The First World War broke out in August 1914. Losses from the war and economic difficulties drove Russia little by little to a state of internal crisis. In March 1917 Tsar Nicholas II was deposed and the Russian Provisional Government took power. This change also had an effect on Russo-Finnish relations and in Finland demands for greater independence from Russia began to grow.

In July 1917 the Finnish Parliament under Social Democrat leadership approved by 135 votes to 55 an emergency powers act whereby Parliament assumed the supreme authority in Finland. Some of the bourgeois party representatives opposed the act. Russia’s Provisional Government reacted by dissolving the parliament and calling for new elections. In the polls that followed the social democrats lost control to the bourgeois majority. During the autumn tempers ran high both in Finland and elsewhere in Russia.

On November 7th 1917 the Bolsheviks led by Lenin seized power in St. Petersburg in the name of the workers’ and soldiers’ councils. The same month saw a general strike in Finland and disturbances in several areas. Parliament approved on 15th November 1917 Agrarian Party member Santeri Alkio’s proposal for ultimate power to be transferred to parliament, for municipal legislation and an 8 hour working day which was aimed at pacifying the workers. The Senate, led by P.E. Svinhufvud, declared independence to parliament on December 4th and parliament approved this on December 6th. Finland’s independence and national day later became established as December 6th, the date approval was given for the declaration of independence.

Following the declaration of independence it was important to gain recognition of this from other states. They were unwilling to do this, however, until approval was given by Bolshevik-led Soviet Russia. Independence for Finland was recognized by a government led by Lenin on December 31st 1917. The official recognition was received January 4th 1918. Following this, France and Sweden recognized independent Finland on January 4th and Germany did so on January 6th. The United Kingdom and the United States of America recognized Finland’s independence in the spring of 1919 after the end of the alignment with Germany that followed the Civil War and after the first parliamentary elections to be held during the country’s independence.