Finland
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Official Name: Republic of Finland |
Flag
The flag is white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag). The blue color is symbolic of blue skies and of the thousands of lakes in Finland. The white represents the winter snows.
Finland
Finland, a province and later grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th through the 19th centuries, became an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it successfully defended its freedom and resisted invasions by the Soviet Union, albeit with some loss of territory. Over the course of the next fifty years, the Finns progressively changed their national economy from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
During the first millennium BC, various peoples settled in Finland, including the nomadic Saami who still inhabit the north of the country and the Tavastians from central Europe. A notable feature of this migration was that the settlers spoke a language belonging to the Finno-Ugric group (which also includes Hungarian and Estonian), which is quite distinct from the Indo-European languages spoken throughout most of the rest of Europe. During the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries, Finland – an area larger than the present country, extending as far east as the Karel peninsula, now part of the Russian Federation – provided the backdrop for expanding trade and occasional wars between Swedish, Russian, and German states. Through the centuries, the Swedes and Russians competed for influence in the region, with the Swedes predominating until 1240, when they were defeated by a force from the Russian province of Novgorod. The Swedes were not wholly expelled from the region, however, and at the Treaty of Pähkinäsaari in 1323, Finland was divided into Russian and Swedish spheres of influence. This tug-of-war between Finland’s two powerful neighbors continued for centuries, while the a growing Finnish intellectual class concentrated on preserving the unique Finnish language, culture, and institutions.
Finnish written history dates only only as far back as the second millennium CE, but, fortunately, the Finns have a strong oral tradition stretching back to prehistory. Finns, and Karelian tribes in particular, had a strong oral tradition of "rune singing" their history, ancient shamanistic beliefs, myth, magic, love, and war. These stories were collected in the 19th century and compiled into one epic, the Kalevala, composed of a collection of epic poems that reveal the daily life of the people over millennia. Today, Finns appreciate the Kalevala as a rich historical and mythological legacy of their ancestors. Some people even claim that the Kalevala is the inspiration behind J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Longfellow's Hiawatha.
Geographically, Finland is a country of lakes, with over 60,000 that help to keep its climate moderate. The nomadic Sami peoples and others live above the Arctic Circle, while the vast majority of Finns reside in the much warmer southern parts of the country. Most of Finland is covered by thick forests of pine and spruce, and that timber, along with fisheries, mining, shipbuilding, and tourism are the main industries. Revered for its fishing and outdoor sport venues, Finland is also an artistic, stylish country, with a respected reputation for glass making, fabric and furniture design, the performing arts, and innovative civic planning.
Information and maps above taken from Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Fact Book. Unless otherwise specified, images sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
Finnish Internet Sources
This section contains convenient starting points for exploring web sites related to Finland. To make this page easier to load and use, we generally have limited the list to those sites which contain substantial collections of links to information on these subjects. The views reflected on any web site linked below do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center. We provide these links as a service to the public.
Amnesty International Report 2007: Finland documents human rights issues in 2005.
CIA World Factbook: Finland provides a general country overview and statistical data from the CIA.
The European Union's web site provides links in many languages to the various official activities of the EU.
Finland's Embassy in Washington, D.C. has a searchable site with links to news as well as visa information.
Finland Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents a comprehensive web site, called Virtual Finland. News and Information are linked separately and provide a wealth of information, including current and historical maps.
Geological Survey of Finland, which researches environmental use issues, provides an overview of research projects and publications, as well as links to related sites on its website.
Helsinki City Library has a virtual reference service and searchable databases in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The Information Center of Finno-Ugric People is a web-site in Russian which contains news and information about the Finno-Ugric People.
The UCLA Language Materials Project has information and links about language resources.
Invest in Finland Bureau provides information on business and investment opportunities in the country.
National Museum of Finland is sponsored by the National Board of Antiquities.
The Nordic Pages: Suomi Finland links to government sites, city sites, sites focusing on arts and culture, news and media, and business and economics, among others.
The President of Finland's homepage includes speeches, news and historical information on the office of the president.
Statistics Finland provides a searchable site with information and statistics on various governmental and business-related activities.
STN Matkaopas is a tourism guide with pictures and information. In Finnish, Swedish, German, Russian and English.
The University of Helsinki has a non-updated Finno-Ugrian Links page, which includes some information about its own language and regional studies programs.
The US Department of State Human Rights Report 2006: Finland provides an analysis of human rights practices in the country.