Title: Timeline for Finland
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Description:  As much as I could find
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Expiration_date: 9998-12-31 00:00:00
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 .1100s - Swedish crusades subjugate Finns and convert them to Christianity.

 .1323 - Territory of present-day Finland becomes part of the Swedish realm

 .1808 - Russian invasion of Sweden supported by Napoleon.

 .1809 - Finland is ceded to Russia by the Swedes. The Finns retain a considerable amount of autonomy. They keep their own legal system, religion, and are exempt from Russian military service.

 .1812 - Helsinki becomes capital.

 .1899 onwards - Russian Tsar Nicholas II inaugurates policy of Russification of Finland,

 .1917 - The Russian Revolution allows Finland to declare its independence.

 .1918 - A bitter and violent civil war ensues between Bolsheviks (Red Guards) and the right-wing government (White Guards). The Whites are led to victory by General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.

 .1919 - Finland becomes a republic. Kaarlo Stahlberg becomes first president.

 .1939 - Outbreak of World War II. Finland declares its neutrality. In November the Soviet Union invades. The Winter War begins.

 .1940 - Despite fierce resistance under the leadership of Field Marshal Mannerheim, the Finns are forced to concede. The Treaty of Moscow gives around 10% of Finnish territory to the Soviet Union.

 .1941 - Germany attacks Russia in June. Finland at first declares its neutrality, but then declares war on the Soviet Union in the hope of regaining its lost territory. Britain declares war on Finland in December.

 .1944 - The Red Army invades in June. An armistice is signed in September. Finland concedes more land to the Soviet Union and agrees to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in war reparations.

 .1947 - Peace treaty signed between Finland and Soviet Union.

 .1948 - Finland signs friendship treaty with the Soviet Union and agrees to resist any attack through Finnish territory on the Soviet Union.

 .1950 - Urho Kekkonen becomes prime minister and is subsequently elected as president in 1956. He pursues a policy of friendly neutrality with the Soviet Union.

 .1952 - Payment of reparations completed.

 .1955 - Finland joins United Nations and Nordic Council.

 .1973 - Trade agreements signed with the European Economic Community and Comecon.

 .1990 - Economic difficulties as former Soviet and eastern European markets collapse.

 .1991 - Centre Party coalition elected. Austerity measures introduced.

 .1992 - Friendship treaty with Soviet Union of 1948 declared null and void. New treaty with Russia involves no military agreements. Finland applies for membership of the European community.

 .1995 - Finland becomes member of the European Union. The social democrats emerge as strongest party in elections and form a "rainbow coalition" government with Paavo Lipponen as prime minister.

 .1999 - Paavo Lipponen's social democrats are returned to power.

 .2000 February - Tarja Halonen elected as Finland's first female president.

 .2002 January - Euro replaces the Finnish mark.

 .2002 May - Parliament narrowly approves construction of a fifth nuclear reactor, the first in Western Europe since 1991 and the first in the country for 30 years. Green Party decides to withdraw from government coalition in protest.

 .2003 March/April - Anneli Jaatteenmaki's Centre Party narrowly defeats Lipponen's Social Democrats in general election. Forms new coalition with Social Democrats and Swedish People's Party.

  .2003 June - Prime Minister Jaatteenmaki resigns in leak row. Matti Vanhanen takes over as premier.
 

                



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