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Väinö Tanner in Finnish Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Marvin Rintala
Marvin Rintala*
Affiliation:
Brown University
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Extract

The late summer of 1914 demonstrated that for most European Social Democrats nationalism was far more powerful than Marxism in the event of a conflict between these ideologies. Some Social Democratic parties did not participate in this demonstration, however. Not until the late autumn of 1939 did it become apparent to all that Finnish Social Democrats, for example, were nationalists before they were Marxists. The fact that Finland was not a belligerent in World War I left this question open. Until the demands made by the Soviet Union in October-November, 1939, and the beginning of the Winter War (which included the abortive proclamation of a Soviet-sponsored Finnish Democratic Government), bourgeois Finns were uncertain about the response of Social Democrats to any serious Soviet challenge to continued Finnish independence. In view of the tragic Finnish Civil War of 1918, this uncertainty seemed grounded in historical fact. As the largest party in Finland (representing forty percent of the electorate in 1939), the Social Democrats' attitude would prove decisive in determining the strength of Finnish resistance to Soviet diplomatic and military pressure. Like other Finns, Social Democrats fought, sacrificed, and died to defend their nation. The visible symbol of the unity of this nation in the Winter War was the Social Democratic Foreign Minister, Väinö Tanner. It was at this point that Tanner stepped into world politics. A Finnish scholar has concluded that in the Moscow negotiations of 1939 the two Finnish delegates, Tanner and J. K. Paasikivi, “ … held the fate of Finland in their hands.”

Type
Articles
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 1961 , pp. 84 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1961

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References

1 Puntila, L. A., Väinö Tanner itsenaisyyden lujittajana ja puolustajana (Helsinki: KKn kirjapaino, 1956), p. 11.Google Scholar

2 “Stubborn Foe of Soviet: Väinö Alfred Tanner,” The New York Times, April 18, 1960.

3 Lindström, Richard, quoted in Sanat ja teot—sotasyylliset asiakirjojen valossa (Helsinki: Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto, 1945), p. 24.Google Scholar

4 The Memoirs of Marshal Mannerheim, Eric Lewenhaupt, trans. (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1954), p. 128.Google Scholar

5 Ibid., p. 271.

6 Tanner, Väinö, Suomen tie rauhaan 1943-44 (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Tammi, 1952), pp. 338–39,Google Scholar 391-92, 395-96. The divergence of this judgment from Mannerheim's lifetime political attitudes can be seen in my article on “The Politics of Gustaf Mannerheim“ in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Central European Affairs. Tanner's attitude towards Mannerheim also underwent a radical transformation from open hostility to ardent admiration. Tanner, Suomen tie, p. 327; Tanner, Kuinka se oikein tapahtui-Vuosi 1918 esivaiheineen ja jälkiselvittelyineen (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 1957), p. 346; Tanner, Itsenäisen Suomen arkea—Valikoima puheita (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 1956), p. 272; Sir Walter Citrine, My Finnish Diary (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1940), p. 70.

7 Soini, Yrjö, Kuin Pietari hiilivalkealla—Sotasyyllisyysasian vaiheet 1944-49 (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1956), p. 334;Google Scholar Tuominen, Arvo, “Poliittinen vastustaja,” in Laitinen, Olli and Nieminen, Matti, eds., Kuin kallioon hakattu—Vaino Tanner 75 vuotta 12. 3. 1956 (Helsinki: Sosialistinen aikakauslehti, 1956), p. 128.Google Scholar

8 Soini, Kuin, p. 232.

9 Ibid., p. 152.

10 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 273.

11 Kolehmainen, John I., in a review of Tanner's Itsenäisen Suomen arkea , in the Journal of Central European Affairs, Volume XVIII, Number 3 (October, 1958), p. 352.Google Scholar

12 Other members of the first parliamentary bloc of the party who were born in 1881 included Matti Airola, Ivar Hörhammer, Kalle Hämäläinen, Alma Jokinen, Santeri Nuorteva, Armas Paasonen, and Sulo Wuolijoki. In the second election two other youthful Finns, destined to become world-famous, also born in 1881, were added to this bloc: Edvard Gylling and Otto Kuusinen. Tanner, Vaino, Nuorukainen etsii sijaansa yhteiskunnassa (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Tammi, 1951), p. 318.Google Scholar

13 Based on information obtained from official biographies of members of Parliament contained in Suomen eduskunta 1958-61 (Helsinki: Valtioneuvoston kirjapaino, 1958).

14 That its chief rival, the Finnish People's Democratic League (Communist), is having similar difficulties is argued in my article on “The Problem of Generations in Finnish Communism,” The American Slavic and East European Review, Volume XVII, Number 2 (April, 1958), pp. 190–202.Google Scholar Of the fifty members elected on the Communist ticket in 1958, however, thirteen were born after 1918. Furthermore, the youth activity of the Social Democratic Party suffered from the split within the party organization in the late 1950's, while the Communist youth groups are integrated and forever active.

15 Salin, who brought the young Tanner into the party leadership, did not want to run for the first Parliament. After Salin had finally been persuaded to run for election, serving in Parliament “ … was for him like being in a penal institution. He was not made for parliamentary work.” Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 275. Walpas-Hänninen's desire to avoid the responsibility of taking part in party decisions is legendary among Finnish politicians.

16 Untamo Utrio, “Miehen muotokuva,” in Laitinen, Kuin kallioon, p. 35.

17 Nousiainen, Jaakko, Puolueet puntarissa (Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä, 1959), p. 35.Google Scholar

18 Tanner, Itsenäisen, pp. 76, 296.

19 Ibid., pp. 267-68.

20 Utrio, “Miehen muotokuva,” p. 21.

21 Väinö Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” in Laitinen, Kuin kallioon, p. 94. In an earlier parliamentary debate Tanner referred to himself as a businessman. 1932 Valtiopaivat, Poytakirjat I, p. 461.

22 Citrine, My Finnish Diary, p. 63.

23 Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 334.

24 Ibid., p. 192.

25 1931 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat I, p. 251.

26 R. H. Oittinen, “Aatteen mies,” in Laitinen, Kuin kallioon, p. 81.

27 Utrio, “Miehen muotokuva,” pp. 17, 35; Tanner, Nuorukainen, pp. 21, 69; Tanner, , Näin Helsingin kasvavan (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 1949), p. 279.Google Scholar

28 Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 288.

29 Citrine, My Finnish Diary, p. 59. Blue and white, of course, are the colors of the Finnish flag. Later, in his memoirs, Tanner related this story with obvious approval. Tanner, Väinö, Olin ulkoministerinä talvisodan aikana (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 1950), pp. 224–25.Google Scholar

30 1936 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat I, pp. 852-53; Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 212.

31 Tanner, Itsenäisen, pp. 305-06.

32 Tanner, Suomen tie, p. 236.

33 Oittinen, “Aatteen mies,” p. 83.

34 Puntila, Väinö Tanner.

35 Tanner's conception of culture was clearly national in nature. Tanner, Itsendisen, p. 119.

36 Ibid., pp. 198-99; 1935 Ylimääräiset Valtiopäivät, Poytakirjat, pp. 57-58.

37 1935 Ylimäärääiset Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat, p. 59; Tanner, Itsenaisen, p. 201. Tanner failed to see that any question which led to a special session of Parliament and immense public agitation was obviously important. This was one of the few instances in which he confused what was with what should have been.

38 Tanner, Itsenaisen, p. 261.

39 Ibid., p. 205; 1934 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat, III p. 3101; 1935 Ylimääräiset Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat, p. 61.

40 Tanner, Näin, pp. 287-88.

41 Ibid., pp. 14, 41, 94, 134; Puntila, Väino Tanner, pp. 4-5.

42 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 42.

43 Ibid., p. 128.

44 1936 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat I, p. 854; Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 214.

45 It was in Germany that the young Tanner was first converted to Social Democracy; he remained loyal to his master, Heinrich Kaufmann, until the latter's death. Tanner also maintained extremely close personal relations, not only with Social Democratic leaders throughout Western and Northern Europe, but also with cooperative leaders, especially in Scandinavia and Great Britain.

46 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 53.

47 Tanner, Olin, pp. 68-69, 183-84.

48 Ibid., pp. 61-62.

49 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 304.

50 Suomen Sosialidemokraatti, August 27, 1958.

51 Izvestia, August 29, 1958. I am indebted to John H. Hodgson for this reference.

52 Tanner, Näin, p. 164.

53 Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 19.

54 This point, as well as the significance of the concept of political generation, is amplified in my forthcoming book, Three Generations: The Extreme Right Wing in Finnish Politics.

55 The impact upon post-1944 Finnish politics of this loss was analyzed in an editorial in Finland's largest newspaper, dealing specifically with the problem of political generations. “Sukupolvien vaihdos,” Helsingin Sanomat, December 16, 1956.

56 That they were anti-Russian, of course, does not mean that they were responsible for Finland's participation in World War II. Their conviction was part of the price paid by the Finnish nation for continued independence of the Soviet Union. The price these men paid must be weighed against the price the Finnish nation would have paid if they had not been convicted.

57 These dates are taken from Söderström, H. R. and Tallqvist, J. O., eds., Vem och Vadt Biografisk handbok 1941 (Helsingfors: Holger Schildts Forlag, 1941).Google Scholar

58 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 280.

59 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 237.

60 Tanner, Olin, p. 28.

61 Tanner was correctly considered the “strong man” of the Cabinet, even by foreign observers. Simon, E. D., “Finland: A Democracy in the Making,” in his The Smaller Democracies (London: Victor Gollancz, 1939), p. 158.Google Scholar

62 Tanner, Olin, p. 54.

63 Ibid., p. 153; Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 322.

64 Tanner, Olin, p. 187.

65 Ibid., pp. 207, 270, 301-02.

66 wIbid., pp. 234, 248.

67 Frietsch, C. O., Suomen kohtalonvuodet (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 1945), pp. 99–100.Google Scholar

68 Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 213.

69 Paasikivi, J. K., Toimintani Moskovassa ja Suomessa 1939-41—I. Talvisota (Porvoo: Werner Söderstrom Osakeyhtiö, 1958), pp. 11,Google Scholar 13, 57, 64, 118, 134.

70 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 296.

71 Paasikivi, Toimintani, p. 64.

72 This fact has led to the remarkable phenomenon of postwar years, when Tanner the Social Democrat has become the favorite of the Finnish right wing, especially the National Coalition Party. This affair reached its peak in the 1956 presidential election when he was the dark horse candidate (although unused) of the National Coalitionists, but not of Social Democrats.

73 Paasikivi, J. K., Toimintani Moskovassa ja Suomessa 1939-41—II. Välirauhan aika (Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 1958), pp. 66–68,Google Scholar 70, 75-76; Hyvamaki, Lauri, Vaaran vuodet 1944-48 (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava, 1957), p. 27.Google Scholar

74 Paasikivi, Toimintani—II, p. 127; Hirvikallio, Paavo, Tasavallan presidentin vaalit Suomessa 1919-50 (Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 1958) , pp. 89–90.Google Scholar

75 Tanner, Suomen tie, pp. 145, 327; Arvi Korhonen, “Valtiomies,” in Laitinen, Kuin kallioon, p. 43.

76 Parvilahti, Unto, Berijan tarhat—Havaintoja ja muistikuvia Neuvostoliitosta vuosilta 1945-54 (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1958), p. 181.Google Scholar

77 Uusi Suomi, October 27, 1957.

78 The New York Times, October 25, 1957.

79 Helsingin Sanomat, January 25, 1959.

80 Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 316; Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” p. 95.

81 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 263; Oittinen, “Aatteen mies,” pp. 79-80.

82 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 276.

83 ibid., pp. 9, 209-10, 221, 240-41, 270.

84 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 329.

85 Ibid., p. 82; Tanner, Nuorukainen, p. 351; Tanner, Suomen tie, p. 382; Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 227; 1920 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat III, p. 2178.

86 Based on information obtained from official biographies of members of Parliament contained in Suomen eduskunta 1922-24 (Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1923).Google Scholar

87 Enckell, Arvid, Democratic Finland (London: Herbert Joseph, no date), p . 129.Google Scholar

88 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 124; Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” p. 96. I

89 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 155; Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” pp. 96-97.

90 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 191.

91 Ibid., p. 193; Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” p. 97.

92 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 195. It is inaccurate to state that Tanner was “a reluctant supporter of the Red insurrection of 1918,” as does Smith, C. Jay Jr., Finland and the Russian Revolution 1917-22 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1958), p. 90.Google Scholar

93 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 200.

94 Tyomies, April 10, 1918.

95 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 285.

96 Matti Leppo, “Valtiotalousmies,” in Laitinen, Kuin kallioon, p. 130.

97 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 10; see also ibid., pp. 9, 13-14, 72-73, 271.

98 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 194.

99 1926 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat III, 3184: Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 117; 1931 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat I, 265.

100 1935 Ylimääräiset Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat, p. 57; Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 198.

101 Tanner, Itsenäisen, p. 270.

102 Ibid., pp. 75-76; Leskinen, “Puolueen johtaja,” p. 101.

103 Tanner, Kuinka, pp. 302-03; Tuominen, “Poliittinen vastustaja,” pp. 118-19.

104 Tanner, Itsenäisen, pp. 95-96.

105 Ibid., p. 132.

106 Ibid., p. 347.

107 Tanner, Kuinka, p. 338.

108 Tanner, Suomen tie, pp. 370-71.

109 1931 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat 11, 1927-28; 1932 Valtiopäivät, Pöytäkirjat, I, 288; Tanner, Itsenaisen, p. 314.

110 1934 Valtiopaivat, Poytakirjat I, 857.

111 Tanner, Itsenaisen, 267.

112 Ibid., p. 239.