Lisa Besonen, age 9, of Mason, Mich., for her question:
HOW WAS FINLAND STARTED?
Famous for its scenic beauty, the country of Finland is in northern Europe and not too much larger in area than the state of New Mexico. It has an estimated population of just under 5 million with 66 percent living in urban communities and only 34 percent in rural areas. The country is a republic and is headed by a president who is elected to six year terms.
Finland is located between Russia on the east and Sweden on the west. Earliest inhabitants of the land were Lapps who lived as nomadic hunters, but they were pushed farther north about A.D. 100 when ancestors of present day Finns moved in from the south shores of the Gulf of Finland.
The early Finns were divided into three loosely organized tribes that often fought one another. They lived by fishing, hunting and farming.
By about 1000, Sweden and Russia began a struggle for the control of Finland. Both countries wanted to expand their boundaries.
During the 1100s and 1200s, Sweden gradually conquered all Finland. There were more wars between the 1500s and the 1700s between Sweden and Russia with each of the countries occupying Finland part of the time.
Russia again invaded Finland in 1808 and made the country a grand ducy of the Russian Empire. During the 1800s, however, the Finns developed strong feelings of nationalism as they took increasing pride in their country and its culture.
In 1906, the Finns created their first parliament elected by all adult citizens including the women. Then in 1917, when a revolution in Russia overthrew the czar, Finland declared its freedom and independence.
In 1919, Finland adopted a republican constitution and Kaarlo Juho Stahlberg became the country's first president.
During World War II Finland never officially allied itself with any nation. Despite strong resistance to a Russian invasion in 1939, Finland lost the southern part of its country. In 1941, Finland allowed Germany to attack Russia from their northern boundary, but the plan didn't work. The Germans retreated and the Finns signed an armistice with Russia in 1944.
Since World War II, Finland has had a policy of neutrality in international politics. They have also developed close economic and cultural ties with Russia as well as with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. All of the nations now are dedicated to friendship and assistance.
Finland joined the United Nations in 1955.