republic · Scandinavia and the Baltic
Finnish Democratic Republic
Origins
On 30 November 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Finland. The next day it announced the formation of the Finnish Democratic Republic, nominally based in the border town of Terijoki, with the exiled Finnish communist Otto Wille Kuusinen as head. The Soviet Union recognised it as Finland's only legitimate government and signed a treaty of mutual assistance with it.
Rule and society
The 'Terijoki government' existed mainly on paper and was run from Moscow. It raised a Finnish People's Army from Soviet Finns and Karelians, intended to enter Helsinki behind the Red Army. Finns overwhelmingly rejected it, and it helped unite Finnish society behind its real government.
Decline and legacy
Finnish resistance forced the Soviet Union to negotiate with the Helsinki government. The Moscow Peace Treaty of March 1940 ended the war, and the puppet government was quietly dissolved. Its leaders and territory were merged into the new Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, with Kuusinen as its head.
Lineage
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- Finnish Democratic Republic was a protectorate of Soviet Union1939 CE – 1940 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Finnish Democratic Republic. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/finnish-democratic-republic
- MLA
- “Finnish Democratic Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/finnish-democratic-republic. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Finnish Democratic Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/finnish-democratic-republic.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Finnish Democratic Republic’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/finnish-democratic-republic (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