Relations between Lithuania and Finland in the early decades of the 20th century

ENFrom the end of the 19th century, the road of Lithuania and Finland toward independence followed different paths, often due to the unique history and geographical location of each of these countries. However, in the early decades of the 20th century, there was also common ground to be found between the two. Having gained their independence in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Finland and Lithuania did not have major opposing goals; instead, they had more to achieve through cooperation. This article studies 1) the developments that led to Lithuania’s independence and its international recognition in the early decades of the 20th century, 2) the establishment of semi-official state relations, and 3) formal diplomatic relations between Finland and Lithuania. The article also examines how the official Finland and its press reacted, at different stages, to Lithuania’s position, activities, and goals. For Finland, de jure recognition of Lithuania depended largely on the outcome of the First World War and the views of the winning states. Finally, the article describes the first few years of both countries’ mission work in Helsinki and Kaunas. The main archival source for this article has been the Archives of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Both the Ministry’s and the Finnish embassies’ activities were not precisely defined in the early years of independence, as a lack of experience and expertise in practicing diplomacy was apparent, and their actions were sometimes improvised. This had also affected the way documents were created and archived and, to some extent, the comprehensiveness of the files. The Finnish press closely followed the activities of foreign legations in Helsinki and the work of its Finnish diplomats in European capitals. The history webpages of the Chancellery of the Lithuanian Seimas convey Lithuania’s establishment of relations with other countries. [Extract, p. 19]

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