How Finland Survived Stalin

From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950

Kimmo Rentola, Richard Robinson

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Hardback

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English

Yale University
08 February 2024

History; European history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; The Cold War; Second World War

A dramatic and timely account of Stalin’s failed invasion of Finland in 1939, and the decade of wars and fraught relations that followed

In November 1939, Stalin directed his military leaders to launch an invasion of Finland. In what became known as the Winter War, the full might of the Soviet army was pitted against this small Nordic republic. Yet despite their vastly superior military strength, the Soviets suffered heavy losses and failed to mount Stalin’s intended full-scale invasion.

How did Finland evade Stalin’s crosshairs—not once, but three times more?

In this groundbreaking account, Kimmo Rentola traces the epochal shifts in Soviet-Finnish relations. From the Winter War to Finland’s exit from World War II in 1944, a possible Soviet-backed coup in 1948, and Moscow’s designation of Finland as an enemy state in 1950, Finland was forced to navigate Stalin’s outsize political and territorial demands. Rentola presents a dramatic reconstruction of Finland’s unlikely survival at a time when the nation’s very existence was at stake.

By: Kimmo Rentola
Translated by: Richard Robinson
Imprint: Yale University
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780300273618
ISBN 10: 0300273614
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 08 February 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kimmo Rentola is professor emeritus of political history at the University of Helsinki. His research focuses on the history of the Cold War, Soviet-Finnish relations, and Finnish and Nordic communism. This is his first book translated into English.

Reviews for How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950

“This is a pioneering work on Soviet-Finnish relations in the critical period between the Winter War and the death of Stalin. Using archives around the world, Rentola explores in stunning detail the complex story of Finnish survival.”—Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe “There is no other book like this one. Rentola treats Stalin as a serious strategist and demonstrates how pragmatic, flexible and ruthless he could be.”—Ronald Suny, author of Stalin: Passage to Revolution “No one is better equipped than Kimmo Rentola to tell the extraordinary story of Finland’s relations with Stalin and the Soviets. His penetrating insight, flawless judgement and matchless command of Finnish and Russian sources have produced a masterpiece.”—Geoffrey Roberts, author of Stalin’s Library “A masterfully-written and elegant work. Rentola’s precise and compact narration deepens and widens the understanding of Finland’s fateful years.”—Lauri Jäntti Prize Jury