Happy birthday, Finland!

Happy Independence Day, Finland! On this day in 1917, the Nordic nation declared its independence from Russia. Finland had been a grand duchy of the Russian Empire since 1809, and it was part of the Swedish Empire for the previous 600 years. However, during the Russian revolutions of 1917, Finnish nationalists saw their chance to establish an independent nation. After several months of negotiations, Finland declared independence on December 6.
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