C.G.E. Mannerheim in the history of Finland
Three great eras of Finnish history meet in the person of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim: 1) the period of autonomy (1809-1917), in which the the political, economic and cultural foundations of national independence were laid by bringing together the colourful, rich and often dramatic heritages from both Swedish and Russian reign; 2) the struggle for gaining and maintaining the independence (from 1918 on); 3) and the time of globalization (after the Continuation War).
Finland and the Finns were close to Mannerheim's heart in all these phases. Being a cosmopolitan, he had a rare ability to reconcile the national interests of a small, northern country with those of the great powers. He was a Swedish-speaking nobleman in origin, who had his military training and his earliest war experiences as an officer in the Russian Imperial army. This background was reflected in his role as a military and political leader of Finland, and seems to continue to affect the present and future of Finland as well.
Mannerheim did not approve of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, but he understood Russian mentality and appreciated Russia as one of the great powers. He was not particularly enthusiastic about the German intervention in the War of Independence, because he wanted to convince the Finns that the process of gaining independence lay primarily in their own hands. The extreme tragedy of the Civil War that divided the nation into "reds" and "whites" found expression in the strongly controversial emotions about Mannerheim.
Confronting a threat from outside, when the Soviet Union was attacking Finland in late autumn 1939, Mannerheim succeeded in uniting the nation in a courageous battle against the enemy far superior in force. In the Continuation War he aimed at the restoration of the territories Finland had been forced to cede to the Soviet Union, and the future security of the country. He was sufficiently broad-minded in regard to the affairs of the great powers, to refuse to actively participate in the siege of Leningrad and to cut trafic connections to Murmansk, but, on the other hand, to accept the German military assistance. After the large-scale Soviet offensive against Finland had begun in summer 1944, Finland needed Mannerheim's statesmanship as the Commander-in-Chief of the army and as the newly elected President to be able to defend herself and to withdraw from the war. The conclusion of the Truce and the Armistice in September 1944 together with the expulsion of the German troops from Finnish territory were both mentally and physically extremely demanding tasks for the 77-year-old Marshal.
Mannerheim was a national leader above the conflicts of the political parties as well as an internationally respected military leader. The proof of this was the fact that he was not prosecuted in the so-called war crime trials demanded by the Soviet Union, but was able to resign from presidency in 1946 on grounds of ill-health and high age.
When we evaluate Mannerheim's life and career in the light of the international and political situation of today, there are three factors that stand out. Firstly, his influence was of crucial importance when Finland was defending herself against the aggressive attack, based on Stalin's and Hitler's clandestine agreement on the division of the spheres of interest. It was Mannerheim that laid the foundations of Finnish sovereignity on which the international relations could be built. Secondly, at a very early stage, he was perspicacious enough to see the development of the Finnish-Soviet relations in a very realistic light. Thirdly, his cultural background and the liberal philosophy of his ideology eventually proved more viable than the totalitarian society represented by Soviet communism. In that sense, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the defeat of "real-socialism" in Russia was a victory for the Marshal of Finland.
COURSE OF LIFE | FAMILY | TIME OF GROWTH | MILITARY CAREER | WAR OF INDEPENDENCE | REGENT 1918-1919 | CIVILIAN | DEFENCE COUNCIL | COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 1939-1946 | PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 1944-1946 | RETIREMENT | SPECIAL TOPICS | SEARCH