RUSSIAN TACTICS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 December 1939, Page 6

RUSSIAN TACTICS

DUPLICITY AS WELL AS FORCE AGAINST FINLAND Formation of “Popular Government” IN OPPOSITION TO NATIONAL CABINET FORMER COMINTERN SECRETARY AS PREMIER (British Official Wireless.) (Received Tin’s Day, 11.15 a.in.) RUGBY, December 1. The new Finnish Premier, M. Ryti, is well known in London, where he has been a frequent visitor, lie is a. Knight Commander of the Victorian Order. It is understood that M. R) ti s Government would be prepared to enter into relations with the Soviet Government on the basis of a military standstill, lheie is, however, no expectation that the Soviet Government, on its side, will take advantage of the spirit-of accommodation manifested by M. Ryti’s Government in order to bring hostilities to an end. This view gains confirmation from an announcement by the Moscow Radio of the formation of what purports to be a new Finnish Government at Terjoki. This news is read here in light of passages in M. Molotov’s midnight broadcast on Wednesday, in which the Soviet Premier let it be understood that, given an orientation of Finnish policy in Ihe direction desired by Moscow, the Soviet Government would be willing to allow a reunion of the Karelian population of the Soviet Union with the Karelians of Finland, under what M. Molotov was pleased to describe as an independent Finnish Government. It has not been overlooked here that, the Premier of the new and presumably “independent” Soviet, Government which has been formed at Terjoki is M. Kussimen, who was for some years Secretary of the Comintern and is remembered in Britain as one of the signatories of the “Zinoviev Letter” which figured prominent at a genera] election here fifteen years ago. Reports from the British Minister at Helsinki, Mr T. M. Snow, indicate that the Finnish Government has no present intention of evacuating the capital and that Mr Snow is remaining at his post.