The Russo-Finnish war began in November 1939 and lasted 105 days - until March 1940. The war did not end with the final defeat of any of the armies and was completed by the conclusion of a peace treaty on terms favorable to Russia (then the Soviet Union). Since the war was in the cold season, many Russian soldiers suffered from severe frosts, but did not retreat.
All this is known to any student, all this is studied in history lessons. Only here how the war began, and what the Finns had on it, is spoken less often. It is not surprising - who needs to know the point of view of the enemy? And our guys fellows, beat opponents.
It is precisely because of this worldview that the percentage of Russians who know the truth about this war and accept it is so insignificant.
The Russo-Finnish war of 1939 did not break out suddenly, like thunder from a clear sky. The conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland was brewing for nearly two decades. Finland did not trust the great leader of that time - Stalin, who, in turn, was dissatisfied with the alliance of Finland with England, Germany and France.
Russia, in order to ensure its own security, tried to conclude an agreement with Finland on terms favorable to the Soviet Union. And after another failure, Finland decided to try to force it, and on November 30, Russian troops opened fire on Finland.
Initially, the Russo-Finnish war was not successful for Russia - the winter was cold, the soldiers received frostbite, some froze to death, and the Finns firmly held the defense on the Mannerheim line. But the troops of the Soviet Union won, gathering together all the remaining forces and going on a general offensive. As a result, peace was concluded between the countries on favorable terms for Russia: a significant part of the Finnish territories (including the Karelian Isthmus, part of the Fishing Peninsula and the northern and western shores of Lake Ladoga) were transferred to Russian possessions, and the Hanko Peninsula was leased to Russia for 30 years .
In history, the Russo-Finnish war was called "Unnecessary", as it gave almost nothing to either Russia or Finland. Both sides were to blame for its beginning, and both sides suffered huge losses. So, the Soviet army during the war lost 48,745 people, 158,863 soldiers were wounded or frostbitten. The Finns also lost a huge number of people.
If not all, then at least many are familiar with the course of the war described above. But there is also such information about the Russo-Finnish war that it is not customary to speak out loud or simply unknown. Moreover, there is such unpleasant, in some ways even indecent, information about both participants in the battle: both about Russia and Finland.
So, it is not customary to say that the war with Finland was unleashed vilely and illegally: the Soviet Union attacked it without warning, violating the peace treaty concluded in 1920 and the non-aggression pact of 1934. Moreover, starting this war, the Soviet Union violated its own convention, which stipulated that an attack on a state party (which was Finland), as well as its blockade or threats against it, could not be justified by any considerations. By the way, according to the same convention, Finland had the right to attack, but did not use it.
If we talk about the Finnish army, then there were some unsightly moments. The government, taken aback by an unexpected attack by the Russians, drove into military schools, and then into the troops, not only all capable men, but also boys, still schoolchildren, students of grades 8-9.
Some children trained in shooting went to a real, adult war. Moreover, in many detachments there were no tents, not all soldiers had weapons at all - they gave one rifle to four. Drags for machine guns were not issued, and the guys themselves almost did not know how to handle machine guns. What can we say about weapons - the Finnish authorities could not provide their warriors even with warm clothes and shoes, and young boys, lying in forty-degree frost in the snow, in light clothes and low shoes, froze their hands and feet, froze to death.
According to official figures, during the severe frosts, the Finnish army lost more than 70% of the soldiers, while the sergeant-major companies warmed their legs in good boots. Thus, sending hundreds of young children to certain death, Finland itself secured a defeat in the Russo-Finnish war.