FINLAND

officially Republic of Finland, Finnish Suomi, or Suomen Tasavalta, Swedish Finland, or Republiken Finland northern European country, a third of it lying north of the Arctic Circle. Finland extends for about 725 miles (1,165 km) from north to south and about 340 miles (550 km) from east to west at its widest. It is bordered on the north by Norway, on the northwest by Sweden, on the west by the Gulf of Bothnia, on the south by the Gulf of Finland, and on the east by Russia. The capital is Helsinki. Area including inland water, 130,559 square miles (338,145 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 5,058,000. officially Republic of Finland, Finnish Suomi, or Suomen Tasavalta, Swedish Finland, or Republiken Finland, European country. It is one of the world's most northern and geographically remote countries and is subject to a severe climate. It is bordered on the north by Norway, on the northwest by Sweden, on the southwest by the Gulf of Bothnia, on the south by the Gulf of Finland, and on the east by Russia. Its area is 130,559 square miles (338,145 square kilometres), of which the land Islands, an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, constitute 590 square miles. About one-third of the territory of Finlandmost of the lni (province) of Lappilies north of the Arctic Circle. The capital is Helsinki. Finland was part of Sweden from the 12th century until 1809. It then was a Russian grand duchy until, following the Russian Revolution, the Finns declared independence on Dec. 6, 1917. Finland's area decreased by about one-tenth during the 1940s, when it ceded the Petsamo (Pechenga) area, which had been a corridor to the ice-free Arctic coast, and a large part of southeastern Karelia to the Soviet Union (ceded portions now in Russia). Throughout the Cold War era, Finland maintained a carefully neutral political position, although a 1948 treaty with the Soviet Union (terminated 1991) required Finland to repel any attack on the Soviet Union carried out through Finnish territory by Germany or any of its allies. Since World War II, Finland has steadily increased its trading and cultural relations with other countries. Under a U.S.-Soviet agreement, Finland was admitted to the United Nations in 1955. Since 1955, Finland has sent representatives to the Nordic Council, which makes suggestions to member countries on the coordination of policies. Finland's international activities became more widely known when the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which resulted in the creation of the Helsinki Accords, was held in that city in 1975. Finland has continued to have especially close ties with the other Scandinavian countries, sharing a free labour market and participating in various economic, cultural, and scientific projects. Finland became a member of the European Union (and its constituent European Community) in 1995. Additional reading General works Overviews are provided in Riitta da Costa and Paul Kojo (eds.), Facts About Finland, 2nd ed. (1985); Sylvie Nickels, Hillar Kallas, and Philippa Friedman (eds.), Finland: An Introduction, 2nd rev. ed. (1973); Max Engman and David Kirby (eds.), Finland: People, Nation, State (1989); Eric Solsten and Sandra W. Meditz (eds.), Finland: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (1990); and Finland Handbook (annual), published by the Finnish Tourist Board. Markku Ilmari Henriksson The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Geography W.R. Mead, An Historical Geography of Scandinavia (1981); and Kalevi Rikkinen, A Geography of Finland, trans. from Finnish (1992), provide comprehensive surveys. A broad interpretive treatment, with a look at the social customs of Finland, is found in Philip Ward, Finnish Cities: Travels in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, and Lapland (1987).Ethnological studies include Aurlien Sauvageot, Les Anciens Finnois (1961); and William A. Wilson, Folklore and Nationalism in Modern Finland (1976). Social life and customs are explored in Aini Rajanen, Of Finnish Ways (1981); Caj Bremer and Antero Raevuori, The World of the Sauna (1986; originally published in Finnish, 1985); Antti Tuuri, The Face of Finland, ed. by Pauli Kojo, trans. from Finnish (1983); and Anneke Lipsanen, The Finnish Folk Year: A Perpetual Diary & Book of Days, Ways, and Customs (1987).Finland's economy is discussed in Fred Singleton, The Economy of Finland in the Twentieth Century (1986); Riitta Hjerppe, The Finnish Economy, 18601985: Growth and Structural Change (1989; originally published in Finnish, 1988); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Reviews of National Science and Technology Policy: Finland (1987); Environmental High-Technology from Finland (1986), published by the Ministry of the Environment; Economic Survey (annual), published by the Ministry of Finance; and Finnish Industry, rev. ed. (1982), an overview of developments, published by the Bank of Finland.Government and politics are analyzed in D.G. Kirby, Finland in the Twentieth Century (1979); Anthony F. Upton, Peter P. Rohoe, and A. Sparring, Communism in Scandinavia and Finland (also published as The Communist Parties of Scandinavia and Finland, 1973); Juhani Mylly and R. Michael Berry (eds.), Political Parties in Finland (1984); Jaakko Nousiainen, The Finnish Political System (1971; originally published in Finnish, 3rd ed., 1967); David Arter, Politics and Policy-Making in Finland (1987); and Risto Alapuro, State and Revolution