Moscow Peace Treaty
The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March.[1] It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The treaty was signed by Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrei Zhdanov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky for the Soviet Union, and Risto Ryti, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Rudolf Walden and Väinö Voionmaa for Finland. The terms of the treaty were not reversed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Karelian question refers to the debate within Finland over the possible reacquisition of this ceded territory.
For the treaty ending the Continuation War in 1944, see Moscow Armistice. For the 1920 treaty with Lithuania, see Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty. For the 1997 treaty with Chechen separatists, see Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty.Type
Background[edit]
The Winter War began on 30 November 1939 with the Soviet invasion of Finland. On 29 January 1940, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov put an end to the puppet Terijoki Government and recognized the Ryti–Tanner government as the legal government of Finland, informing it that the Soviet Union was willing to negotiate peace.[2][3] The Finnish government received the first tentative peace conditions from the Soviet Union (through Stockholm) two days later. The Soviets made larger claims than they had before the war started. The demands were for Finland to cede the Karelian Isthmus, including the city of Viipuri, and Finland's shore of Lake Ladoga. The Hanko Peninsula was to be leased to the Soviet Union for 30 years.
Finland rejected the demands and intensified its pleas to Sweden, France and the United Kingdom for military support by regular troops. The reports from the front still held out hope for Finland, anticipating a League of Nations intervention. Positive signals, however inconstant, from France and Britain and more realistic expectations of troops from Sweden, for which plans and preparations had been made throughout the 1930s, were further reasons for Finland not to rush into peace negotiations. (See Winter War § Foreign support for more details.)
In February 1940, Finland's commander-in-chief, Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim expressed his pessimism about the military situation, which prompted the government to start peace talks on 29 February, the same day the Red Army started an attack on Viipuri (now Vyborg).
Aftermath[edit]
The harsh terms imposed on the Finns led them to seek support from Nazi Germany. The Winter War and the subsequent peace treaty were core factors in leading to what would become the Continuation War, when hostilities resumed in 1941.