Actions of Lithuanian Government and Its Citizens in the Soviet Union’s War Against Finland in 1939–1940

Abstract

The aim of the article is to compare the attitudes and actions of the Lithuanian government and citizens in the war of the Soviet Union against Finland and to highlight its essential characteristics. The author of the article defines two objectives: 1) to indicate what reasons influenced the choice of Lithuania to stay neutral during the military aggression of the Soviet Union against Finland; and 2) to reveal by what means some citizens helped Finland, and whether this did not contradict the neutrality policy of the Lithuanian government. Actions of Lithuanian government and its citizensare examined based on the research methods of document analysis, qualitative content analysis, and the comparative method. The sources used for this article are documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in Lithuanian Central State Archives, Lithuanian volunteers’ documents in the Military Archives in Helsinki, Lithuanian citizens letters written in 1939–1940 to the Finnish Consul in Lithuania in the Joensuu Regional Archives which were published in the collection of documents compiled by the author of this article. We also use reports and political articles of that time printed in the pro-Government daily Lietuvos aidas (Echo of Lithuania), military magazines such as Kardas (Sword), Karys (Soldier), and Trimitas (Trumpet). Accordingly, the author of the article concludes that the policy of neutrality in Lithuania did not bring the expected results of preserved statehood: the USSR occupied the country in 1940. There was no common view in society on the observance of neutrality in the event of the war between the Soviet Union and Finland as the active position of some of inhabitants striving to help Finland was contrary to the Lithuanian government’s policy of neutrality. Lithuanian citizens’ support for Finland can be seen as an expression of civic virtues in the country under the authoritarian regime of that time, since it was necessary to take an active civic position that did not coincide with the policy of the government.