The Zestful Finns

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 4

The Zestful Finns

The ind Their Country. b By Wendy Hall. Parrish 1 ofew Zealand Agents, ! Whitcombe and Tombs), i 211 pp. Bibliography and ' Index. This is a magnificently com- * cehensive book, setting forth ' ne history, political structure nd social habits of one of ! he least-known countries in he world. Though fully documented, it is no dry text-book, >ut is written with insight 1 ind affection. Because of her geographical msition and small population! Finland has until recent years | been a political pawn of her) eastern and western neighbours, Russia and Sweden,’ being for 600 years under the domination of the latter and from 1809—when Russia defeated Sweden in war—until the Russian revolution in 1917, a small, and nominally independent outpost of the; Tsarist empire. The Finnish language, however, which is like no other except Hungarian, has always been the jealously-guarded fetish of the people, who have preserved it in face of a Swedish fiat which declared Swedish the official language of Finland over a long period of history. With the enormous lakes and forests of which Finland largely consists, Finnish society up to the beginning of the nineteenth century was largely rural in its pursuits, while in the northern part of the country two wholly-dark months in winter and two corresponding ones of continuous daylight in summer limited national activity to

what it was possible to achieve i in these climatic conditions.! Handicrafts and timber were the chief sources of income] to the Finns, but in the last i 150 years some big cities have grown up from small beginnings, and the population of Helsinki which in 1812 was only 4000 has now risen to half a million. Constant warfare between the larger European Powers has always, however, bedevilled Finnish existence, and the ] people’s desire to foster and ' retain their neutrality has beicorne one of their chief aspirations. A whittling away of I heir independence came when (Nicholas II succeeded to the Russian throne in 1894, and began Russianising the little country. This destroyed Finnish autonomy until the Bolsheviks took over Russia in 11917. Twenty-three years of I peaceful expansion fol>lowed, under the guidance of the wise and farseeing President Paas.viki, but in 1940 when both Russia and Germany saw danger for themselves in a neutral Finland the most distressing epoch in the country's history was to begin. After withstanding a Rus- ; sian invasion for three months the Finnish army was defeati ed, and in the subsequent ' peace treaty enormous repari ations were demanded in kind, , including a large number of ' ships within a given time. The ; hapless Finns were thus comi pelled to gear their economy • to a hitherto unknown indus- ■ try in order to fulfill this i obligation. In the event, Fin-

land was to benefit by her tribulations. Having faithfully discharged her enormous debt to Russia by 1952, she found herself with new skills acquired during her period of adversity and began the industrial expansion which is now well under way. Factories are springing up all over Finland, ’ whose engineering achievements and forestry products are earning well-deserved dividends. Furthermore, Finland has earned the respect of the Russians who are willing to recognise her independence, a privilege it has not accorded to its own satellites. In her study of the Finns the author has fully evaluated their many virtues, which include a reverence for intellect (the term "Professor” applies to anyone with specialised knowledge in any field) which is far greater than that which is accorded to the eminent figures in commerce. The Finnish heart, which has always ruled its head, makes Finns the most hospitable race in the world, and its earnest and obvious desire to promote peace is beginning to be appreciated by the United Nations, as well as by the Scandinavian bloc of which it is a member. In conclusion, the author says, “The Finns have above all one most individual characteristic —they are among the few peoples of Western Europe who are still in love with the world. If they should lose this zest and optimism they would lose themselves, and they would no longer be Finns.”