Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Finland on a working visit on Friday evening the first of July 2016. The visit was at the invitation of President Sauli Niinistö (Sauli Niinistö). The heads of state met in Kultaranta, summer residence of the President of the Republic of Finland.
The main topics for discussion were NATO, the policy of the superpowers, a new arms race in the Baltic sea region and security policy. Issues were addressed related to the upcoming next week Niinistö trip to Warsaw to participate in the NATO summit.
Discussion in Kultaranta will go down in history of the two countries. The owners of the meeting began to ask questions from afar. Finns are interested in commemorative plaque Mannerheim, which was opened in Saint-Petersburg a week before the meeting.
In Putin’s delegation included Sergey Ivanov, who took part in the opening of the memorial plaque. Ivanov is a Putin confidant. In that time he has headed the presidential Administration.
Ivanov asked why on the plaque stated that Mannerheim was like in the service of Russia until 1918, but actually Mannerheim returned to Finland in late 1917. Ivanov explained that a report with a request of resignation was received only at the beginning of next year, the Bolsheviks accepted his resignation and appointed officers ‘ pension only in 1918. Red Communists appointed retired white General.
Putin also participated in the conversation. He noted that this retiree Soviet Union had to encounter later during the Winter war of 1939.
Putin also said that in the archives of Stalin found an interesting document. The reporters made an accurate record of Stalin’s speech, which he delivered in April 1940.
After only a month after the conclusion of peace after the Winter war, Stalin and other members of the Bids that represented the highest political and military leadership, discussed the experience of the Finnish war.
The discussion took place in the Kremlin, April 14-17, 1940. The secret meeting, which lasted four days, resulted in a long monologue of Stalin, in which he explained to his commanders the main objectives of the Winter war and their solution.
In the Kultaranta Putin unexpectedly promised to provide the host side of this document, which certainly seems interesting to her. Full text of Putin, however, promised, as some would “cover up black ink”.
The November document
Putin promised the document, the Ministry for foreign Affairs of Finland received in late November. Newspaper Iltalehti contacted the office of the President with a request to show this historic document is the time of the Winter war.
On 12 December the head of the press service of the President of Katri Makkonen (Makkonen Katri) email sent to the newspaper Iltalehti copy of a document received from Moscow.
Copy is the text of Stalin’s speech, which he delivered at the meeting before the military commanders in 1940. The text was translated into Finnish.
Iltalehti newspaper obtained a copy identical to the one that was sent to the Ministry of foreign Affairs and the office of the President. This was confirmed by the head of the press service of the President Makkonen. She also reported that the document was originally in the archives of Stalin.
Stalin’s archives are now distributed via various Russian state archives, single meeting no longer exists.
Found Putin Stalin’s speech, the Finnish specialist on the Second world war, Ohto Manninen (Ohto Manninen). 20 years ago, he studied the protocols and transcripts of this meeting Stalin and the red army command.
The protocols were found only in 1996. Kept them in the party archive in Moscow. According to Manninen, in obtaining permission to study documents related to the Winter war, was not a problem, as the issue was members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Ohto Manninen, and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Professor Oleg Rzheshevskiy co-wrote based on the protocols of a book called “the Red army holds the exam of Stalin” (Puna-armeija Stalinin tentissä), which was published in Finnish in 1997. The Russian version of the book appeared in 1999 under the name “I. V. Stalin and the Finnish campaign.”
Missing two parts
Iltalehti asked Professor Manninen compare provided Niinistö document Protocol version used in the Finnish book. They found the differences.
The translation of the text passed Niinistö made hastily. The Finnish language is not very good, from time to time it seems that a machine translation.
In the book Manninen translation is done perfectly. Translation into Finnish performed Klemela Kari (Kari Klemelä) on the basis of two versions of the protocols. Speakers, most likely, immediately made corrections in the second version, because the stenographers, according to Manninen, clearly heard some words wrong.
