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INSPIRED FREEDOM

[Specially written for "The Press" by KENNETH ANTHONY)

VASA is a comparatively 1 small town on the west coast of Finland; outside Finland few people have even heard of it Yet it played an important part in securing Finnish independence towards the close of the First World War. And as is so often the case, an apparently insignificant stamp tells the story. Finland was conquered by Russia in 1808-09, and became a grand duchy of the Russian Empire. For many years some measure of autonomy Sersisted. But when Tsar (icholas 111 came to the throne in 1881, he set about a ruthless policy of “Russianisation.”

This was soon reflected in Finnish stamps, which from 1891 followed a strictly Russian pattern. Soon any trace of Finnish autonomy had almost disappeared.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19641128.2.215

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30610, 28 November 1964, Page 18

Word Count
131

INSPIRED FREEDOM Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30610, 28 November 1964, Page 18

INSPIRED FREEDOM Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30610, 28 November 1964, Page 18