Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)

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The Finnish-Russian border was decided in the Treaty of Tartu. Petsamo (in red) became Finnish, whilst Repola and Porajärvi (green) were handed back to Soviet Russia.
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The Finnish-Russian border was decided in the Treaty of Tartu. Petsamo (in red) became Finnish, whilst Repola and Porajärvi (green) were handed back to Soviet Russia.

Treaty of Tartu (Finnish: Tarton rauha) between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed 14 October 1920 after negotiations that lasted for four months. The delegation from Finland was led by Juho Kusti Paasikivi. The treaty confirmed that the Finnish-Soviet border would follow the old border between the Grand-Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia. Finland additionally received Petsamo, with its ice-free harbour on the Arctic Ocean. Already in the 1860s Tsar Alexander II had promised to join Petsamo to Finland in exchange for a piece of the Karelian Isthmus. Finland also agreed to leave the occupied areas of Repola (joined to Finland during the Viena expedition) and Porajärvi (joined during the Aunus expedition) in East Karelia. The treaty also had some articles besides area and border issues, including Soviet guarantee of free navigation of merchant ships from the Finnish ports in Lake Laatokka (Ladoga) to the Gulf of Finland via the River Neva. Also, Finland agreed to disarm the coastal fortress in Ino opposite the Soviet island Kronstadt. The Finnish outer islands in the Gulf of Finland were demilitarized.

The treaty was broken by the Soviet Union in 1939 when it started the Winter War.

[edit] The Finnish delegation

[edit] Soviet Delegation

  • Jaan Antonovitš Behrsinin
  • Platon Michailovitš Keršentsevin
  • Nikolai Sergejevitš Tihmenjevin

[edit] See also