The Moscow Armistice was signed between
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
on one side and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the
Continuation War. The Armistice restored the
Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modifications.
The
final peace treaty between Finland and many of the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
was signed in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in 1947.
Conditions for peace
The conditions for peace were similar to what had been agreed in the
Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940: Finland was obliged to cede parts of
Karelia
Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance fo ...
and
Salla
Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The nearby settlement of ...
, as well as certain islands in the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and ...
. The new armistice also handed all of
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to:
* Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922
* Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland
* Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District (russian: Пе́ченгский райо́н; fi, Petsamo; no, Peisen ...
to the Soviet Union, and Finland was further compelled to lease
Porkkala
Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland.
The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than half ...
to the Soviet Union for a period of fifty years (the area was returned to Finnish control in 1956).
Other conditions included Finnish payment of nearly $300,000,000 ($ in today's US dollars) in the form of various commodities over six years
to the Soviet Union as war reparations. Finland also agreed to legalise the
Communist Party of Finland
The Communist Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue, SKP; sv, Finlands Kommunistiska Parti) was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944.
The SKP was banned ...
(after it had made some changes to the party rules) and ban parties that the Soviet Union considered
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
. Further, the individuals that the Soviets considered responsible for the war
had to be arrested and put on trial, the best-known case being that of
Risto Ryti.
[Jakobson, Max (former Finnish Ambassador to the UN) ]
Finnish wartime leaders on trial for "war guilt" 60 years ago
' Helsingin Sanomat
''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that o ...
International edition, 28 October 2005 The armistice compelled Finland to drive German troops from its territory, leading to a
military campaign in Lapland.
See also
*
Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940
*
Allied Control Commission (Finland)
*
Finlandization
*
Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies of World War II, Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General (United States), Majo ...
*
Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
*
King Michael's Coup
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
*
Karelian question, contemporary debate on the status of the ceded territories
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Malbone W. Graham. (1945). "Armistices – 1944 Style". ''The American Journal of International Law'' 39, 2: 286–95.
External links
Text of the Armistice Agreement
Continuation War
Peace treaties of Finland
1944 in Finland
1944 in Russia
Treaties of the Soviet Union
Finland–Soviet Union relations
World War II treaties
Moscow (1944)
Treaties concluded in 1944
Treaties entered into force in 1944
September 1944 events
Events in Moscow
1944 in Moscow