Finlands historia

by Henrik Meinander

A book about the history of Finland.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Finnish Literature, Historical, Scandinavian Literature

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dovaidas Pabiržis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knyga parašyta kiek probėgšmais, gana glaustai apžvelgiant visą Suomijos istoriją nuo žmonių gyvenimo šiame krašte pradžios iki 2014 metų. Vis dėlto, šios šalies geopolitiniai, ekonominiai, socialiniai ir kiti panašumai su Lietuva paverčia knygą išties aktualia. Stilius lengvas, pasakojimas - neapkrautas, tad įspūdis, jog leidinys kurtas užsienio auditorijai. Šįkart tai labiau privalumas nei minusas. Nepaisant kiek proginio knygos pobūdžio (rodos išleista Suomijos šimtmečiui paminėti), knygos autorius geba išvinguriuoti tarp meilės savo šaliai, patriotizmo, šiauriečiams būdingos panegirikos ir kritiškų ne pačių puošniausių valstybės istorijos epizodų vertinimo.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This book isn't really meant to be a survey course on the history of Finland; rather, it is a search for the events in the past that specifically led to the current state of Finland today as a country and a part of the EU. As such, the author picks and chooses among Finland/Europe's history, looking for those incidents that were pivotal to the country's formation.

What that means is that the book quickly glosses over or ignores events such as the Civil War (which was deemed by the author as a skirmish and merited 1-2 pages in the book). As well, the Winter War was only 1-2 pages but a lot more time was spent on the Continuation War and its repercussions.

Quite a lot of the book is mostly about the politics, GDP, and external influences. This led to some interesting viewpoints since major cities such as Turku frequently had mostly non-Finnish speaking residents and it wasn't really considered a part of Finland - more as a remote province of Sweden. But I did like the big picture perspective of e.g., the issues with the unstable Swedish monarchy and how it affected the territory of Finland either directly or indirectly.

Since the book is mostly about modern Finland (the last 100 years of being an actual independent country), you'll find you are already at the 1880s by the first half of the book. There isn't much covered in that early part - mostly about Sweden, Turku and then eventually Helsinki. That isn't to say there were not some very fascinating facts throughout, though (E.g., why there is a Lion on the shield of Finland, how Turku had few Finns in it throughout history, how Tampere is a result of the Russian Czar putting a city there, and how large companies like Finlayson were pretty much created by Russia).

The book is a very dry read. And like so many Finnish historical books, there is a tendency to state interesting facts without really telling you WHY that thing happened. This makes the book a quick read since it isn't overly wordy but also a flat read - the author doesn't understand his audience and doesn't recognize the reasons they want to read a book like this. He also doesn't recognize which facts are salient and deserving of more detail discussions those that don't (endless GDP figures and political factions). The book begs for footnotes or callouts.

For English readers, there are a LOT of obscure words to trip over. Have a dictionary ready. But there are also interesting photographs/prints of historical items to gloss over amidst all the dry text. So yes, this is a book very a very narrow purpose (hence the reason it is "A History of Finland" and not "THE History Of Finland"). The guiding theme of the book is to understand how the modern day Finland ended up the way it is in 2020.

[Данило Судин · Rating 4 out of 5]

Оновлення від 2021 р. Загалом, тепер мені вся ця книга видається структурно неоднорідною. Автор намагався описати все - націєтворення, економіку, політику, міждержавні відносини, війни. Ясна річ, що в одну розповідь це все не з'єднувалося - це ж історія багатовимірна. Але відсутність єдиного фокусу часто спонукала автора просто "насипати" факти. А невеликий обсяг книги - скорочувати і деколи спотворювати описи певний подій.
Втім, як перше знайомство з історією Фінляндії цілком вартує уваги! Хоча я б поєднував читання цієї книги Мейнандера з читанням Від Великого Князівства до сучасної держави: Політична історія Фінляндії від 1809 року.

(Огляд 2017 р.) Цікава книга, яка дозволяє зрозуміти, як Фінляндія змогла стати незалежною державою в 1918 р. і втримати незалежність під час міжвоєнного двадцятиліття та тиску з боку СРСР.
Книга заслуговувала б і на "5", якби автор не втиснув історію після 1945 р. в два розділи, причому намагаючись розповісти і про зовнішню політику, і про економіку, і про освіту... Вийшло дуже зіжмакано. Крім того, починаючи з викладу історії Фінляндії від 1809 р. автор зосереджується на питанні націєтворення, проте повністю зістрибує з цієї лінії в розповіді про події після 1945 р., що розчаровує: як змінилася (якщо змінилася) фінська нація після двох світових воєн.
Втім, книга варта уваги - заради розуміння націєтворчих процесів в Європі ХІХ-ХХ ст.

[Jokūbas Kodoras · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great book for those who don't have any knowledge about the Finnish history and also for those who want to refresh their memory on it. But for those who know Finnish history well - do not bother reading it. It's only dry facts and a concise explanation of the events that happened from the Ice Age until the beginning of the 21st century.

All in all - a recommended book for those who are interested in Finland and it's rise to a welfare state.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Finnish history from a swedish perspective. While it was interesting to hear how royal situations in Sweden affected Finland over the years, it also feels like the author left out a lot of significant things. For example, there was almost no mention of the Sami people and the relationship with the Finnish government. Also, the Finnish civil war is breezed through in a couple of pages, but that was obviously an enormous event for Finns.

[Tomas Kirša · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suomija visada buvo įdomu, bet niekada nesupratau to “love&hate” santykio su Švedija ir Rusija. Nežinojau, kad Suomija turėjo “vargšės pamergės” dalią ir ilgąlaik didžioji dalis kalbėjo švediškai, bei kodėl tokia ta meilė socializmui. Virtimas tauta ir nepriklausoma respublika būtų buvęs neįmanomas be didelių įvykių Europoje. Dabar idaug panašumų su Lietuva, kuriuos verta atrasti kiekvienam.

[Lauri Särkkä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiivis, todella tiivis yhteenveto Suomen historiasta kivikaudelta 2000-luvun alkuun.

[Zachary Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a concise history of Finland and the Finnish people.

This book starts right from the beginning describing how the country’s unique geography was shaped by the Ice Age. From early in it’s history the lands of what would become Finland came under the cultural sway of it’s more powerful neighbour Sweden. This has up to the present day left a cultural mark on Finland, with around 250,000 Finnish people speaking Swedish as a first language.

Finland eventually became an integral part of the Swedish Empire, hence that much of the book charts Finland’s development in the context of Swedish history. During it’s Great Power period Finland was either on the frontline or near the frontline in Sweden’s continuous wars for expansion. Life for ordinary Finnish people relied mainly on agriculture and forestry.

Russia annexed Finland on mutual agreement with Finnish nobles in the early 19th century. But this was with an understanding with the Russian Government that Finland would be given some autonomy within the Russian Empire. Fortunately for the Finnish, but not for the Russians, this era led to great social, cultural and economic development which in hindsight made independence inevitable.

The 20th century was perhaps the most transformative for Finland. An attempted Bolshevik seizure of power sparked a declaration of independence which led to civil war. The era of the Second World War led to 3 wars one after the other for Finland: the Winter War, Continuation War and the Lapland War. The author gives an interesting account of postwar Finland. Much of this era was dominated by the President Kekkonen, who dominated Finnish politics for 25 years, keeping relations close with the Soviet Union.
Overall, for someone who didn’t know much about the country before, I thought the author gave a decent attempt at giving myself a general overview. The author spent much of the book defining Finnish history in the context of Sweden. I did however feel that such focus seemed to short-change what was a very busy 20th century. The Winter War in particular is well known in European history, when Finland valiantly fought the Soviets to a standstill. But it is only briefly talked about in this book. In fairness the author does go to efforts to make one appreciate the massive economic and social development that has taken place in Finland in the past 70 years.

What I did appreciate from reading this book is that for centuries Finland and it’s people’s destiny has largely been dictated by great powers. For the first time in a while they have the power to confidently chart their own future. Good luck to them.

[Martti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely concise overview of Finland with a perfect level of detail for me. Including the perspective of the neighbors which dictated the history for long, meaning Sweden, Russia, but also the rest of Scandinavia and the Baltics. As an Estonian, I was also on the lookout for some Suomi-Viro connections. Know thy neighbors! So what follows are my helicopter view takeouts of the most interesting etudes.

Gustav Vasa founded Helsingfors/Helsinki in 1550.

But despite the active efforts of local government to attract merchants and citizens to Helsingfors, the new city came nowhere near to fulfilling the king's expectations. One specific intention had been to outstrip the Hansa city of Reval (Tallinn) on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. Only a few years later a war broke out between Russia and the Teutonic Order in the Baltic which shifted Russian export trade from Reval to Viborg, and in 1561 Reval and all of northern Estonia was annexed to Sweden's empire, completely remodelling the economic geography of the region. Newly founded Helsingfors was paralysed, but over the following two centuries its economic significance and population was to grow slowly but surely.

Riga was the largest city of Swedish world in 17th century.

In the sixteenth century its languages were Swedish, Finnish, Estonian and Lappish (Sami). In the following century the affairs of German, Danish, Latvian, Polish and Russian subjects had to be administered too.


Svergie - etymology of the word. Svea tribe, one of the original inhabitants. Rike, riik, state, kingdom. Svea rike - Svergie.


Swedish naval victory in the sea battle at Svensksund (Ruotsinsalmi, now Kotka) in 1790.


In Russian Finland there was a marked switch away from tar-burning to the sawmill industry. One reason was the use of a new kind of fine-bladed saw which could be driven very effectively by the abundant waterfalls in south-eastern Finland. The innovation came from Holland and had started to spread around the Baltic from Ingria in the early eighteenth century. It was a technical advance that would come to have a revolutionary impact on the entire coniferous forest area of north-eastern Europe, but Swedish government restrictions on forestry delayed its progress across the Swedo-Russian border in Finland. This was very much to the advantage of Russian Finland and the merchants of Vyborg, who swiftly established themselves as sawmill owners and found lucrative markets in St Petersburg and western Europe.


From the mid-sixteenth century Finland had had two bishoprics. After the loss of Vyborg the eastern bishopric was transferred to Borgå (Porvoo). But the Åbo diocese, with approximately 270 parishes, remained a considerably larger community than Borgå, whose 130 parishes were in eastern and south-eastern Finland.


three of the four towns that were founded during Gustav III's reign were in Finland: Tammerfors (Tampere), 1779; Kuopio, 1782; and Kaskö (Kaskinen), 1786.


Swedish and British naval vessels managed to trap the Russian fleet in its Estonian harbour of Baltischport (now Paldiski) while the Swedish archipelago fleet was gaining a foothold in the Åbo skerries. On the mainland the Russians held their positions without difficulty, compelling the Swedo-Finnish troops to make a further and final retreat across the Gulf of Bothnia in the autumn of 1808. When Gustav IV Adolf refused to concede that the defeat was conclusive and tried to organise yet another counter-offensive, the smouldering resentment against him intensified into a coup d'état in March of 1809. The king was obliged to abdicate in favour of his uncle Karl XIII, who in practice, however, was subordinate to one of Napoleon's leading generals, the new successor to the Swedish throne, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, in 1818 given the name Karl XIV Johan. Bernadotte was elected in the hope of French support for a reconquest of Finland. But such expectations had to be gradually relinquished.


in March 1812 the emperor decided to move the capital from Åbo (Turku) to Helsinki, which, being adjacent to the fortress of Sveaborg, had distinct strategic advantages. At least as significant was the imperial decree of 1812 incorporating the guberniya of Vyborg into the Grand Duchy of Finland. The amalgamation brought the laws and administration of Swedish Finland into effect in Russian Finland, often called Old Finland after 1809.


There were no groups social elite identified closely with the state and national ideology.
Comparison with developments in the Baltic countries serves to clarify Finland's distinctive position: the power of the Baltic aristocracy was based on substantial landholdings, and they had no interest in strengthening state control or allying themselves with the peasantry, so the emergence of any strong national coalition would have been much more difficult.


Tsar Alexander announced at the Diet of Borgå in 1809 that the Grand Duchy was freed from the obligation of passing on tax revenues to the Empire's national Treasury. The surplus from the Finnish economy was totally insignificant by Russian ore standards, but the decision was accepted with profound gratitude, because it meant that all public funds could thenceforth be used for Finland's own needs.


The Russian military command had foreseen this and begun strengthening the sea defences of St Petersburg, including the reinforcement of the forts along the south and west coasts of Finland and augmentation of Russian troops in the country to a total of about 70,000. And sure enough, in the summer of 1854 Western naval forces attacked a number of Finnish ports and also completely demolished the fortress of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands.


A few weeks later Western forces captured the main theatre of operations, the Russian fortress of Sebastopol on the Crimean peninsula. With that, the war was over, and peace was declared in March of 1856, with Russia having to relinquish its naval bases on the Black Sea and in the Åland Islands.


Uleåborg (Oulu)


In the summer of 1906 Finland's four-Estate parliament was replaced by a single-chamber legislature, and the following year its first 200 members were elected by universal and equal suffrage. The number of those qualified to vote shot up tenfold overnight (from 126,000 to 1,300,000), and the women of Finland were the first in Europe to have the right to vote.


The law came into force in the summer of 1919 but soon proved ineffectual and was repealed in 1932, after a referendum in which some 71 per cent voted against the continuance of prohibition. In practice con the police had had little success in preventing restaurants from ou serving alcohol. The Act also resulted in large-scale smuggling holds of spirits from Estonia, which seriously undermined people's de respect for the law.


Western oil giant Standard Oil (now ExxonMobil) was rebranded in Finland as Esso (see ainoa oikea)?

[hami · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is a very naïve and one-sided (almost colonial) history of Finland. Throughout the book, there is no mention of discrimination against the Saammi indigenous people. The writer often is focusing too narrowly on some negative and unimportant details of Russian politics without giving a context.

Includes some nationalist remarks that if it's not racist, it will eventually lead to racism:

"Linguistic uniformity has facilitated the preservation of national culture, of course, and has produced excellent results in international comparison of educational achievement in schools, but according to future studies, linguistic homogeneity is not necessarily an advantage for a small nation. It hinders the integration of immigrants into society and can even militate against the influx of skilled workers, something that a high-tech country cannot afford in a long run. The educated classes in Finland already speak English fairly fluently. What then will remain of Finland’s distinctive characteristics? Pessimists assert that continuing globalization will inevitably bring about a gradual disintegration of the national culture and a corresponding dismantling of welfare state."

[Mikheil · Rating 4 out of 5]

საინტერესო და ინფორმაციული წიგნია, თან ისეთ თემაზე (ქვეყანაზე), რომელზეც ქართულად იშვიათად ითარგმნება რამე.

თარგმანში გარღვევებია, არის შეცდომები - ერთი და იგივე გვარი სხვადასხვა ადგილებზე სხვადასხვანაირად წერია, გვხვდება ინგლისურენოვანი ბარბარიზმებიც. ასევე ზედმეტად აკადემიური ენით არის ნათარგმნი, წინადადებებს ეტყობა, რომ პირდაპირ, სიტყვა-სიტყვით თარგმნეს, როდესაც აზრის გამოთქმა უფრო მოკლედ და გასაგებადაც შეიძლებოდა.

თუმცა საბოლოო ჯამში ჩამთრევი საკითხავია და მიუხედავად ხარვეზებისა, თარგმანზე მაინც ვერ ვიტყვი რომ დაბალი ხარისხის იყო.

[Andrew Rothstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am taking a trip to Finland and realized I knew practically nothing about the country aside from where it is and the capital city. Figured it was a good idea to get some background. This book did the trick. It is a general history and good for people who are looking for an overview. Finnish history is very much tied to its historical relationships with Sweden and Russia. In WW II, it fought on the German side.

What comes through is that Finland has emerged as a very successful country after a long history of being a stepchild to great powers. Looking forward to the visit.

[Mirimë · Rating 3 out of 5]

We had to buy it for history class, but it's actually a "normal book", and quite interesting if you give it a try. It tells about what has happened to Finland since prehistoric time until now in a novel-ish, entertaining way, aimed at a large public (I assume), and, thus, not very complicated to read. It didn't get the fifth star because it can be quite boring, and I see the language as kind of wannabe hi-tech.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this is just under 200 pages covering the entire known history of Finland, it was too much detail for me. I need a high level framework first, them more levels of detail. I know more than I did before I read it but, I'll need to read it again. I admit my knowledge was practically nonexistent.

[Jonathan Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manages to provide a relatively comprehensive overview of Finnish history while remaining brief and not terribly dry. Given the subject matter, that's nothing to sneeze at!

[Ellie Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview, and one of the few accessible books on Finnish history in English! There are parts that I would love to know more about, but it was a good intro.

[Aaro Salosensaari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelvollinen mutta myös paikoin pinnallinen taskukokoinen yleisesitys Suomen historiasta. Toisaalta ainakin paikoin puutteet pistävät pahoin silmään.

Esimerkiksi: Venäjän-Japanin sota ohitettaan olankohautuksella siirtymällä suoraan poliittisiin seurauksiin Suomessa ja Venäjällä. Vuoden 1918 sisällissodan alku kuvaillaan suorastaan niin pikaisesti että valtalakiin liittyvät erimi.elisyydet porvareiden ja SDP:n välillä jäävät tämän teoksen lukijalle mysteereiksi. Samoin varsinainen sota ikään kuin alkaa lähes tyhjästä nostamalla lyhty Helsingin työväentalon torniin, vaikka muu tutkimus on osoittanut että sotimiseksi luokiteltavaa aseellista kahakointia oli Karjalassa ollut jo aiemmin tammikuussa. Käytännössä myös ohitetaan radikalisoitumisen alku jo 1917 suurlakon aikana.

Vielä hämmentävämmäksi politiikan historia muuttuu sodanjälkeisten vuosien kuvauksessa. Kekkosen ulkopoliittiset voitot mahdollisti "luja sisäpolitiikka", jolla tiivistetään otteet opposition lyömiseksi Moskovan suopealla yhteistyöllä (Honka-liiton poistaminen pelistä noottikriisin avulla mainitaan toki), mutta kriittinen arvio on vähän minimalistinen ja tulee kuitatuksi valinnaksi "realismin ja vilpin" välillä. Vielä huvittavammaksi menee, kun myöhemmin teollisuuden ja politiikan kotiryssä-ilmiötä kutsutaan Neuvostoliiton diplomaattikunnan "epäviralliseksi mutta toimivaksi" verkostoksi joka helpotti Suomen ja Neuvostoliiton "päättäjien yhteydenpitoa". Viereisessä virkkeessä mainitaan 'huhut "suomettumisesta"', jossa sana "suomettuminen" ansaitsee epäilevät hipsut ympärilleen ihan kuin "huhu" ei olisi vakavasti otettava. Ristiriita särkee päätä!

Toisin sanoen, historiateoksena kaikista heikoimmillaan teos mitä lähempänä ollaan nykyhetkeä. Vielä skeptisemmäksi lukija muuttuu mitä enemmän kirjoittaja intoutuu maalailemaan kuvia tulevaisuudesta. Vai mitä pitäisi sanoa, jos historian professori vakavasti esittää että maan suomenkielisyys on vakava ongelma koska se "haittaa maahanmuuttoa" mutta suomenkielisyyden luoma ongelma on pieni koska kuitenkin "parin vuosikymmenen kuluttua [englantia] käytettäneen ... yleiskielenä". Vaikuttaa siltä että professorin ego ei kestä jos Suomen historia ei päätykään suunnilleen siihen mihin hän päätti lopettaa kirjan.

[David Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a book I didn't know existed, never thought I would buy, didn't think I would read it, and liked it more than I could have imagined - A History of Finland. I was in the Akademik Bookshop in Helsinki (a fabulous place) looking for local Finnish fiction, notably, a book called Purge, by Sofi Oksanen. I found it (haven't read it yet). The bookshop assistant who found it for me also suggested A History of Finland. I thanked her and politely refused, telling her, correctly, that my suitcase was already too heavy. Another customer approached her, saw the book in hewr hand, told her he'd been looking for it, and bought it on the spot. That was too much for me, so I also bought it. Finland is something of a barometer for politics in northern Europe. The Finns have succeeded better than most in living on political fault lines and making strategic partnerships throughout their history as a means of survival. Independent Finland is a relatively new entity, having been, for centuries, part of other empires, notably empires belonging to the Swedes and the Russians. Making a pact with Germany during the second world war was instrumental in preserving the country from regional expansionist expression. Reading this book helped me immensely understand today's realpolitik in Europe (and beyond). I also couldn't help but think of Quebec. Quebec within Canada, is to some extent, similar to the situation Finland was in while part of Sweden - a peaceful co-existence, but not necessarily a good long term plan for protection of culture and language.
It is rare that I read any book that does not offer me at least somethng of interest. A History of Finland was surprisingly overflowing in this department.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty dry but helpful history of Finland, which is pretty much what I was hoping for. (Had the author called it "History of Finland!", then I might have been a little disappointed.)

