Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Soviet Union and Finland: Some Aspects of International Politics

Abstract

The 25th anniversary of the Finnish-Soviet FCA-Treaty was celebrated with solemn ceremonies in April, 1973. Referring to the fact that this treaty has been misunderstood frequently in international discussions and, more recently, also in Finnish domestic debate, the author makes an effort to analyze the role the treaty plays in International politics. He notes that the first two articles of the treaty, 'the military articles', are precise and detailed, while the rest of the operative articles, referring to friendship and cooperation between the parties, are general in nature. This is natural since the treaty was designed specifically to provide military security in the situation of 1948. The author maintains that the military role of the FCA-Treaty has not lost its signi ficance even now but that due to the tremendous changes in the European situation during the last 25 years the latter part of the treaty has assumed increasing importance in practice. Thus, while the text of the treaty remains unchanged and the whole treaty is revered by both parties, the operational center of gravity has moved, compared with the situation of 1948, more and more to the articles on friendship and cooperation.