David vs Goliath: How Finland survived against Stalin

David vs Goliath: How Finland survived against Stalin

This timely book begins with a dramatic account of Stalin's failed invasion of Finland. In November 1939 the Soviet army turned its full force against the small independent republic of the North. However, Goliath was defeated by David's determination and brave resistance and, despite its immense military superiority, the Soviet war machine failed shamefully to conquer the small country, suffering heavy losses.

At the dawn of the Second World War an epic, corresponding to the heroic Greek resistance against Mussolini, was written in the frozen forests and the lands of the North. it was called the "Winter War".

Brave little Finland managed to escape Stalin's teeth three more times. Professor Kimmo Rentola explores not only Stalin's invasion, but the entire decade of strained relations between the Soviet Union and Finland that followed, namely its exit from World War II, the Soviet-backed coup of 1948, as well as its designation by Moscow as an enemy state in 1950;

Bringing new evidence to light, this shocking narrative is particularly relevant today as Finland has chosen, after 75 years of fragile balance between the two superpowers, to finally join NATO.

Drawing on archival sources from around the world, Rentola unravels in detail the complex history of this small republic while delving into Stalin's motivations and decisions that ultimately shaped the boundaries of the two geopolitical camps that dominated for the next 50 years.