Where would you say Eastern Europe begins?

[grega94]

Originally Posted by Ariete

And why the hell would we do that?

Because 200 years ago Finland hated Sweden, and some Finns even welcomed the prospect of Russian rule to escape Sweden. But now most Finns seem to have made up with Sweden and are best friends, apparently time heals all wounds. Though I've also heard that Finns still kinda hate Swedes?

[erasure]

Originally Posted by grega94

Because 200 years ago Finland hated Sweden, and some Finns even welcomed the prospect of Russian rule to escape Sweden. But now most Finns seem to have made up with Sweden and are best friends, apparently time heals all wounds. Though I've also heard that Finns still kinda hate Swedes?

Not Ariete.
Coz he is half-Swede.
So he would be self-hating Finn in this case.
Literally.

[Anhityk]

Originally Posted by Ariete

No, Estonia is not our twin. Sweden is our brother. Then somewhere far behind comes our sister Estonia.

Estonia and Finland have tons of relations, I haven´t denied it but I would not use the word "twin countries" in this context, as that would be over-ambitious and ignoring some historical and other aspects that was my point.

Originally Posted by tharapita

Lol says a guy who lives in Polva.

As far as I know Põlva is within Estonia. Or only persons who are living in the downtown of Tallinn (New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro) are expect to say something? For an average newyorker there is overall no difference between Tallinn or Põlva as both are small places

[Ariete]

Originally Posted by grega94

Because 200 years ago Finland hated Sweden, and some Finns even welcomed the prospect of Russian rule to escape Sweden. But now most Finns seem to have made up with Sweden and are best friends, apparently time heals all wounds. Though I've also heard that Finns still kinda hate Swedes?

Finland was invented 200 years ago. Before that there was only Sweden. There were Swedes speaking Swedish, and Swedes speaking Finnish. The concept of Finland as a nation didn't exist before 1809, and thus there was nothing to hate. Finland wasn't a colony of Sweden. Finland was Sweden.

If Finns would've hated Sweden at that time, why did the Swedish constitution of 1772/1789 remain in place, and not replaced by a new constitution or the Russian... yeah right?

And come on, no reasonable person here hate Sweden. I think the vast majority of Finns recognise Sweden as our best friend.

Russia again... they have NEVER been our friend or even friendly, so they better start to improve.

Originally Posted by erasure

Not Ariete.
Coz he is half-Swede.
So he would be self-hating Finn in this case.
Literally.

I'm 1/8 Swede. All my relatives in Sweden are dead or unknown to me. And it doesn't matter, it's just a historical fact.

[grega94]

Originally Posted by Ariete

Finland was invented 200 years ago. Before that there was only Sweden. There were Swedes speaking Swedish, and Swedes speaking Finnish. The concept of Finland as a nation didn't exist before 1809, and thus there was nothing to hate. Finland wasn't a colony of Sweden. Finland was Sweden.

If Finns would've hated Sweden at that time, why did the Swedish constitution of 1772/1789 remain in place, and not replaced by a new constitution or the Russian... yeah right?

And come on, no reasonable person here hate Sweden. I think the vast majority of Finns recognise Sweden as our best friend.

Russia again... they have NEVER been our friend or even friendly, so they better start to improve.



I'm 1/8 Swede. All my relatives in Sweden are dead or unknown to me. And it doesn't matter, it's just a historical fact.

I'll be honest, I don't know the nitty gritty of what was going on in Finland back then, but from my understanding Finland was much more prosperous, developed, and autonomous under Russian rule rather than Swedish. Finnish blood didn't start to boil until Tsar Nicholas II started inacting his Russification policies in 1899, and apparently Russians hated him too. And then there was the winter war which made relations worse, but other than that I don't see why Finland and Russia can't be friends in the future?

[Ariete]

Originally Posted by grega94

I'll be honest, I don't know the nitty gritty of what was going on in Finland back then, but from my understanding Finland was much more prosperous, developed, and autonomous under Russian rule rather than Swedish. Finnish blood didn't start to boil until Tsar Nicholas II started inacting his Russification policies in 1899, and apparently Russians hated him too. And then there was the winter war which made relations worse, but other than that I don't see why Finland and Russia can't be friends in the future?

To become a Grand Duchy was a stroke of luck for Finland, that's for sure, because it created an independent administration. Alexander I is still very respected in Finland. Alexander II reinforced the autonomy and he still has a statue on the Senate Square in Helsinki. Two Alex II statues remain in the world: one in Helsinki and the other in Sofia.


And obviously Finland became richer during the 1800's, in fact it was the richest part of the Russian Empire after St. Pete and Moscow. But that was obvious due to the industrial revolution. We will never know if Finland would've been even richer under Sweden. And the Nordic region was still poor compared to Britain, Germany, France and the Low Countries in 1914.


The era of russophobia dates back to the Great Northern War and the rape of Finland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlan...t_Northern_War
Then there was the Finnish Civil War and WWII, but after that things started to settle. But though Soviet propaganda says otherwise, the USSR was very hostile towards Finland during the Cold War, and treated us like a dog on a leash.
Today, there's not much russophobia in Finland, but I've seen a rise of it since the invasion of Crimea. Anyway, the Russians have a lot to make up for the past. But never say never, eh?