tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post2982231888638076733..comments2023-10-06T07:34:25.668-07:00Comments on Stay At Home Artist: Alexei Nikolaevich and JoyAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05033117202223821117noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post-89380237513065922192010-06-11T15:29:47.949-07:002010-06-11T15:29:47.949-07:00Matterhorn, Thank you for this added infomation!Matterhorn, Thank you for this added infomation!Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05033117202223821117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post-19025504076861615092010-06-11T14:57:11.229-07:002010-06-11T14:57:11.229-07:00Another theory about the reasons for occupying Far...Another theory about the reasons for occupying Far Karelia is that the territory was potentially intended to serve as a bargaining chip in eventual negotiations with the Soviets-i.e. it could be traded for other, Finnish territory.Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230268418171628594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post-17907993610383118402010-06-11T14:53:52.131-07:002010-06-11T14:53:52.131-07:00Indeed, Mannerheim made a clear distinction betwee...Indeed, Mannerheim made a clear distinction between the Finnish cause and the Nazi cause. Let me just note, though, that, in the second round of fighting with the Soviets, the Finns did occupy a section of territory in Far Karelia, beyond the 1939 frontier, an area which, although it contained many Finnic speakers, had never been part of Finland. The reasons for this are debated, with disagreement over whether it was merely a strategic maneuvre to secure a buffer zone for the Finnish troops within the pre-1939 border area, or whether the ultimate aim was to annex the territory as part of a "Greater Finland." But you are correct, the Finns avoided attacking the Murmansk railway or participating in the siege of Leningrad as Hitler would have wished.Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230268418171628594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post-4904483339083802902010-06-11T12:55:18.151-07:002010-06-11T12:55:18.151-07:00Matterhorn
Thank you for your marvelous comment! I...Matterhorn<br />Thank you for your marvelous comment! I will look for this book. I would enjoy his memoirs. <br /><br />Indeed. Marshal Mannerheim remained a soldier of the Tsar, even after he helped to found the nation of Finland following World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1939, the armies of Stalin invaded Finland. During the Winter War of 1939-40, the Finns defeated the Soviets until sheer force of numbers forced Finland to negotiate peace, at a cost of a large slice of territory. In 1941, when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, the Nazis tried to tempt the Finns to join the attack by offering them a large block of Northern Russia as well as the territory that Stalin had seized from them.<br /><br />But Marshal Mannerheim would only fight the Russians who were stationed on Finnish soil. <br /><br />Had the Finns also attacked Norther Russia as Hitler wished, the ring around Leningrad would have been sealed and a crushing blow for Russia would have taken place. Then the heroic 900 day siege of Leningrad that resulted in defeat for Hitler, would have had little chance for success. <br /><br />The Soviets later attacked Finland again in 1944, but the Free World has a great deal to thank Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim for remaining a soldier of the Tsar.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05033117202223821117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4640688807889489319.post-54664150180635329942010-06-11T11:12:34.226-07:002010-06-11T11:12:34.226-07:00Anne, have you read the memoirs of Marshal Mannerh...Anne, have you read the memoirs of Marshal Mannerheim of Finland? Prior to the Bolshevik Revolution, he served for 30 years in the Russian imperial army. For some of this time, he served in the Chevalier Guards in St. Petersburg and was present, for instance, at the coronation of Nicholas II. He was very devoted to the imperial family. Years later, he would still keep autographed photos of them among his prized possessions in his grand home in Helsinki. He also had a portrait of Nicholas II on the wall, which caused some controversy among nationalistic Finnish visitors- but as Mannerheim would say: "He was my emperor."Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18230268418171628594noreply@blogger.com