| Description |
Historically small states are often regarded as pawns on the chessboard of international relations. This was the general rule during and after World War II, but a provocative exception is the small republic of Finland in northeastern Europe, which shares a seven hundred mile eastern border with the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. It is true that tiny neutral Finland has only marginal control over its external affairs, but as an independent nation the Finns make their own decisions, albeit with prudence. After World War II, unlike other countries sharing a border with Soviet Russia, Finland maintained its independence and democracy by thwarting the local communists' attempts of take-over and by holding off the advances of the Soviet Union. Finland managed to stay out of the cold war and establish an internationally respected neutrality. |
