Was the conflict that took place in Finland during 1918 a war of Essay

Was the conflict that took place in Finland during 1918 a war of independence or a civil war - Essay Example The movement has become known to be a civil disobedience movement launched by the citizens of Finland but on the other hand some people deny calling it a civil disobedience movement but rather call it a war of independence fought by the citizens of Finland. Different events led to the war fought between the citizens of Finland and these shall be analyzed in this essay. The citizens of Finland were divided into the Democrats (Reds) and Conservatives (Whites) and they both fought with each other to retain power of the state. All this happened in the year 1918 when Russia itself became affected by the World War One. World War I is known to play a significant role in the independence of Finland. In my view 1918 was a year in which civil disobedience movement was launched by the two factions which ultimately led to the independence of the state. In other words the movement started as a civil disobedience movement but turned out to be a war of independence because of the events that took p lace in the World War I (Arter 1999; Jussila et al 1999; Alapuro 1998; Jutikkala et al 2003). Start of the Conflict The Civil war in Grand Duchy started in the 1918 but it could always be expected after the growing tensions between Russia and Germany in 1914. Finland had been a source of raw material, weapons and army and it was the interest of both the states from the very beginning. The German empire always had a keen interest in the state of Finland as it provided a path for entering Russia. In the nineteenth century the relations between the Finnish and Russians were quite peaceful because of which there were no conflicts in between them. However after 1899, Russia began the process of Russification in which they integrated the Russian language in all the schools of Finland and tried to enhance their military power on the Grand Duchy. This was considered as the beginning of the oppression in Finland. The relationships between Russia and Finland were thereafter not peaceful as th ey used to be. The problems were further aggravated when the Tsar of Finland Nicholas II carried out the activities of Russification in throughout the beginning of the 20th century. His policies were not famous amongst the working class people of Finland and many workers were opposing his activities. Nicholas II made the parliament a mere advisor and snatched away all the powers from the Parliament. Hence it was Nicholas II who was to decide everything on the issues of Finland. This led to the famous revolutions known as February Revolution and the October Revolution (Alapuro 1988; Jussila et al 1999). February Revolution The Russification of Finland did not stop but rather a second wave of Russification started in 1908 and it did not stop until the Finns took an action. The Russian Tsars Nicholas II was removed from the parliament in 1917 to provide all the rights to the parliament which they deserved. The February Revolution took place because of the downfall of the Russian empire in 1917 following the World War I. The power of Tsar were transferred to the Russian Duma and provisional government following the revolution. The status of Finland was revived as an autonomous state as it used to be without any interference of the Russian Empire in its policies (Smith 1955; Jussila et al 1999). After revolts in Russia the power was transferred to the four main parties in Finland which were Finnish Party, Young Finnish Party, Agarian League and Swedish People’