It's interesting how many parallels there are between then and now.
"If, as reported, the Finnish explanation is that it was an accident in the course of artillery practice ... the Russians definitely have no intention of moving against Finland" sounds like what they could have been saying after that missile landed in Poland a week or so ago. Of course, we know now that the USSR had *every* intention of moving against Finland, but it shows how in both cases, the public perception is trying to figure out the Russians' intentions, and really doesn't trust them.
Also, for those of you who remember how the Winter War ended, a massive, Russian-speaking expansionist dictatorship based in Moscow used the excuse of protecting ethnic Russians to invade a small but resource-rich neighbor. Through unexpectedly fierce resistance combined with their own military blunders, they found themselves barely squeaking out a Pyrrhic victory, driving that small neighbor into an alliance with a MUCH more powerful regional neighbor. Sound familiar? The story of Ukraine isn't quite finished being written, but otherwise the two stories seem pretty similar.
Which Russia may want to acknowledge, considering that their tremendously poor showing in Finland was one of the reasons that Germany thought they could take them a few years later. Then, things just got messy.
