Hegelians on the Battlefield: Russian and Swedish Ideologies of War in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940

Scando-Slavica. 2025. Vol. 71. No. 2. P. 200–224.

Young P. I.

Not only Soviet and Swedish soldiers, but also Soviet and Swedish ideologies of war clashed on the battlefield in the Soviet-Finnish “Winter” War of 1939–1940. This article explores Soviet and Swedish ideologies of war in the Winter War in a comparative context. It shows that both Soviet and Swedish participants viewed the war as a continuation of the historical rivalry between the Russian and Swedish Empires. This historical perspective was synthesized with the modern Hegelian philosophy of war as a means of resolving class or civilizational contradictions. In the Soviet ideology of class war, the Winter War provided an opportunity to liberate Finnish workers from their capitalist exploiters and hasten the world revolution. In the Swedish ideology of civilizational war, it ignited hopes of restoring Scandinavian unity, expanding Swedish influence in Finland, and even resurrecting the Swedish Empire. 

Keywords: Швеция, Гегель, Sweden, Hegel, comparative history, сравнительная история, Советский Союз, империализм, Soviet-Finnish war, Soviet Union, imperialism, советско-финляндская война, Swedish Volunteer Brigade, Шведский добровольческий корпус