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On August
23, the Soviets demanded that Finland cede territories near
Leningrad and a military base at Hango, for which they offered
Finland alternative territory. On November 30, 1939, after the
negotiations failed, the Soviet Union launched the “Winter War.”
Despite the unequal balance of forces, the Finnish put up stiff
military resistance. On March 12, 1940, the countries concluded a
peace treaty in which the Soviet demands were met.
Practically
speaking, the stipulation that Finland would fall within the Soviet
sphere of influence was part of the secret appendix to the
Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement that partitioned such spheres between
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
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