenin wanted to stop Russia from completely falling apart after the 1917 revolution. Before the October Revolution, Lenin had supported the idea that nations should have the right to decide their own future. After taking power in October 1917, the Bolsheviks slowly changed their strategy towards federalism (a system where power is shared between a central government and local states).
Regarding Finland, Lenin planned to have Russia take it over. However, the Russian Civil War, the German-Russian Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the German Army's actions in Finland, and the White Guards' victory in the Finnish civil war stopped his plan. Lenin's "socialist" policies often followed similar patterns to the old Russian Empire. The location of a country often decided how the Russian leadership treated it.
The Civil War and Red Finland
The Finnish Civil War began on January 28, 1918. Kullervo Manner was chosen as the chairman of the Finnish People's Delegation, which was the Red Government. On April 10, the Reds changed their entire government structure. Manner was then made the leader of Red Finland and the main commander of the Red Guard.
The fighting between the Reds and the Whites took up most of the Red leaders' time and energy. The situation became even harder when they lost important places, like Tampere, to the Whites. Because of this, the local Red government was never fully set up. It waited for the outcome of the Civil War. Many of the experienced government workers from before the war refused to work with the Reds. So, new leaders had to be chosen and trained from lower-level workers.
The End of the FSWR
The Finnish Civil War ended when Germany invaded Finland. This led to the defeat of the Finnish Red Guards and the FSWR on May 5, 1918. After the war, the Finnish Social Democrats, who had been strong and well-organized, split into two groups.
The moderate socialists continued their political work as before 1918. They stayed loyal to Finland's society and political system. The far-left group formed the Communist Party of Finland in August 1918 in Moscow. Their main leaders lived in exile in Russia, while many of their supporters lived in Finland.
See also
- Eero Haapalainen
- Republic of Finland
- Finnish Democratic Republic — a short-lived Soviet 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
