THE SOVIET-FINNISH (WINTER) WAR VS RUSSIA’S FULL-SCALE MILITARY INTERVENTION INTO UKRAINE: HISTORICAL PARALLELS

Abstract

In this research, the authors conduct a comparative study of the Soviet-Finnish (Winter) War and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine (as of February-December 2022). The authors emphasize the relevance of the research topic and notes that the study of the new stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war is only gaining momentum. As noted, comparisons between the Winter War and Russian aggression were heard in the Ukrainian media, but not outlined in science. During the scientific analysis, the peculiarities of the development of the Grand Duchy of Finland as part of the Russian Empire and the Ukrainian SSR as part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the state-building processes of Finland in 1918–1939 and Ukraine in 1991–2022 were taken into account. Particular attention was paid to the size of defense expenditures in the issue of the political discourse of the then Finland and modern Ukraine. The stages of the Soviet-Finnish diplomatic confrontation in 1938–1939 and the Russian-Ukrainian one in 2014–2022 are highlighted. During the direct analysis of armed conflicts, a comparison of the main aspects (casus belli, stages of military confrontation, diplomatic struggle on the international arena, information and propaganda component of war) was carried out. In addition, some legal features of the Russian-Ukrainian war are determined (normative consolidation of the Minsk Agreements complex in Ukrainian legislation, the status of the «DPR» and «LPR» from the point of view of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and international law).

It was concluded that the methods of aggression of the Soviet Union against Finland and the Russian Federation against Ukraine are similar. Instead, it was established that despite a number of similarities, certain differences were found in the course of hostilities, diplomatic struggle and features of the legal legitimization of aggression during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.