Kommunismi Suomessa: Punakapina, talvisota ja taistolaiset (Pekka Virkki) | Puheenaihe 708

Summary

Journalist and nonfiction author Pekka Virkki traces Finnish communism from the 1918 Civil War to its post-Soviet legacy. His central argument is that Finnish communism cannot be understood separately from the Soviet Union: the Communist Party of Finland (SKP) had close ties to Moscow, while Soviet pressure and Finnish efforts to preserve national independence shaped domestic politics for decades.

Terms and political methods

Virkki distinguishes communism’s promised classless utopia from “real socialism,” which in practice meant extensive state control and one-party rule. Socialism is a broader and more varied tradition, while social democracy generally accepts parliamentary competition. He notes that communist movements have used both electoral politics and revolutionary violence, even when their public strategies changed.

The Civil War and interwar Finland

The 1918 conflict arose amid the collapse of the Russian Empire, World War I, shortages, and political instability—not simply from Finnish economic inequality. The defeated Reds were not merely puppets of Russia, though Finnish communism developed in close contact with the Bolsheviks.

Virkki emphasizes that Finland restored parliamentary activity for the moderate left relatively quickly, despite harsh reprisals and the banning of communist organizations. The SDP became a parliamentary force, with Väinö Tanner among those who steered it toward moderation and cooperative action.

The SKP and Soviet ties

Founded in Soviet Russia by Finnish communist exiles, the SKP operated underground in Finland between the wars. Virkki says its links to the Soviet Union included ideological training and, at times, intelligence activity. Otto Wille Kuusinen is presented as a prominent Finnish-born communist who rose high in Soviet politics.

The party’s later legal influence was much broader than its underground membership, particularly through the Finnish People’s Democratic League (SKDL).

The Winter War and the Terijoki government

The Soviet invasion divided Finnish communists. Some served Finland, while others were imprisoned or supported the Soviet side. The Soviet-backed Terijoki government, headed by Kuusinen, was intended to provide a nominal Finnish authority if the invasion succeeded.

Virkki argues that the Winter War made the danger of Soviet domination unmistakable to many Finns.

Postwar politics and Finlandization

After the Continuation War, communist activity was legalized and the SKDL became a major electoral force. The 1948 agreement with the Soviet Union—commonly known as the YYA Treaty—was a limited military pact, but its political implications helped constrain Finland’s foreign policy.

Virkki defines Finlandization as a smaller state accommodating a stronger neighbor’s real or perceived interests in order to retain domestic autonomy. He sees the SKP as one important channel of Soviet influence, alongside broader political and economic pressures.

The left during the Cold War

The SKDL and SDP gradually moved closer, while the SDP’s internal divisions and the Soviet-backed TPSL weakened its independence. The 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia became a turning point: it discredited hopes for a more liberal, independent form of socialism and deepened divisions within the Finnish communist movement.

According to Virkki, the pro-Soviet Taistoist minority wielded influence beyond its numbers, particularly in cultural and media circles. The movement’s political strength faded as its members were expelled from the SKP and the Soviet Union later collapsed.

Other communist models

The discussion touches on Cuba and Chile as different sources of inspiration for Finnish leftists, as well as the small Finnish Maoist movement. Virkki describes North Korea as an extreme hereditary dictatorship that retains communist language while emphasizing nationalism and hierarchy. He portrays China as a major authoritarian competitor that opened its economy while keeping political control firmly closed.

Legacy and contemporary parallels

After the Soviet collapse, the Left Alliance became the main successor to much of the broader left-wing tradition, while explicitly communist parties remained marginal. Virkki also discusses korpi (rural or forest-region) communism, linking its appeal in northern Finland to local grievances and perceptions of neglect by southern political leaders.

He sees some philosophical similarities between Marxist traditions and contemporary “woke” or far-left cultural politics, but stresses that these are not equivalent to the organized communist parties and state projects of the twentieth century.

Kekkonen’s approach

Virkki portrays Urho Kekkonen as a pragmatic political operator who used Finland’s relationship with the Soviet Union—and the presence of communists in domestic politics—to advance his own position. Whether he brought communists into government to contain them or out of sympathy is left open. Virkki’s broader point is that Kekkonen managed both domestic rivals and Soviet expectations as instruments of realpolitik.

Presenters and contributors

• Rami Kurimo — presenter
• Pekka Virkki — guest, journalist and nonfiction author