Finnish Civil War
A 1918 civil war for control of newly independent Finland.
Last updated
The war arose from a political crisis caused by World War I and the collapse of the Russian Empire.[1]
Key facts and history
The main factor behind the Finnish Civil War was a political crisis arising out of World War I.[1] The February Revolution removed Tsar Nicholas II and returned autonomous status to the Finns.[2][3] During the period from 1809 to 1898, which is called the Pax Russica, the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Russian Empire had largely peaceful relations, and the Finns' peripheral authority gradually increased.[4] The Parliamentary Reform of 1906 abolished the system of estates and introduced universal suffrage, creating a unicameral Parliament of Finland.[5][6]
The labour movement became radicalised and support for moderate politics decreased after the social democrats lost their absolute majority in the elections of October 1917.[7]
What the research sources say
A 2008 interview of 1,005 people by the newspaper Aamulehti found that the most popular name for the conflict was "Civil War" at 29%.[8] Various political and ideological viewpoints have led to the war being given several different designations.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: , , , , (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: , , , (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: There were few Bolsheviks in Finland. Bolshevism became more popular among Finnish industrial workers who emigrated to Petrograd at the end of the nineteenth ce (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haapala, P., "Pax Russica", Historiallinen Aikakauskirja, 2008, p. 389–390 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The increasing political power of the left drew a part of the Finnish intelligentsia behind it, mainly Fennomans from the Old Finnish party: Julius Ailio, Edvar (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: , , , , , , , , (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: , , , , , , , , , , (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Manninen, "Vapaussota", Koskesta Voimaa, 1993; Tepora Roselius 2014b, p. 1–16; Aamulehti 2008, p. 16 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Finnish Civil War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kinnunen, "Vuoden 1918 sodan eri nimet", Suojeluskunnat ja Lotta Svärd, 8 October 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Finnish Civil War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Revolutions of
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Finnish Civil War (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced