POLITICAL - COMMUNIST PARTY ACTIVITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210142-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2002
• Sequence Number: 142
• Publication Date: March 11, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/08/06: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210142-6
CIASSIFICAT~ RESTRICTED
URITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTEt.UGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN r~OCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
CGU NTRY Finland
SUBJECT Political -Communist Pt:rty activities
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED Helsinki
DATE
PUBLISH ED 29 Jan 1953
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REPORT NO
CD NC
DATE OF
25X1A
DATE DIST.// Mar 1953
N0. OF PAGES 1
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
INTENSIFIED PROPAGANDA, NEW TAC^t ICS
OF FINNISH COMMUNISTS
Professor Eea Itaitila, deputy chairmen of the Finnish People's Party, sur-
veyed the present economic and polltical situation and the future mission oP the
Finnish People's Party at the annual meeting of the party's T8fS18 local on 27 Jan-
uary 1953? He also discussed the activity of the Communist Party.
The speaker considered the dii'ferent aspects of international Communism and
confirmed the noticeable decrease of Communist support in France, West Germany,
Suedes, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, pointing out that the exposures of ar(d
changes in Cominform tactics are evident also ir. Finland. In Finland, however,
he stated, no actual decrease in the influence of the Communists is apparent, and
is the 1951 rational elections they regained a great portion of the loss euPfered
in previous elections. He mentioned the Elanto Cooperative election in Helsinki
last fall, where the Communist vote actually decreased, but where the percentage
decrease ?wae leas than half that of the Social Democrats (the total number of
votes cast also decreased from earlier elections}. Ii'he Finnish People's Party,
he said, was the only party whose vote increased in the Elanto election -- over
70 percent, in Pact -- and the Finnish People's Party thus emerged as the largest
aonsocialiat party in this election.
Several months ago, Professor I;aitila continued, the contents of Communist
newspapers were monotonously devoted to the forging of the "peace cha in ," but the
tactical errors which ocr_urred recently within the Social Democratic Party gave
the Communists new political ammunition. Moreover. he stated, the Communists
greatly intensified their field woxk and propaganda during the winter oP 1952
and are now using more diversified methods. One of their special tactics, he
pointed out, is to try to take advantage of the i.icrerisingly unfavorable eco-
nomic situation, one of their. most common arguments being that unemployment is
coused purposely. Their tactics, he continued, i>.:-.ude an attempt to expand unem-
ployment pro3ecte by urging people to get their names on the card files of the em-
ployment offices; after large unemployment projects have thus been artiYicislly
creoted, large-scale Communist propaganda programs are started at the projects.
Such practices, Professor Kaitila concluded, indicate that the motivating force
of the Communists is not the improvement of the people's sociological. and
economic conditions, but the attainment os' goals quite foreign to Finnish society.
25X1A
ILLEGIB
l - Approved For Release 2002/08/06: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210142-6
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