Lapua Movement - Legacy

Legacy

In the Soviet Union, the actions of Lapuan liike were closely followed. Old deep-rooted misperceptions of Finland as a threat and as a continuation of the ancient tsarist régime were enhanced among ordinary citizens by the Bolshevist leadership, which further contributed to the conditions leading to the Winter War. In Leningrad, the old tsarist capital, the old concerns over the close proximity of the border were kept alive. Over that border, invasion armies had arrived right at the doorstep of the capital twice in the 18th century and again in 1918, immediately after Finland's independence, during the ongoing world war, due to Finland's grudging and unpopular alliance with Germany, who threatened to bring war to the civilians of Leningrad. Russian newspapers propagandized these fears, covering events in Finland and interviewing victims that had been deported to Russia by the Lapua Movement as examples of terror in capitalist countries.