ABSTRACT
One of the oddities of Stalin’s nationalities policy was the creation of artificial national entities for the purpose of camouflaging the outright annexation of neighboring lands. Such was the case of the Karelo-Finnish Union Republic, whose appearance in 1940 was exclusively aimed at the projected annexation of Finland. When after World War II that goal, for a variety of reasons, was finally abandoned, the republic returned to its former autonomous status within the RSFSR and the second part of its hyphenated name was dropped.
