I did not know the Soviet union offered east karelia
nobody does, and 99% of people don’t even realize that the soviet union initially wanted to negotiate a border change for security reason at all. Le ebil soviet embire aggression is a much more beneficial narrative
The Fascists were very interested in getting a hold of Petsamo nickel, which was why the Soviets wanted to complicate access to it:
The Soviet Union had indicated an interest in the Petsamo area during the negotiations with Finland in the fall of 1939, but primarily on the basis of military considerations. When the Finnish–Soviet “negotiations” were resumed in March 1940, Molotov again told the Finns that Soviet military circles wished to see the area annexed to the Soviet Union.
Nevertheless, the Petsamo area stayed with Finland under the terms of the Treaty of Moscow, and there was no hint of any Soviet economic interest in it. The [Fascist] conquest of Norway shortly afterward obviously caused the Soviet leaders to regret their generosity, however.
[The Third Reich’s] interest in Finnish nickel also dated back before the Winter War. The Finnish–German trade agreement of October 1939 envisaged the early exploitation of the nickel resources at Nivala in Qulu province, and the nickel to be extracted was to be sold to [the Third Reich]. In return, the [Fascists] were to deliver, among other items, 134 anti‐aircraft guns, and 50 of these actually reached Finland before the war began.
See here for more.
the single most downvoted thing i have ever said on reddit was under a post asking “what’s a common historical mysconception?” - my answer was “Finland decisively lost the winter war, life isn’t a videogame and at the end of the day the k/d doesn’t matter”. It got like 2k downvotes.
Lmao, reddit can’t handle the truth
losing more troops than necessary even if victory is achieved is obviously something to be avoided.
Does that disprove what they said
did i say that this disproves what they said? it would be better if the ussr hasn’t underperformed as much as it did.
The entire perception that the West has of the of the Winter War is all about moving the goalposts enough for Finland to be considered the victor. Finland lost more territory than they would ever have if they had agreed to Soviet demands, but because there is one single aspect where Finland did not find itself in defeat (that being the one of achieving less losses), then there is somewhere where westerners can find refuge to claim Finnish victory. My prediction? We will see the exact same phenomenon repeating at the end of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Some anarchist is looking this and, even as we speak, typing out a ragepost on “omg, tankies defending imperialism, they truly are RED FASH!!!111111”
You are wrong, they lost the Winter War… but in an alternate universe. You know, like the one in Sleepy Joe’s head, probably MCU.