In the Giant's Shadow

Finland's major achievement in the 20th century is that it still exists. It is thus little wonder that the 4,600,000 Finns intend to mark the 50th anniversary of their country's independence this year with a series of national celebrations. The festivities began this week with a parade of Finland's modest armed forces through the capital of Helsinki, whose distinction is that it is the world's second northernmost capital (after Iceland's Reykjavik). While the navy's Russian-built destroyers rode at anchor in the harbor, the army's British tanks and French artillery rolled through the streets toward Senate Square, where officials honored the memory of Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, who half a century ago led the force that established Finland's democratic regime.

For more than seven centuries, both freedom and democracy eluded Finland, which silently submitted to the rule of its giant neighbors--first Sweden and then, after 1809, Czarist Russia. After revolution toppled the Czar in 1917, the Bolsheviks repudiated imperialism and granted Finland its demand for independence. Civil war broke out when Bolshevik followers tried to seize power in the newly independent state, and ended only when Mannerheim defeated the Communists and installed a democratic regime that excluded them--a victory that left a legacy of left-right hostility that still plagues the country.

After two decades of peace, Finland had to fight not one but three wars during World War II: first the famed Winter War of 1939-40, in which it stalemated the invading Russians; then in 1941, when it fought the Russians again as a reluctant German ally; then again in 1944, when, having sued for peace with the Allies, it had to drive the Germans from its soil in a gory cleanup operation that took seven months.

Sub-Zero Treks. The war took a heavy toll. Finland lost 115,000 men (nearly 3% of its population), also had to pay Russia huge reparations and cede part of its land. The losses taught Finland a lesson. President Urho Kekkonen, now serving his eleventh year in that post, realized that his country must retain the favor of its Soviet neighbor. While this has not meant alliance with the Soviets, it has led to a neutrality that slightly favors them. Kekkonen keeps up his ties with the Russians; few men can boast of having established personal relationships with Stalin, Khrushchev, Kosygin and Brezhnev.

There is no doubt that next year Kekkonen will seek a third six-year presidential term--and win easily. Although 66, he. is still a vigorous athlete, sometimes skiing 500 miles in sub-zero weather on a week's trek. His long tenure has provided stability to an otherwise chaotic political scene; Finland has had 50 different governments in 50 years. One reason for the current stability is that Kekkonen has encouraged the Communists to take part in the Finnish Cabinet. Although it consistently polled one-quarter of the votes in Finland's postwar elections, the Communist Party until last year had been kept out of the government because of its attempted coup in 1948. A year ago, Kekkonen allowed it to enter a coalition Cabinet, almost certainly under pressure from Moscow. The apprehension that accompanied that move has since faded, largely because the Communists have behaved respectably and legally. Perhaps Russia's primary motive is to demonstrate to other nations with sizable Communist parties--such as France and Italy--that Reds (when it suits them) can participate responsibly in the affairs of non-Red governments.

60,000 Lakes. Finland has changed even more than its Communists. Once a slowly developing agricultural country, it ranks today among the world's top 15 industrial nations. As Europe's most heavily forested country, it exports paper, pulp and wood products to 90 lands. Exploiting what is believed to be Europe's largest copper fields, Finland since the end of the war has developed a booming mining and metals industry. Despite its proximity to the East bloc, 80% of Finnish trade heads west, where Britain is its best customer. Finland will thus suffer if Britain enters the Common Market without it, but the Soviets are not likely to encourage Finland to seek closer ties to the mart.

Despite a slight recession and an imbalance of payments--difficulties common to many Western lands at the moment--Finland now enjoys one of the world's highest standards of living. The Finn's capitalist welfare state gives him six weeks' vacation, during which he deserts the city for his cottage on one of the country's 60,000 lakes. There he swims, sails, fishes and plays pesaepallo--an imported variation of baseball. And he reads; Finns buy more books per capita than any other nation.

Endowed with typical Lutheran Nordic conservatism, the blond, blue-eyed Finn only slowly adopts the fads of the West. Miniskirts are just now appearing on Helsinki's streets. The Finn's first love remains the sauna bath. More than half a million families have their own private steam rooms, where temperatures rise to 275DEGF as the bather briskly whips his body with wet birch branches before dashing out and leaping into a frigid lake or snow bank. The sauna is said to develop the quality of sisu--a combination of courage, stamina, tenacity and stubbornness. Sisu indeed is Finland--and is perhaps the reason why it still exists.

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