By analysing the experience of Finland, Risto Alapuro shows how upheavals in powerful countries shape the internal politics of smaller countries. This linkage, a highly topical subject in the twenty-first century world, is concretely studied by putting the abortive Finnish revolution of 1917-18 into a long historical and a broad comparative perspective.

Finland has occupied the political, religious, cultural and economic border between eastern and western Europe since prehistoric times. Despite its peripheral location, the country has found itself in the mainstream of developments that created modern Europe, such as nationalism, world wars, industrialization, and the current political and economic integration. The first evidence of human life in Finland began sometime in the millennium 7,000-8,000 B.C. when small, tribal groups populated the area. In 1155, Finland became a part of the Swedish kingdom, when most of the Finnish peninsula came under the rule of the Swedish king. Finland was annexed to Russia as a result of wars between the Swedish king and Russian rulers in 1809, bringing about the Age of Autonomy or Imperial Era. The Age of Independence came when Finland's leaders declared the country's political independence in 1917 as a result of turmoil in Russia after World War I. Finland, along with several newly independent countries, had to find its place in the new Europe. The country not only did that, but created a secure and prosperous country during times of turmoil. It has emerged into a place of privilege, with high levels of prosperity, cultural achievements, and social peace. Ideal for students and general readers, the History of Finland is part of Greenwood's Histories of Modern Nations series. With over thirty nation's histories in print, these books provide readers with a concise, up-to-date history of countries throughout the world. Reference features include a biographical section highlighting notable figures in Finland's history, a timeline of important historical events, and a bibliographical essay.

This open access book uses Finland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as an empirical case in order to study the emergence, shaping and renewal of a nation through histories of experience and emotions. It revolves around the following questions: What kinds of experiences have engendered national mobilization and feelings of national belonging? How have political and societal conflicts turned into new communities of experience and emotion? What kinds of experiences have been integrated into, or excluded from, the national context in different instances? How have people internalized or contested the nation as a context for their personal, family and minority-group experiences? In what ways has the nation entered and affected people’s intimate spheres of life? How have “national” experiences been transmitted to children in the renewal of the nation? This edited collection points to the histories of experience and emotions as a novel way of studying nations and nationalism. Building on current debates in nationalism studies, it offers a theoretical framework for analyzing the historical construction of “lived nations,” and introduces a number of new methodological approaches to understand the experiences of the nation, extending from the investigation of personal reminiscences and music records to the study of dreams and children’s drawings.

Ilmatar gave birth to the bard who sang the Finnish landscape into being in the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic). In Ilmatar's Inspirations, Tina K. Ramnarine explores creative processes and the critical role that music has played in Finnish nationalism by focusing on Finnish "new folk music" in the shifting spaces between the national imagination and the global marketplace. Through extensive interviews and observations of performances, Ramnarine reveals how new folk musicians think and talk about past and present folk music practices, the role of folk music in the representation of national identity, and the interactions of Finnish folk musicians with performers from around the globe. She focuses especially on two internationally successful groups—JPP, a group that plays fiddle dance music, and Värttinä, an ensemble that highlights women's vocal traditions. Analyzing the multilayered processes—musical, institutional, political, and commercial—that have shaped and are shaped by new folk music in Finland, Ramnarine gives us an entirely new understanding of the connections between music, place, and identity.