in Finland (1988).Finnish architecture and design are discussed in J.M. Richards, 800 Years of Finnish Architecture (1978); Erik Kruskopf, Finnish Design, 18751975: 100 Years of Finnish Industrial Design (1975); Elizabeth Gaynor, Finland, Living Design (1984, reissued 1995); and Jaakko Lintinen et al., Finnish Vision: Modern Art, Architecture, and Design, trans. from Finnish (1983). Other studies of national art and culture include John Boulton Smith, The Golden Age of Finnish Art: Art Nouveau and the National Spirit, 2nd rev. ed. (1985); Marianne Aav and Kaj Kalin, Form Finland, trans. from Finnish (1986), on decorative arts; Jaakko Ahokas, A History of Finnish Literature (1973); Matti Kuusi, Keith Bosley, and Michael Branch (eds. and trans.), Finnish Folk Poetry: Epic: An Anthology in Finnish and English (1977); Kai Laitinen, Literature of Finland: An Outline, 2nd ed., trans. from Finnish (1994); Kalevala, ed. by Aivi Gallen-Kallela and trans. by W.F. Kirby (1986), a jubilee edition of the national epic, illustrated by Akseli Gallen-Kallela; The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People, trans. by Eino Friberg and ed. by George C. Schoolfield (1988); Antony Hodgson, Scandinavian Music: Finland & Sweden (1984); Paavo Helist, Music in Finland (1980); and Maija Savutie, Finnish Theatre: A Northern Part of World Theatre, trans. from Finnish (1980). Ilmari Sundblad The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica History General works on Finnish history include John H. Wuorinen, A History of Finland (1965); Eino Jutikkala and Kauko Pirinen, A History of Finland, 4th rev. ed. (1984; originally published in Finnish, 1966); Eino Jutikkala, Atlas of Finnish History, 2nd rev. ed. (1959); Byron J. Nordstrom (ed.), Dictionary of Scandinavian History (1986); Fred Singleton, A Short History of Finland (1989); and Matti Klinge, A Brief History of Finland, trans. from Finnish, 10th ed. (1994).More detailed discussions of events in the 19th and 20th centuries are available in Juhani Paasivirta, Finland and Europe: International Crises in the Period of Autonomy, 18081914, ed. and abridged by D.G. Kirby (1981; originally published in Finnish, 1978); L.A. Puntila, The Political History of Finland, 18091966 (1974; originally published in Finnish, 5th rev. and improved ed., 1971); Anthony F. Upton, The Finnish Revolution, 19171918 (1980), a comprehensive analysis, and Finland, 19391940 (1974); and Max Jakobson, Finland Survived: An Account of the Finnish-Soviet Winter War, 19391940, 2nd enlarged ed. (1984).Foreign relations are the main topic of Tuomo Polvinen, Between East and West: Finland in International Politics, 19441947, ed. and trans. by D.G. Kirby and Peter Herring (1986; originally published in Finnish, 3 vol., 197981); Roy Allison, Finland's Relations with the Soviet Union, 19441984 (1985); R. Michael Berry, American Foreign Policy and the Finnish Exception (1987); and Max Jakobson, Finland: Myth and Reality (1987). The Yearbook of Finnish Foreign Policy, published by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, is another helpful source. Markku Ilmari Henriksson The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Administration and social conditions Government Finland adopted a republican constitution in 1919; it has been amended several times, notably in the mid-1990s. Legislative power in Finland rests in the unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta), which consists of 200 members elected for four-year terms, and in the president of the republic, whose term of office is six years. Executive power is shared by the president and the Council of State, or cabinet, at the meetings of which the president takes the chair. The president appoints the prime minister and the cabinet. A clause in the constitution specifically stresses that government ministers are responsible to Parliament. The president's six-year term of office and the possibility of reelection enhance his powers and provide the country with an important source of stability, in view of the frequent changes of government caused by the multiparty system. In cases of complete deadlock, the president can appoint a nonpolitical caretaker government. Government bills can be introduced into Parliament in the president's name; the president can refuse to sign a bill but must endorse it if it is passed in a subsequent Parliament. The president can dissolve Parliament at any time, has certain decree-making powers, and is the head of the armed forces. The president conducts the country's foreign policy, but decisions on major treaties and questions of war and peace must be validated by Parliament. Regional and local government Finland is divided into 6 lnit (provinces)land (Ahvenamaa), Etel-Suomi (Southern Finland), It-Suomi (Eastern Finland), Lnsi-Suomi (Western Finland), Lapi, and Oulueach under a governor (maaherra) appointed by the president. The provincial governor is in charge of the provincial office (lninhallitus) and the local sheriffs (nimismies). land (Ahvenanmaa), in addition to having a provincial governor, has its own local council, elected by universal suffrage, and a county executive board. The provinces of Finland are divided into communes, which may be rural or urban in character. Each commune council, elected for a four-year term, chooses its executive board. Communes are responsible for local health, education, and social services, as well as for such amenities as roads in their particular areas.