From the end of the 80s to the beginning of the 90s of the last century, Finland had a real prospect of getting Karelia. But the president of this country, Mauno Koivisto, for several reasons did not take this opportunity.
Jukka Seppinen, a doctor of political science and a former expert at the Finnish Foreign Ministry, analyzes the Karelian issue from the point of view of the Finnish leadership in the recently published book “Because President Koivisto was against the return of Karelia”.
Prospects for the transfer of Karelia from Russia to Finland became real immediately after the collapse of the USSR, especially, that Boris Yeltsin did not mind the negotiations. In addition, in 1990 year, the Soviet leadership condemned the secret protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Where, among other things, Finland was transferred under the “guardianship” of the Soviet Union. And the return of Finnish lands to their "home harbor" Stalin, of course, planned, it was not in vain that the 16th republic of the USSR appeared - Karelian-Finnish.
As a result of the Soviet-Finnish conflict, Karelia remained a part of the USSR, and Finland remained independent.
Surprisingly, when Finland had the opportunity to take Karelia from Russia “with the approval of Russian President Boris Yeltsin”, the main opponent of this idea was the President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto. That is how the Finnish author writes. After his retirement, he named the reason, which took such a position:
New Finnish territories not needed. Even now we can’t populate all of Finland.
Although Finnish researchers call other versions. Some, for example, consider, that Koivisto is simply “afraid of the KGB”, whom, true, to the moment, which is already in question and did not exist.
But not all in Finland relate to the Karelian issue in the same way, like koivisto. For example, ex-commander of the air force of the country lieutenant general Rauno Meriyo is a staunch supporter of the return of Karelia. In an interview with a Russian journalist, he stated, that sooner or later it will happen:
I'm sure of two things: in, that once we all die, and in the, that one day Karelia will again become part of Finland.
