The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál

conflicts. 11 When the Finnish delegation refused to sign the military assistance
contract, Molotov came out with the Soviet demands, which were so excessive
that they shocked the Finnish government. Stalin wanted to get territories –
South-East Karelia and the Fisherman’s Peninsula 12 - near Petsamo, and
offered some worthless territories in north-eastern Karelia as compensation. 13
They also wanted to get Hanko as a concession for thirty years because they
wanted to use it as a military base and pier; they wanted to deploy there 5000
armed personnel. 14 The city lies a hundred kilometers westwards from
Helsinki, so the Finns rejected to give it up because they did not want to allow
the Soviets to build a bridgehead behind the fortified borders, in the heart of the
country, near their capital. This bridgehead would have engaged a considerably
big part of the Finnish army, and the Soviets would have dropped
reinforcements from the occupied Estonia.
The Soviets insisted on getting Hanko. Stalin reasoned that Finland was an
easy target for the great powers and many of them would have liked the idea of
getting Finland into their spheres; thus, Finland would have been a „springboard”
to attack the Soviet Union. He also said that the Soviet Union was
congenial to Germany but „this could be changed in this (war) situation”. 15
The Finnish delegation pointed out that Finland would not let anyone pass
the border and they could defend themselves, but it did not gratify Stalin, who
replied: „They would not ask you! They would be there, and that’s all. But do
not expect that the Soviet Union and the Red Army would allow this and do
nothing. No. We would advance and meet them there”. 16
The Finns tried to come to an agreement with the Soviets because they were
not prepared for conflicts and therefore they were willing to surrender the islands
- except for Ahvenanmaa - and other North-Karelian territories. They accepted
the idea that the Finno-Soviet border, running only seven kilometers away from
the Soviet Union’s second largest city – Leningrad – should be pushed away
further (13 km) from the city, though it remained only a plan. The Soviet Union
finally gave up claiming Hanko but still insisted on getting Lapohja port. 17
Molotov explained that these were the minimal claims. 18 These demands would
11 MANNERHEIM, Carl Gustav von: Emlékiratok. A téli háború. (Memoir. The winter war).
Püski, Budapest, 1997. 11.
12 Also known as Rybachii Peninsula.
13 MANNERHEIM, Carl Gustav von: Emlékiratok. A téli háború. (Memoir. The winter war).
Püski, Budapest, 1997. 11-12.
14 JACOBSON, Max: Finland in the new Europe. The center for strategic and international
studies, Washington, 1998. 28.
15 MANNERHEIM, Carl Gustav von: Emlékiratok. A téli háború. (Memoir. The winter war).
Püski, Budapest, 1997. 11.
16 JACOBSON, Max: Finnország: mítosz és valóság. (Finland: myth and reality). Minerva,
Budapest, 1990. 28-29.
17 This is near to Hanko.
18 MANNERHEIM, Carl Gustav von: Emlékiratok. A téli háború. (Memoir. The winter war).
Püski, Budapest, 1997. 15.
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