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[newspaper article two columns] NEW YORK TRIBUNE FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1917

Why Russia Needs Finland
By Ivan Norodny
Vice-President The Russian-American Asiatic Corporation

To the Editor of The Tribune

Sir: Confiicting stories and statements
have been sent to this country as to the atti-
tude of Finland to the new Russian régime
and the war. While some of the information
conveys the idea that the Finns are strongly
opposed to any future Russian sovereignty
and that the symphathies of Finland stand
wholly on the side of the Germans, yet, on
the other hand, there are symptoms at the
same time showing that the present Socialis-
tic majority of the Finnish Diet is working in
full harmony with the Russian Cabinet.
However, the fact is that the large majority
of the Finnish population is pro-German and
for an absolutely independent republic of its
own. Just now an immense propaganda is
being carried on in Finland, especially
among the Finnish Social Democratic major-
ity in the Diet and the Finnish-Swedish pop-
ulation, for an independent national govern-
ment and for an immediate peace. A Finnish
statesman made to me not very long ago the
startling statement that there were about
6,000 Finnish volunteers fighting in Ger-
man army, most of them excellent sharp-
shooters and engineers. It is estimated that
3,000 of them have been either wounded or
killed, while 3,000 are still in active German
service facing the Allies.

A Mongolian Race

How is it that Finland sided with the Ger-
mans? The answer is a sad story, illustrat-
ing the shortsightedness of Finnish political
leaders and the antagonism that the Finns
have shown to the Russins. Most of the
Americanh imagine the Finns are related to
the Scandinavians, yet the fact is they are
closer related to the Chinese and the Japan-
ese than to the Swedes and the Norwegians.
The Finns are of Mongolian race, and came to
the territory they occupy now about the third
and fourth centuries. They are closely related
to the Esthonians, inhabiting the northern
part of the Russian Baltic provinces, and to
the Hungarians and the Japanese. They have a
rather interesting music and art, rich folk-lore
and a nationalistic literature which
bears the stamp of Scandinavia and Germany.
Though the Finns have lived so close to the
Russians and compose a part of Russia, yet
they have remained absolutely strangers to
Russian art and literary tendenciess. You
can find more interest among the educated
Finns for studying the German Socialist
movement, the Japanese language and the
Hungaraian art than you find for anything
Russian.

The reason for Finnish antagonism to any-
thing Russian is to be explained by the pe-
culiar sentimental and fanatic psychology
of the race and the tyrannic methods
of the Czars' regime. With the rule of
Czar Alexander III a violent method of
Russification was started in Finland, and
the most reckless bureaucrats were sent
to manage the country in a Russian way,
which, according to its constitution, was
to have its independence. This naturally
made the Finnish people extremely opposed
to the Russian government, and indirectly to
Russian life and art. Finland became
a part of Russia under the rule of Czar
Alexander I shortly before the campaign of
Napoleon to Moscow, with the ccondition that
the Russian czars should never interfere with
Finnish self-government locally as long as
the Finns were loyal to the Czar. Since that
time the Finns possessed their parliament,
their national self-government and even their
national monetary system, in a way like Can-
ada has remained under the British sover-
eignty. Finland had its national army until
the rule of Nicholas II, who abolished it and
sent Russian troops to Finland. However,
the Finns refused to serve in the Russian
army, and for that reason Russia was unable
to force the Finns to any military service
during the present war.

In the beginning of this century the Finns
were more or less sympathetic to the Rus-
sian revolutionists. Mr. Shauman, who shot
the Governor General, Bobrikoff, communi-
cated with several Russian leaders about the
common cause. Mr. Siliacus, the founder of
the Finnish revoluntionary party, kept in
touch with the Russian movement, and em-
phasized the fact that Finnish freedom
was dependent upon Russian. But since
then the Finnish political leaders grew more
and more indifferent or antagonistic to the
Russian struggle, and it was at this moment
that the German socialism was introduced
in Finland with a secreet propaganda for the
policy of the Kaiser. The German merchants
opened their branches in Finland, and the
German tourists swarmed by the thousands
annually to the Land of a Thousand Lakes.
The result was that German became the sec-
ond most important language in the schools
and socciety, and young Finns went to Ger-
many to study.

The Swedish Influence

Finland, before it came under the Russian
rle, was governed by Sweden. That is the
reason why the Finnish nobility and business
men have remained to a certain extene Swed-
ish. With the awakening of the Finnish na-
tional consciousness in the latter part of the
last century there came also a bitter fight
against the Swedish language and Swedish
culture in Finland, which lasted till Russia
began the oppressive policy. The Finns and
Swedes then joined hands and began to fight
the Russian influence. It was through the
Swedish channels that the German policies
were introduced.

While the Finns remained antagonistic to
the Swedes and the Russians and friendly
to the Germans, the Esthonians, whose lan-
guage resembles so closely the Finnish, took
up a violent fight against the German influ-
ence. For nearly five centuries the German
nobility has remained the economic and local
political master of the Russian Baltic prov-
inces, the actual population of which con-
sisted, in the north, of Esthonians, in the
south of Letts. Both these nations had ac-
quired their national culture, literature and
art, but, unlike the Finns, they remained a
part of the Russian Empire, economically and
politically, but yet a part of Germany social-
ly and secretly. It was through the German
nobility of the Baltic provinces that Bismarck
and the Kaiser had their grip on the Russian
court. The Esthonians, therefore, felt the
double oppression, that of the Germans and
the Russians, and they came to the conclu-
sion that the German oppression far surpassed
the Russian, which, after all, was only crude-
ly political. The Esthonians naturally joined
hands with the Russians, and gave many
of the most daring revolutionists to the Rus-
sian cause. When the war started all Es-
thonians rallied enthusiastically to the Rus-
sian flag to fight against the Germans. Now,
while these weaker brothers of the Finns
were forced to fight the Germans, the Finns
showed no sympathy for them. The Finns
harddly cared to take any part in Esthon-
ian national affairs and struggles and that
has made the Esthonians bitter to the former,
which is a clear proof of the shortsightedness
of the Finnish political leaders.

Russia's Policy

Since the Finns know so little of the Russian
racial character and soul, the question arises,
Can republican Russia tolerate such an
independent neighbor right under the very
gates of its capital, especially when the Ger-
man policies and interests are being propa-
gated so vigorously? Somewhat similar to the
attitude of the United States to Cuba is that
of free Russia to Finland. As this coun-
try could not tolerate the Cubans being
made Germans, economically and politically,
thus free Russia is blind to permit Finland
to become a province of Germnay so close to
the heart of its national organism. The
fundamental policy of free Russia must be
tolerance to all the nationalities inhabiting
the provinces of the territory, yet at the
same time it could not tolerate an absolute
independence of any of those nationalistic
groups. Like the states of this country, thus
Finland, Esthonia, Poland, Courland, Armenia
and Lithuania should form a part in the all-
Russian federation and should have their local
self-governments. Any other way would be
detrimental to the prestige and economic
unity of republican United States of Russia.

New York, July 3, 1917
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