Successes and Failures: A Comparative History of Finland and the USSR in the 20th Century

Course Description:
One of the arguments advanced by the proponents of communist ideas is that in spite of all the horrors of Stalinism and other communist regimes, they greatly contributed to the advancement of the countries where they managed to establish themselves. Taking into account the fact that in 1900 Grand Duchy of Finland was part of Russian Empire but in 1917 both parts took radically different paths of their development, a comparative history from 1900 to 1991 may give us a glimpse into successes and drawbacks of different political systems.

• Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire, 1900-1917
• Revolution and Emergence of Independent Finland: why the Whites won in Finland?
• Uneasy co-existence in the interwar Period
• Winter War of 1939-40 and continuation war of 1941-44. How Finland managed to preserve its independence?
• “Finlandization”: Finland and the USSR in the era of the Cold War
• End of the Cold War and recent developments in the relations between Finland and Russia

Dates and time:
Tues Sep 17           1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room
Tues Sep 24          1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room
Tues Oct 1              1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room
Tues Oct 8              1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room
No class Oct 15
Tues Oct 22            1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room
Tues Oct 29            1:30-3:30 pm                    Thomas Sill Multi-Purpose Room

Biography:
Olexandr Shevchenko is a lifelong student and teacher of history. Born in the USSR, he witnessed collapse of the communist Empire first hand. He studied history in Ukraine, Hungary, Germany, the US and Canada and taught in several Universities and community programs. His areas of interest are history of the twentieth century, Ukrainian history, history of Russia, history of Europe and military history. Since 2006 he lives and works in Winnipeg as a freelance historian and interpreter.

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