What did Stalin think of Finland?

Before the Winter War, Joseph Stalin thought that the Finnish Army was very weak, and he estimated that it would take 12 days for the Soviet Union to conquer it. Yes, you can say that he thought of it as “another swath of land he could conquer if given another opportunity”. read more

The Finns rejected Stalin’s demands and assured him that Finland wasn’t a threat to the Soviet Union, and that no foreign nation would be allowed to use Finland as a base to attack the Soviet Union. read more

Finland got small amounts of military equipment and supplies from Nazi-Germany, but not the sort that would make a difference. During the Continuation War, Finland was against USSR but co-belligerent (some would say allies) with Nazi-Germany. Finland got more military equipment from Germany during this war. read more

Stalin is the aggressor in Finland, Hitler the abettor. It seems strange to think now how many hours I used to spend listening to the present German Foreign Secretary when he was Ambassador in London, when he used to expound to me, as indeed he did also in public many times, the dangers and horrors of Bolshevism. read more