Europe
Global
United States
Norfolk Island
Finland's History
At the end of the last Ice Age, man moved northwards settling in Finland around 8500BC. Ugric tribes originating around Russia’s Ural Mountains arrived in Finland around 3000BC, while other Ugric’s settled in Estonia and Hungary. Swedes began arriving in Finland in the Middle Ages and ruled Finland from 1249. Imperial Russia created the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and during the 1917 Russian Revolution the non-Bolshevist Finns, with German support, declared an independent Republic of Finland. In 1939 Stalin ordered the Red Army in to crush the Finns but to everyone’s surprise Finland’s determined defence caused massive loses to the Soviets and the resulting peace terms were lenient. In WWII the Finns sided with the invading German’s but to save their country from disaster again accepted favourable terms from Stalin, ending their war in 1944. During the Cold War Finland remained strictly neutral. The country joined the European Union in 1995 and the Eurozone in 2002.
Our Pick
Finland has great ferry links to other Baltic cities and to their Åland Islands watery playground. You can enjoy the exhilaration of s cruise without blowing your budget by taking a scenic ferry. 
Right Now
Stable, prosperous Finland enjoyed unique trade benefits from the Soviet Union and following the collapse of Communism the Finnish economy suffered a downturn. However the resilient Finns overcame their recession and their diversified economy found different markets. Finland has a large services sector, manufacturing and timber production sectors. The dominant company on Helsinki’s stock exchange is Nokia. The Finns are a healthy people who enjoy year round outdoor activities, hiking, skiing and watersports on their many lakes. Car racing is hugely popular, the country producing many Formula 1 champions. Finland has an elaborate social welfare net and liberal attitudes to life.
