What lessons can Armenia learn from Finland? Unique analyzes from Professor Henrik Meinander (video)
How did the Finns create their own state within another state and manage to become and remain independent and sovereign in an area and an era where and when it seemed impossible to do so? A History of Finland is a guidebook about visionary intellectuals,
Finland, like Armenia, lies between Russia and the West and, like Armenia, has become a theater of conflict during major world upheavals. But the Finns have managed to maintain their independence and develop it.
In the 19th century, Finnish intellectuals saw a great opportunity in Russian subjugation and used those hundred years to shape national identity and state institutions. And when the First World War broke out a century later, Russia collapsed from within, Finland was fully ready for independence.
Henrik Meinander: ''The Grand Duchy of Finland had by the end of the nineteenth century in many ways developed into a state within a state. The Russian authorities were of a different opinion''.
During the war and the Red Revolution, Finland was able to maintain its newfound independence by coming out of the civil and world wars in a prudent and calculated manner. It did the same in the following two decades and during the Second World War, being in the right position at the right time. This saved the country from the realistic prospect of destruction, although in this case not much depended on the Finns.
Henrik Meinander: ''When Germany’s fortunes of war had taken a definite turn for the worse in the winter of 1942–43, Finland’s political leadership began to prepare for a dismantling of the coalition and peace negotiations with the Soviet Union''.
The essence of Finnish political culture has been to avoid being caught in the crossfire of superpowers at all costs. It took deep roots, and even when the Soviet Union nearly collapsed, the Finnish political elite continued to build relations with the West, taking into account possible objections from Moscow.
Henrik Meinander: ''Skilled steps of the government to maintain a balance between power centers significantly contributed to the development of entrepreneurship and trade''.
Due to the careful attitude towards the homeland, high political responsibility, not confusing the internal struggle with the national interest, all kinds of Finnish authorities managed to make the country stand, strengthen and become one of the most successful states in the world.
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