The so-called “black ink” version of Stalin’s speech, transmitted Niinistö, quite a lot. The new translation came from Moscow, contains less than half the original text of the speech.
In the text do not exist two related passages from Stalin’s speech delivered 17 April 1940, before the military command.
According to Manninen, one of the missing passages, Stalin gave an analysis of areas of operations and the weakness of his army. He reproached the military command and partly himself that the red army was commanded mostly veterans of the civil war. Civil war is not taught well to fight in a real war. And professional officers of the tsarist army came up the red army.
The war against Finland, the Red army went like a walk, thought Stalin.
In the document text, according to Manninen, the lack of the passage in which Stalin talks about the threat to create a government of Otto Ville Kuusinen (Otto Wille Kuusinen).
In this passage, in accordance with the original protocols, Stalin said in 1939 the Soviet Union left Finland only two options. The Finns agree to the revision of the state border, or the Soviet Union would break them to pieces, and Finland will come to power a government of Kuusinen, which will not leave from the Finnish managers of the living room.
“Either you, gentlemen of the Finnish bourgeoisie, go to the concessions or we give you a government of Kuusinen, which will disembowel you, and they chose the former,” said Stalin, according to the book Manninen.
Deliberate beginning of the war
Still interesting and most importantly, what is left of the original speech of Stalin in the text passed to Putin.
Manninen says that in this text there is a clear statement of Stalin that he started the war intentionally, and it became the stage of a great war, which later developed into the Second world war.
In the autumn of 1939 the Red army was not yet ready for war. Stalin was not interested, the last day of November, 1939, he was just ordered to start a war in anticipation of winter, and not, for example, in the spring of next year.
“As I recall, Putin once, according to the statements in the press, stated that Stalin, in this case, acted rationally,” says Manninen.
In accordance with the text, Stalin said that the war began due to the current international situation. In the West three superpowers were at each other’s throats. It was the best time to ensure the safety of Leningrad; use this opportunity to wring the neck of the Finns, while these powers were busy with other business.
If the decision was postponed for a couple of months, then, according to Stalin, it could lead to what would have had to postpone this step for twenty years, “because politics is not provided in advance.”
In Finland the army is bad
In the original Protocol statements about the Finnish army was more positive than in the text passed to Putin. Some participants even felt jealous of Finland.
In the instance passed to Niinistö, the Finnish army is only a rough estimate.
According to Stalin, the main weakness of the Finnish army consisted in the fact that she was hiding behind the rocks. According to him, the Finnish army was not trained to conduct active and passive defense. That is, she didn’t know how to go to the counter.
According to Stalin, the Finnish army was hopelessly outdated and improperly equipped. Finland did not have air forces and artillery.
According to Stalin, the Finnish army was good only for small views, such as to lure the enemy in the rear and surround. Stalin called such tactics tricks. A couple of times, this can pass, but the third time will not happen.
“The army cannot be kept together only by magic.”
“The army, which well leads a guerrilla offensive — goes to the rear, the debris does and everything else — I have an army called the army,” Stalin said in his speech.
“Most important victory”
The most important part of Stalin’s speech was the issue of security of the former Leningrad, present Saint Petersburg. Petersburg — the second capital of Russia.
The main remarks of Stalin about what he is willing to take the risk against Finland. The red army was not ready for war, not ready. Still Stalin took the risk, although he was not sure of the results of the war with Finland.
Stalin said that he was ready to the fact that the Soviet Union will not be able to capture Finland as it had happened. He expressed satisfaction that in result of the war, Helsinki was in a vise, as in accordance with the peace agreement was obtained Hanko Vyborg.
The cold runs through the skin, even now, when I read the last part of Stalin’s speech. Stalin said that the defeat of Finland was “not much of a challenge.”
“The main thing in our victory is that we broke the technique, the tactics and strategy of the advanced countries of Europe, representatives of which were teachers of the Finns. This is our main victory,” says Stalin.
After that, the participants rose from their seats and “staged in honor of comrade Stalin, the team a standing ovation”.