The history of Finland got interesting in 1809 when Russia under Alexander I took it from Sweden, making it a semi-autonomous grand duchy. The Finns were seen as a good minority compared to the more rebellious Poles, and Russian czars usually gave them a lot of independence. The Russian Revolution of 1917 worked to their advantage, as it allowed them to capitalize on their burgeoning nationalism at a time when both Germany and Russia were too weak to interfere. Peter the Great's decision to put St. Petersburg where he did would be particularly problematic for the Finns nearly 300 years later, as its location was seen as a buffer to German aggression by the Russians and as a convenient launching pad for an invasion of Russia by the Germans. The Russians invaded first, which forced the Finns into an uneasy alliance with the Germans. The victorious allies went easy on the Finns after the war, crediting the Finns with acting in self-defense. It helped that they bailed on Germany as soon as it was feasible. In the Cold War, the Finns once again found themselves caught between Russia and the rest of Europe. Again, they navigated their uneasy position deftly, careful to not offend the Soviets while it continued to build relations with the rest of the west.

[Greta]

patenka į vieną nemėgstamiausių knygų kategorijų: pakankamai įdomi, kad negalėčiau lengva ranka numest ir sakyt ‘gyvenimas per trumpas skaityt blogas knygas’ ir nepakankamai įdomi, kad perskaityčiau greitai. žodžiu, klampusis knygų smėlis.

labai, labai, labai nepatiko, kaip knyga išleista: nemalonus popierius, paveikslėlių spaudos kokybė irgi kvestionuotina. iš dalies tai ir originalo kaltė – pašykštėta vaizdinės medžiagos, pašykštėta (nėra net normalaus, aiškaus suomijos žemėlapio, kur pvz. matytųsi miestai; turiu google mapsus, bet knygoj apie šalies istoriją vis tiek, mano manymu, toks dalykas turėtų būti).

nepatiko ir vertimas – nėra jis kažkoks baisiai blogas, bet turi keistą nelankstumą, kurį aš laikau nekokio vertimo bruožu (nemokėdama kalbos ir negalėdama palyginti, žinoma, neguldau galvos, kad čia ne teksto problema).

bet vis tiek buvo įdomu, nes nori nenori lygini suomijos istoriją su lietuvos, ypač 40-tų metų ir vėliau, ‘kaip pas mus būtų buvę, jei ne tas rusas’. bet tiesa ta, kad nėra aišku, kaip ten būtų buvę – kaip pastebi autorius, iš naujų valstybių suomija tarpukariu vienintelė sugebėjo išlaikyti demokratiją.

labai aiškiai konceptualizuota suomijos vieta švedijos karalystėj ir rusijos imperijoj. mažiau aiškiai antrojo pasaulinio karo ir pokario procesai.

suomiškai neskaitančiam žmogui turbūt vis tik nėra
blogas įvadukas.

[Ammi T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jag blir så arg. Böcker som den här är orsaken till att jag hatade historia i skolan, och som gör att jag fortfarande hatar historia. Varför kan man inte skriva mer ungefärliga historieböcker? Varför måste vart tionde ord i boken vara ett årtal? Vem. bryr. sig?

Här är ett direkt citat ur boken:

...under det polska upproret 1830 och så blev det på nytt under ”det galna året” 1848–1849. Åren 1846–1847 infördes nya censurbestämmelser och 1848–1849 kungjordes allt noggrannare restriktioner rörande föreningsverksamheten. I mars 1850 skärptes censuren ytterligare...

