The Republic of Finland

The Flag of Finland

Suomen lippu

The Finnish flag, Siniristilippu or the Blue Cross Flag, dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The first time that a blue Scandinavian cross on white was seen was in 1861, with its use by the Nylandska Jaktklubben in Helsinki. Which shared similarities to the St Petersburg Yacht Club, which in turn, took its colours from the Imperial Russian navy ensign. Which was a blue saltire on white.

In 1906, the Grand Duchy of Finland adopted universal suffrage for its peoples, however, tensions began to mount as The Russian Empire made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. Also, the Czar never approved any laws passed by the new Finnish government.

In 1917, Russia went through the February Revolution which saw the ousting of the Czar, and the effective collapse of the Russian Empire. In the aftermath, The Finns began to question Finland's place within the Empire. The ruling Social Democrats passed the Power Law, which gave primacy in Finland to the Finnish parliament. However, the new Provisional Russian Government rejected it, and the right wing parties in Finland dissolved parliament by force. They where returned to power with a slim majority.

In October, there was the October Revolution which saw Lenin's Communist party forcibly take power in Russia. The right wing parties in Finland began to reconsider their moves to block the transfer of power from Russia to Finland. With radical socialists in power in Russia, the right wing in Finland went beyond the enforcing of the Power Law, and declared independence for Finland.

January 1918 saw the start of a brief but bitter civil war, with the whites, being backed by Imperial Germany, and the Reds, backed by the Soviet Union. Finally, in 1919 Finland made the transition to independent democracy with the election of the first Finnish president, and in 1920, negotiations where concluded with Russia over the borders.

The first flag of an independent Finland was seen as temporary, and just a red banner featuring the Finnish coat of arms. A rampant Lion carrying a sword and standing on another. This flag was adopted after Finland's initial declaration of independence, and only in use for a year.

There was a competition held to design a new flag for Finland, and many designs where submitted. Such as the flag of Denmark, with a yellow cross rather than white, and another had diagonal blue and white stripes. This one was rejected as being only suitable for a barbers pole!

Finally, Finland selected a Scandinavian cross design, with a blue cross on white. The state flag features the national coat of arms set in a square at the heart of a cross.

The blue represents the sky, and the thousands of lakes in Finland, and the white represents the snow that blankets the nation for long periods of time.