Urho Kekkonen served as President of Finland between 1956 and 1982. Kekkonen towered over the Finnish political system, creating a complex system whereby he co-opted his potential adversaries into an ever-larger coalition, such that at election time, he was safe from serious political opposition.

Early on in his political career, Kekkonen decided that faced with a much larger much stronger neighbour, Finland’s best hope was to give the Soviet Union just enough control over Finland that the Soviets wouldn’t lose their temper with them.  As you’re about to hear, this had mixed results, but succeeded in its principal aim of maintaining Finland’s de facto independence. My guest today points out that Finland cannot have a bad relationship with Russia; their proximity to each other makes this utterly out of the question.

My guest today is Finnish historian Henrik Meinander, who is a professor at the University of Helsinki. Henrik’s English-language book, A History of Finland, was released in 2011 and updated in 2019. As well as discussing Kekkonen’s life and politics, I asked Henrik what he thought of Finland joining NATO, and whether he really thought the Finns are the happiest people in the world, as they’re often designated.