Porkkalanniemi
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2018) |
Porkkalanniemi(Swedish:Porkala udd) is a peninsula in theGulf of Finland,located atKirkkonummi(Kyrkslätt) in SouthernFinland.
The peninsula had great strategic value, ascoastal artillerybased there would be able to shoot more than halfway across theGulf of Finland.If the same power controlled theEstoniancoast, on the opposite side of the gulf, it would then be able to blockSaint Petersburg's naval access to theBaltic Sea.The distance to Estonia at the closest point is only 36 km (22 mi). Porkkala is furthermore located only 30 kilometers (19 mi) fromHelsinki,the Finnish capital, and a foreign power based there would be able to exert significant pressure on theFinnish government.
Nowadays, the coasts of the peninsula are popularbirdwatchingareas during the spring migrations of Arcticgeeseand otherwaterfowl.
History[edit]
At the end of theSecond World War,theSoviet Unionsecured therights of leaseto anaval base at Porkkala,in accordance with theMoscow armisticeagreement that ended theContinuation Warbetween Finland and the Soviets on 19 September 1944.
Porkkala thus replaced the peninsula ofHanko,which had been leased to the Soviets as a naval base in 1940–41. A large area centered on the peninsula, including land from the municipalities ofKirkkonummi,SiuntioandIngåand almost the entire area ofDegerby,was leased to the USSR from 29 September 1944, ten days after the armistice.[1]At the time of the Soviet take-over of the area, there were about 7200 Finnish inhabitants and all were evacuated during ten days in September 1944.[2]
Beyond its military use, the naval base served to apply political pressure on the Finnish governments and also to help build a Soviet espionage network.[2]
It was immediately placed under a military commander,Neon Antonov(1907–1948), who remained in office until June 1945, when he was transferred to command theAmur Riverflotilla, in preparation for thewar against Japan.[3]
According to the armistice of 1944, the area was leased to the Soviet Union for 50 years. On 10 February 1947, theParis Peace Treatyreaffirmed the Soviet Union's right to occupy the area until 1994.[4]
No Soviet civilian administration was set up; the Soviet Union simply administered it through the military commander of Porkkala, a post held until 26 January 1956 bySergey Kabanov(1901–1973), the former Commander of Hanko naval base.[citation needed]
At the height of the naval base operations, 30 000 Soviet troops were stationed in the area along with 10 000 Soviet officials and civilians such as members of officers' families.[2]
While under Soviet control, Finnish passenger trains running between Helsinki andTurkuwere in 1947 allowed to use the railway through the area under payment of fees. However, all train windows had to be closed with shutters, and photography was prohibited during the 40 km (25 mile) transition.[5][2]
During the1952 Summer Olympicsin Helsinki, theSoviet Olympic teamwas housed on the base, rather than in theOlympic village.
Although the Soviet lease for Porkkala had been conceded for 50 years, an agreement was reached to return it earlier. The agreement was signed on 19 September 1955, exactly 11 years after the armistice, and control of the area reverted to Finland on 26 January 1956.[6]This may be attributed to the process ofFinlandizationand to technological progress making coastal artillery obsolete. The renunciation ofStalinismby the Soviet Union underNikita KhrushchevandFinland's neutrality and remaining out ofNATOwere also important contributing factors.[citation needed]
Upon re-entering the area, the Finns found that the Soviets had destroyed about 50% of civilian housing and 80% of commercial properties which had been handed over in 1944. New constructions included a deep port in Båtvik and an airfield in Friggesby. The airfield was immediately demolished and returned to farmland and the majority of the evacuated population returned to their former homes. By the end of the 1960s, most traces of the Soviet tenure had been erased.[2]
Currently, the Porkkala area houses one of the mainbasesof theFinnish Navy,located inUpinniemi,near Porkkala proper.
Gallery of the 1950s Porkkala Restitution[edit]
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Restitution negotiations of Porkkala in Moscow on September 19, 1955 -
Soviet politiciansMikhail Pervukhin,Andrei Gromykoand the Finnish prime ministerUrho Kekkonen,on January 1956, concerning Porkkala. -
On January 26, 1956, the border gates were opened and the first Finnish troops returned to Porkkala -
Gate in Porkkala in winter 1956. -
Rebuilding Porkkala in 1957.
In popular culture[edit]
The Soviet lease of Porkkala and the return of the area to former inhabitants are key events in the Finnish Noir mystery,Below the SurfacebyLeena Lehtolainen.The naval base also forms part of the plot line of the TV seriesShadow Lines(Nyrkki).
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Sixty years ago: Parliament within range of Soviet guns".Helsingin Sanomat.Archived fromthe originalon December 15, 2013.
- ^abcde"Porkala".uppslagsverket.fi.Retrieved2020-12-26.
- ^Антонов Неон Васильевич
- ^
"Australian Treaty Series 1948 No 2 / Treaty of Peace with Finland (Paris, 10 February 1947)".Australian Treaty Series.
In accordance with the Armistice Agreement, the Soviet Union confirms the renunciation of its right to the lease of the Peninsula of Hango, accorded to it by the Soviet-Finnish Peace Treaty of 12 March 1940, and Finland for her part confirms having granted to the Soviet Union on the basis of a fifty years lease at an annual rent payable by the Soviet Union of five million Finnish marks the use and administration of territory and waters for the establishment of a Soviet naval base in the area of Porkkala-Udd as shown on the map annexed to the present Treaty (Annex I).
- ^The iron curtain comes down, and "the world's longest railway tunnel" is createdArchived2012-10-20 at theWayback Machine(HELSINGIN SANOMAT)
- ^"55 Years Since Return of Porkkala".Yle Uutiset.26 January 2011.
External links[edit]
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