Portal:Finland
The Finland Portal
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland covers an area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi) and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, of which 84.9 percent and 5.1 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of the Swedish Empire as a result of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state ruled by the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and the idea of full independence began to take hold. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its full independence. In 1918 the young nation was divided by the Finnish Civil War. During World War II, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. As a result, it lost parts of its territory but retained its independence. (Full article...)
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The Laiho Trio was formed by three brothers, Altti U. Laiho (1939 Pori – 2017 Ulvila), Veikko O. Laiho (b. 1942) and Pentti K. Laiho (b. 1944). According to many experts, the trio was extremely unusual in its composition, repertoire, and virtuosity.
The repertoire of the trio consisted of big symphony orchestral compositions arranged for three accordions. The brothers grew up in the city of Pori, in southwestern Finland, but they made their main career in the United States where they lived for years. (Full article...)Selected image -
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that politician Kalervo Kummola introduced karaoke to Finland?
- ... that Charlotte Haining was an International Jury Member for the selection of Finland's 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entry?
- ... that Theodolinda Hahnsson is the first known Finnish-language female author?
- ... that the United States severed diplomatic ties with Finland in 1944 because of a personal letter sent to Hitler?
- ... that Kimmo Leinonen helped establish both the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame?
- ... that Finnish politician Kaarina Suonio answered the world's first GSM phone call?
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You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.
More did you know -
- ...that the Finnish company YIT was responsible for the construction of the Finnish National Opera house, the Helsinki Fair Centre and Cirrus, the tallest high-rise building in Finland?
- ...that the paintings in the Espoo Cathedral were painted over in the 18th century, as they were thought to be "crude and superstitious'?
- ...that there are three unilingually Swedish municipalities in one province of mainland Finland?
- ...that Maria, the Finnish form of Mary, is the most popular Finnish name used during the modern era?
- ...that Finnish film director Valentin Vaala was reportedly so disappointed with his first film that he dumped the original camera negatives into the sea?
Remedy Entertainment Oyj, trading internationally as Remedy Entertainment Plc, is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Notable games the studio has developed include the first two entries in the Max Payne franchise, Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Control. Sam Lake, Remedy's creative director, has represented the company on numerous occasions.
Founded in August 1995 by members of demoscene group Future Crew, Remedy Entertainment created their first game, Death Rally, in a team member's basement. Apogee Software served as the game's publisher, and continued to be involved in the production of their next title, Max Payne, which received critical acclaim upon release. The game was followed by a sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, released by Rockstar Games. After spending seven years working on the Max Payne franchise, the developer decided to create a new intellectual property called Alan Wake. This title was once suspected to be vaporware because of the length of time it took to produce and release. It gained a cult following when it was released in 2010, by Microsoft Game Studios, though at the time its sales were not enough to justify the production of a sequel. Remedy decided to pursue a new project named Quantum Break, which further expanded the live-action component of Alan Wake. The team had transitioned to become a multi-project studio since 2016, and had three projects in development, including Control and the single-player portions of CrossfireX. Remedy’s latest title, Alan Wake II, was released on 27 October 2023. They are currently developing Control 2 and a remake of their original Max Payne titles. (Full article...)General images
In the news
- 2 April 2024 – Viertola school shooting
- A student is killed and two others are injured in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland. A 12-year-old student is detained. (AP) (Yle)
- 1 March 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is sworn in as the 13th President of Finland. (Reuters)
- 11 February 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election
- Alexander Stubb is elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.(Yle)
- 27 January 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
- The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suspend humanitarian aid to UNRWA over allegations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. (BBC News) (CBS News)
- 14 December 2023 – Finland–United States relations
- Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to Finland in the event of conflict. (Reuters)
- 29 November 2023 – Finland–Poland relations, Finland–Russia relations
- National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera announces that Poland will send "a team of military advisors" to the Finland–Russia border in response to an official request for allied support. Finland says it was unaware of the Polish offer. Russia warns against the move, viewing the concentration of troops on the border as a threat. (Reuters)
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