The Finnish Question Within Wartime Soviet Foreign Policy: 1939～1944

Finland, which had belonged to the Russian Empire, achieved independence after the 1917 Revolution. In the late 1930s, the Soviet Union began to rethink about turning Finland into its sphere of influence. By Moscow negotiation and Soviet-Finnish War, the Soviet Union preliminary achieved the aim of controlling Finland. Facing the tendency of Finland enforcing collaboration with Germany, on the one hand, the Soviet Union tried to coordinate with Germany to strengthen the control of Finland; on the other hand, within diplomatic mediating with Germany, began to make the Finnish Question as touchstone of Germany Soviet policies. But the Berlin Negotiation of November 1940 didn't reach positive result for Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was prompted to turn to get international support from Western Allies by the outbreak of Great Patriotic War. The attitude of Soviet Union clearly showing different stages, in the first stage it was more positive emphasizing the Soviet Border Question including the Finnish Question must be solved as soon as possible; in the second stage the Soviet Union more emphasized temporarily shelving this issue, and making the situation of battlefield as its foothold. The Soviet Union ultimately solved Finnish Question basing on its own framework and relying on powerful battlefield advantages. The Soviet Union reflected a certain degree of empire thoughts in solving Finnish Question. Finnish Question didn't have decisive meaning to both U.S.S.R. and Western Allies, which to some extent contributing to its resolution.