Whites (Finland)
Finland | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917–1918 | |||||||||
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Temporary de facto state flag | |||||||||
| Capital | Helsinki Vaasa (de facto, January 29th – May 3th 1918) | ||||||||
| Official languages | Finnish Swedish | ||||||||
| Government | Provisional government under Imperial German protection | ||||||||
• Chairman of the Senate of Finland | Pehr Evind Svinhufvud | ||||||||
• Commander-in-chief of the Civil Guard | Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim | ||||||||
| Legislature | Senate of Finland | ||||||||
| Historical era | |||||||||
| 6 December 1917 | |||||||||
| 15 May 1918 | |||||||||
| 18 May 1918 | |||||||||
| Currency | Markka | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Finland Russia | ||||||||
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White Finland (officially known simply as Finland) is the name given to the anti-communist refugee and provisional government declared in Finland following the October Revolution. Its forces, known as the Whites (Finnish: Valkoiset, IPA: [ˈʋɑlkoi̯set]; Swedish: De vita, Swedish pronunciation: [de ˈviːta]), led by Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, fought against the forces of the rival Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic, known as the "Reds", during the Finnish Civil War in 1918.
At the start of the civil war, the Whites controlled the majority of Finland's territory, chiefly its central and northern areas. These were largely rural areas however, and most industrial centres, including the capital of Helsinki, were under Red control, forcing the senate to relocate to the coastal city of Vaasa. Imperial German support, coupled with a comparatively lacklustre Soviet support for the Finnish Reds helped the Finnish Whites ultimately win the short but brutal civil war. The Whites also enjoyed support from Swedish, Estonian volunteers, as well as the Polish Legion in Finland and some Russian White Guards.
"White Finland" would end with the decision to proclaim Finland as a kingdom, with Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as its monarch. He would never officially assume the throne however, renouncing it after Germany's defeat in World War I, after which the decision was made to establish a republic, which has lasted to this day. In Finnish historiography, this limbo period between independence and the official decision to establish Finland as a kingdom is known as the "Provisional Government" (Finnish: väliaikainen hallitus; Swedish: provisorisk regering), with "White" and "Red" terminology being used only the context of the civil war.