Nothing new: Russia bullying a neighbor

I was a six-year-old first grader when the Robert Fulton Elementary School in North Bergen, New Jersey, held its first air raid drill in late 1939 or maybe early 1940.

The fire alarm bell rang and we marched out of Miss Phelps’s classroom and lined up in rows along the inside wall of the hallway. I can pretty well pinpoint the date because of a question I was asked by the little boy standing next to me:

“Who are you for,” he said, “the Russians or the Finns?”  And I quickly replied, “the Finns.”  He agreed, as did nearly every American.

We were talking about the brief, so-called Winter War between Russia and Finland, which began on Nov. 30, 1939, when the then-Soviet Union invaded its  smaller neighbor and ended on March 13, 1940, with the Finns agreeing to cede 9% of its nation, mostly border territory and offshore islands,  to the Soviets.

Russian dictator Josef Stalin claimed the land had been wrongly awarded to Finland after the 1917 communist revolution and was needed to defend Leningrad, 20 miles from the Finnish border, in the event of a war with Poland.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Russia expected to settle the dispute to its satisfaction within three days, but the Finns had other ideas. They mounted a fierce resistance, forcing the Russians to pay an unexpectedly high price for their victory, with roughly 150,000 Russians dead or missing to 25,000 Finns.

Before the invasion of Finland, communist Russia and Nazi Germany had signed a non-aggression pact that contained secret protocols creating specific spheres of influence in eastern Europe for each of the dictatorships. The goal was to allow each nation to conquer their neighbors without interference from the other, giving Germany Poland, for example and Russia, Finland.

So Russia went into Finland believing it would be able to replace its democracy with a puppet communist government while its partner, Germany, did the same to Poland.

But the Russian Army performed so badly against the determined Finns, Adolf Hitler decided to break the treaty and invade Russia by way of Poland, thereby extending the Third Reich’s influence across Europe’s greatest land mass.

The Ukraine-like courage of its people was not the only reason Americans greatly admired and rooted for Finland as it defended itself.

Throughout my childhood, I often heard my elders remarking that “the Finns always paid their debts.” We children were taught that this was an admirable practice, not only for individuals, but also nations.

Finland’s debt paying stood out following World War I when almost every Allied country emerged from the war seriously indebted to the United States for loans to finance their war efforts.

But when the Depression plunged nearly the entire world into a state of financial ruin, President Herbert Hoover decided to grant our former allies a one-year debt moratorium for 1932.

There’s no doubt the gesture was greatly appreciated, so much so, that in 1933, not a single country, except one, resumed its debt payments — from that year forward.

The exception, of course, was Finland because “the Finns always paid their debts.” The final payment was made in 1976.

Today, Finland’s border remains 20 miles from Russia’s second largest city, Leningrad, since renamed St. Petersburg. And Vladimir Putin is no doubt as fixed on that border as Stalin was in 1939. But Finland’s position in modern Europe is far different today.

Finland’s been in the European Union since 1995 and, for the first time in its history, strong public support is emerging for joining NATO. The same is true in more determinedly neutral Sweden.

They fear they may be next.

 

Simsbury resident Dick Ahles is a retired journalist. Email him at rahles1@outlook.com.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Legal Notices - May 8, 2025

BAUER FUND AND FOUNDATION COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

Through grants to colleges, The Bauer Foundation provides indirect scholarship assistance for undergraduate college education to students residing in The Connecticut Regional School District One based on merit and need.

Keep ReadingShow less
Classifieds - May 8, 2025

Help Wanted

A Plus Detailing Hiring: Open position for a Full Detailer & Cleaner. Depending on experience $21 to $30 per hour. Contact Ryan at 959-228-1010.

Driver: For The Lakeville Journal and Millerton News newspaper routes, part time Wednesdays, Thursdays and some Fridays. Call James Clark. 860-435-9873, x 401 or email publisher@
lakevillejournal.com.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Hydrilla Menace: Twin Lakes group buoyed by DEEP’s assault on invasive hydrilla in 2025

A detail of a whorl of hydrilla pulled from the shallow waters at O’Hara’s Landing Marina in fall of 2024.

Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas

SALISBURY — The Twin Lakes Association is taking an earlier and more aggressive approach to fighting the spread of invasive hydrilla in East Twin Lake by dosing the whole northeast bay, from May through October, with low-level herbicide treatments instead of spot treatments.

The goal, said Russ Conklin, the TLA’s vice president of lake management, is to sustain herbicide concentration over the 2025 growing season.

Keep ReadingShow less
Frederick Wright Hosterman

KENT — Frederick Wright Hosterman passed away peacefully in his home in Kent on April 16, 2025. Born in 1929 in Auburn, Nebraska, he was the son of farmers. He attended a one-room schoolhouse just outside of Brownville, Nebraska, adjacent to his family’s farm. The little brick schoolhouse is still standing! After graduating from high school, Fred attended the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), eventually earning a master’s degree in agronomy. He took a job with Monsanto in Buffalo, New York, where the company was a pioneer in applying biotechnology to agricultural sciences. In Buffalo, Fred met his future wife, Dorothy. Fred and Dorothy moved to New York City for several years in the early 1960s, before settling down in Norwalk. In Norwalk, Fred and Dorothy had three children. The family later moved to Kent. In 1980, Fred and Dorothy divorced, and Fred bought a large tract of land on Carter Road in Kent. He built a house there, largely by himself, which he maintained until his death at age 95. After taking early retirement, he spent the following decades working on his property, adding various buildings, woodcrafting, landscaping, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.

Keep ReadingShow less