Great Britain and the Soviet Threat in Finland, 1944–1951.

The publication of a documentary collection on British policy towards the Nordic countries from 1944 to 1951 is a good occasion to ponder how and to what extent history is, or can be, rewritten on the basis of new documentary evidence, and in what directions the historiography of the early Cold War seems to be heading at present. To illustrate these issues, some key aspects of British policy towards Finland are addressed, in particular those connected with the distinct change of attitude from 1944, when Finland was self-evidently left in the Soviet sphere of influence, to the late 1940s, when the British gradually saw the chance and the utility of countering Soviet efforts in Finland. Repetition of every familiar issue along the well-trodden path of scholarship on the late 1940s is not deemed necessary here. Particular attention is paid to the need for multi-archival research. The necessity and the utility of well-informed multi-archival commentary on even the best single-archive documentary examination is demonstrated, and the consequences for future research discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]