Evening star., 1961-12-25
Finland Reds
Strong Despite
Russian Wars

T1ElolNhl, DeC' 10.-A QueS-
ton which continues to puzzle
political observers is why Fin
land, which has fought Russia
three times in 40 years Q918-
1921, 1939-1940 and 1941-1944,
and staunchly defied intensive
Soviet postwar pressure. has
one of the largest Communist
followings in the Western
world.
In the last general election
Q958) the Finnish peoples
Democratic League, the Com
munist-front organization in
Parliament, captured so of the
200 seats the largest single
bloc and tied with the Social
Democrats for the highest pop
ular vote, 1872 per cent. In
local elections even higher per-
centages have been recorded.
There. is no simple answer
to this enigma. Even Finnish
observers admit they fail to
completely understand it.
Much of the explanation lies
deep within the national Fin
nish character and tempera-
ment in which StubbornneSS,
tenacity, and just plain bull
headedneSs play important
roles.
Finnish politics are frag-
mented by splinter groups and
internal factions in virtually
every party to the point that
traditional concepts of left"
and right" have little meaning.
Despite this success at the
polls, observers believe there
are relatively few real Com
muniSts in Finland. The party's
leadership and that of the
Finnish Peoples Democratic
League are orthodox MarXists.
Serves on Presidium
The latter'S head is Hertta
kuuSinen, whose father Otto
KuuSinen- has been active in
international communism since
he left Finland for Russia dur
ing the 1918 war. He is cur
rently member of the Soviet |
Unions Presidium and was re-
Gently elected a member of the
secretariat at the 22d Party
Congress. He was formerly |
primer of the USSR's Karelo-
Finnish Republic before it was
made part of Russia.
During the 1939-40 winter
war the Soviets established |
him as head of their puppet |
government which they claimed |
was the only legal representa-
tive of the Finnish people. The
refusal to recognize it by
Helsinki was a major political
victory at the time for the
Firms.
A variety of plausible rea-
sons can be advanced for the
large Communist vote but none
is entirely satisfactory. Much
of it in 1858 was a protest |
against the governments fail
ure to have advanced work.
able solution to the nations
economic crisis which was
largely the result of Soviet
pressure. Such a protest dem
onStration is entirely within
character with Finnish logic.
One strange phenomenon is
that Finnish communism has
substantial strength in the
least expected areas. 1t
naturally finds support in such
industrial centers as Helsinki.
Turku, and Tampre where the
growing metal industry is
largely located. as well as Kemi
which is a numbering center.
However, 1t shows surprising
vitality in certain pre-
dominantly agricultural areas.
Strangely, these coincide with
the strongholds of two funda-
mental religious sects, the
Laestadianists and the Pietis-
terists. (The former are re-
ferred to as the "Koupio Com
munists" because of the region
where they are strongestD
Some observers theorize that
the religious sects, which have
developed as protests against
the state church lutheran |
to which SO per cent of the
population belongs, flourish
among groups which likewise
oppose the established political
and social order.
Many Follow Tradition
Another important factor is
the so called traditional
Communist" vote which has
nothing to do with support for
the party's domestic or foreign
program. There is a strong
tendency among Firms to re-
tain the political views of their
elders long after the original
reasons for them have either
disappeared or been forgotten.
Some observers believe that
It is especially important in
this connection that Firms
have never really decided
among themselves whether the
1918-1921 war in which the ma
tion broke away from the Rus
sian Empire was one OF in
dependence or a civil war.
Consequently, young people
voting for the first time fire.
quently base their decision
on family traditions which
were formed over 40 years ago
when the country was split
into hostile camps of both
"Reds" and whites" TIL ese
feelings are reflected more
strongly on the local level and
may explain why there is a
larger Communist vote In
municipal elections.
Some family traditions date
from the more recent depres-
sion of the 1930s when, as
the result of a sharp decline
in its exports and emigration,