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===A Brief Background of the Conflict===
[[File: Mannerheim.jpg|250px|thumbnail|rightleft|Carl Gustav Emile Mannerheim (1867-1951)]]
Finland and Russia have shared a border for hundreds of years and for most of that time the interaction between Finns and Russians has been relatively peaceful. For most of early modern history, Finland was a colony of Imperial Tsarist Russia. Finns were allowed to serve in the Russia military and were given full rights as Russian subjects, but the situation changed when the Russian royal family was overthrown by the Bolshevik communists in 1917. The Bolshevik hold on Russia was tenuous at best as it fought other political factions within the country as well as foreign powers during the Russian Civil War.
Besides the Soviet desire to spread communism by force, attitudes in Finland also contributed to deteriorating relations between the two countries in the late 1930s. For decades, Finnish nationalists and revanchists advocated for the incorporation of all of Karelia, most of which was part of the Soviet Union, with Finland. Although most Finns did not view Karelia so strongly, some groups, such as the Lapuauns, were particularly vocal about uniting what they believed was the Finnish ancestral homeland with the modern nation-state of Finland. <ref> Trotter, William R. <i>A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-40.</i> (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books, 2000), p. 9</ref> The activities of the Finnish nationalists surely rankled Stalin and the Soviet government, but even many of the more mainstream Finnish leaders made the tense situation even worse.
No doubt influenced by the vociferous calls Finland’s nationalists, Finnish Prime Minster Aimo Cajander proved to be extremely obstinate in his negotiations with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and was even unwilling to concede to the most modest of Soviet demands. <ref> Edwards, Robert. <i>The Winter War: Russia’s Invasion of Finland, 1939-40.</i> (New York: Pegasus Books, 2008), p. 59</ref> Cajander’s inability to reasonably negotiate with the Soviets was quickly viewed as a liability by many in the Finnish government, who were willing to grant Stalin minor concessions in order to avoid a war. For instance, Mannerheim urged Cajander to cede the Aaland Archipelago to the Soviets, which were of little military or economic consequence to the Finns. <ref> Edwards, p. 29</ref> Unable to find a diplomatic solution for what they believed were many legitimate issues, the Soviet Union decided to attack Finland at the onset of winter in 1939.
===Factors in the Finns’ Favor===