Finland

Finland

Your assignment: Pick one country in Eastern Europe. Give a brief history of the country before and after the break up of the Soviet Union. As you explore your country, consider the following:

What were the major political and economic forces at work when the Soviet Union wielded power in the region, and how have those forces played out over the last 10 years?

I have chosen to write about Finland for my trip. As you can see Finland is located at the far north of this map and it shares boarders with Russia, Sweden and Norway. Finland's traces of human settlement date back to the thaw of the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago. The Finns' ancestors seem to have dominated half of northern Russia before arriving on the north of the Baltic coast well before the Christian era. By the end of the Viking Age, Swedish traders and chieftains had extended their interests throughout the Baltic region. Over the centuries, Finland has sat precariously between the Protestant Swedish empire and Eastern Orthodox Russia. For seven centuries, from the 12th century until 1809, it was part of Sweden.

Finland was blighted by constant battles with Russia, and severe famines. From 1696-97, famine killed a third of all Finns.

What are the ethnic, religious and cultural issues in that country, and how have they changed or been effected over time?

Tove Jansson, the author of the Moominland stories, probably has the highest international profile among contemporary Finns, although you cannot escape the design work of Alvar Aalto in public buildings, towns and furniture. Jean Sibelius, one of the greatest of modern composers, wrote recognisably Finnish pieces for the glorification of his people and in defiance of the Russian oppressor...

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... reached 2.9 % of GNP in 1999.

Industry and the Economy

Finland's road to industrialisation started in the 19th century with the harnessing of forest resources. Forests are still Finland's most crucial raw material resource, although the engineering and high technology industries, led by Nokia, have long been the leading branches of manufacturing. The most important export product today is the mobile phone and Finland is one of the few European countries whose exports exceed imports in data and communications technology. Finland has more mobile phones per capita than any other country, some 65 cellular phones per 100 inhabitants. Today, Finland is a typical advanced industrial economy. The net wealth of Finnish households is at the average level for member states of the European Union. In 2000, Finland's GNP per capita was around 25 500 euros (ca. 22 600 USD).