Jag ville lära mig om mitt eget hemland, men efter den här boken hade ingen ny information fastnat i mitt huvud. Bokens beskrivning säger att boken "betjänar en större och mer heterogen publik än tidigare verk". Detta är inte sant. Bara någon som har ett onormalt intresse för årtal kan tycka att det här är intressant eller ens bra skrivet. Jag börjar tro att de som skapar historieböcker skriver så här uselt, eftersom de vill att historien blir dold för vanligt folk, och bara är tillgänglig för någon slags "historia-elit". Denna "bok" var ungefär lika intressant som en telefonkatalog från 1990-talet.

Agh, sällan gör en bok mig så här arg! Den var bara så dålig.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a well-written, surprisingly engaging history of Finland. I had no idea that Finland’s history was so intense, particularly over the last 100 years, but I loved learning so much more about the country I live in right now! I will say, the book expects a certain level of background knowledge and history of European security issues and wars, which I didn’t have, so at parts it was challenging to understand. I also have to recognize that this book 100% fit the trend of “the victors write the history books,” and shared a more positive view of Finnish history than some aspects maybe deserve, while skimming over other aspects, such as the history of the indigenous Sami people or the brutality of the Civil War, etc. Overall, a nice introduction to Finnish history and surprisingly fun to read, and left me wanting to learn (a lot) more.

[Apina_lukee_kirjoja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good refresher on Finnish history. Often resembles just a listing of historical events and decisions, so not a gripping read.

Presents history in the context of wider European history and politics, which is a helpful viewpoint.

Not sure if this works as an intro to Finnish history as due to length it is obviously very condensed, and it can be difficult to understand importance of events and context if the reader doesn't have any previous knowledge. But, on the other hand, everyone has to start somewhere.

[Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book as a great introduction to Finnish history.

The book glides through the centuries while providing an overview of each major event and historical figure. The explanations are informative but not too detailed, so this book is not for somebody who already has extensive knowledge of Finnish or Scandinavian history.
The book is written in a fairly neutral tone, focusing mainly on the facts and it is easy to read.

In conclusion, if history is not your main field and want a simple yet comprehensive introduction to Finnish history, this book is for you.

[Inga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patiko kaip sudėlioti skyriai, nes buvo lengva skaityti. Apžvelgtas tikrai platus laikotarpis ir sutalpintas į mažą knygelę. Aptariamos temos taip pat buvo įdomios, tačiau man norėjosi daugiau pasvarstymų apie lemiamų sprendimų priėmimo priežastis ir daugiau visuomenės reakcijos į juos aptarimo. Radau čia gana daug atsargaus kalbėjimo tarsi iš distancijos.

[Reko Wenell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Todella helppolukuinen lyhyt yleisesitys Suomen historiasta. Paljon fokusta Ruotsin vallan aikaan samoin kuin Venäjän vallan aikaan, mikä jätti itsenäisyyden ajan tapahtumat niin vähälle huomiolle, etten ainakaan itse saanut niistä irti mitään uutta. Toimii ehkä ennen kaikkea peruskoulun ja lukion tason kertauksena ja kenties pienenä laajennuksena, josta sitten edetä.

[maukkunen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genomgång av Finlands historia, går ändå inte in på detaljnivå på flera saker utan berättar mest ganska kort. Tycker att man kunde ha gått in på relationen mellan finländare och samer. Annors helt okej för basic information, mer om senare modern historia än pre 1900 talet som int e helt min piece of cake.

[Filippos Athanasios Misoulis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really serves as a summary of Finland's history, with a lot of details. It is worth reading for the lovers of history. However, it would need a further degree of analysis regarding the connection between finnish history and the global events of the time.

[Marius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yra niuansų, kartais su ne viskuo gali sutikti, tačiau autorius tikras Suomijos istorijos asas. Skaitant veriasi horizontai, kodėl netoli mūsų esanti tauta vienais ar kitais istorijos verpetais elgėsi taip, kur slypi jų nacionalinės šaknys ir netgi kodėl jie neskubėjo pripažinti atkurtos Lietuvos valstybės. Naudinga, pažintinė knyga!

[William Bronge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Läsvärd som svensk. Bär med mig bl a tjärnäringens (stora) betydelse som exportvara. Talande om den misär dagens norden är framstretad ur. Alltid nyttigt också att läsa om inbördeskriget som i Sverige inte tänks så mycket på...