WI: Finland gets Karelia 1918

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Baltasar
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WI: Finland gets Karelia 1918

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Post by Baltasar » 11 Jun 2014, 19:03

The Germans only saw to it that they got as much territory from Tzarist Russia as possible in the treaty of Brest Litovsk, but they forgot two additional aims. First, they'd want to keep Russia as weak as possible, in case the revolution was ended quick so Russia wouldn't pose a threat to Germany while the latter was still embroiled in a war in the west. Secondly, Germany should be interested in establishing friendly countries where she wouldn't be present herself. Giving the Finns freedom and the whole of the Karelian peninsular would achieve both these goals, so the question of this What if is:

What if Finland had not only been granted independence in 1918 but also had included the Karelian peninsular?

This also raises the question whether the Finns would be able to keep these territories in the wake of the Russian revolution and how this enlarged Finland would fare later in, ie during the time which in our timeline was the Winter War. Last but not least, how would this affect Finlans economically and socially?

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