Mostly this is due to the Cold War period false history writing of the Soviet Union, which has largely carried on to the present-day 'official' Russian interpretation of the war.

Whereas the 1939-1940 Winter War aggression against Finland had been left out of the school boooks of USSR, the massive Soviet war-initiating air raid against 18 Finnish cities on June 25, 1941 - accompanied by artillery and infantry attacks -, is still being over-looked in Russia today, while Finland is blamed for having been the aggressor and for having started the Continuation War.

An additional cause for confusion are the concessions which the Finns made in 1947, despite of their defensive victory in the war which had ended three years before.

The Finns succeeded in keeping the enemy behind the nation's border and in saving Finland as an independent and sovereign nation. They prevented the take-over attempts of USSR, launched by two major offensives, one initiating the Winter War on November 30, 1939, and the other initiating the Continuation War on June 25, 1941.

Out of all warring nations in Europe during WW2, west from USSR and besides England, Finland was the only one whose capital was never occupied during the entire World War.

Furthermore, whereas all other European nations bordering USSR ended up either becoming part of it or were forced into becoming it's satellites following WW2 - the aim of Joseph Stalin -, Finland, despite of its longest border with USSR, continued as a sovereign democracy throughout WW2, and beyond.

USSR - on the other hand - fell far from its objective, conquering Finland, a goal set forth in Moscow on August 23, 1939, by signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between USSR and Germany. Two days before, Stalin had spelled out his plan to the Soviet State Duma.

To rescue Finland's second largest city from destruction, and to take the fighting to nearby rural areas instead, the Finns had executed a strategic abandonment of Viipuri in only few hours on June 20, 1944. The day’s fighting in Viipuri was brought to a halt by 16:40, leaving only 120 Finns dead or missing in action (Tammi, 2006).

Following the abandonment of Viipuri, all the war’s nine final major battles were victorious for the Finns. Furthermore, ever since the start of the Continuation War, the Soviets had not been able to cross the preceding - 1940 - Finnish-Soviet border during the entire war, except for a short-lived moment in the final major battle in Ilomantsi, in 1944, where the Red Army suffered a devastating loss, when two of its divisions were fully decimated and shattered, as the Soviets were pushed back.

A narrow - but massive - Soviet spearhead had been stopped earlier by the Finns in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, on the Karelian Isthmus. On nearly all the battle stages, the Finns were deep on the Soviet soil when the war ended. Of the territory eventually ceded to USSR, the Red Army had won only a fraction in battles. Thus, from the military point of view, Finland had won the war.

Yet, if Finland were to be portrayed as an ally of Germany - an aim of the post-WW2 propagandist history interpretation of KGB -, Finland indeed could be viewed to have been on the losing side of WW2.

However, the Finnish-Soviet Continuation War was not a part of the conflict between the Allied powers and Axis powers, as also the Allied leaders Tehran Conference concluded on December 1, 1943. Although the Finns and the Germans shared a common enemy, their objectives were different and their wars were separate.

In order to save themselves from the destiny of their Baltic neighbors, the Finns knew there was no other choice - following the peace treaty of the Winter War - but to begin preparing themselves for a renewed Soviet attack.

Another Soviet offensive was inevitable, unless the Finns were to surrender to all Soviet demands - which would have meant a disaster to Finland. Signs of approaching Soviet attack were everywhere, as the Soviets had not paid much respect to promises made in the end of the Winter War.

During the so called Interim Peace period - the over one year long truce between the Winter War and the Continuation War - the Soviets had launched a campaign to manipulate the Finnish political decision making processes, including the naming of the highest Finnish government officials. What the Soviets had not been able to gain in the battles of the Winter War, they tried to achieve during the truce, without firing a bullet.

At this point, the Soviet tactics included numerous border violations against Finland. The Soviets had also began demanding control of strategically vital parts of the Southern Finnish railroads, while - at the same time - the Red Army built up forces by the nations' border.

By now, all the Baltic countries and Norway and Denmark had become occupied by either the Germans or the Soviets. Even in theory, Germany was left as the only source for weapons for the Finnish defense.

Reluctantly - left with no alternative -, the Finns agreed to a limited level of cooperation with the Nazis. However, no military alliance pact was signed, and the Nazis' key proposals of cooperation were declined.

Marshal Mannerheim refused to accept offered 80'000 German soldiers under his command. No direct German attacks against the Soviets were allowed from Finland, unless the Soviets would attack Finland first.

Based on Mannerheim's orders, the Finns held back from interrupting the Allied "lifeline" of help over Lake Ladoga, which delivered desperately needed supplies to the Soviet defenders of Leningrad.

The Finns also refused to join the - nearly successful - Nazi siege of Leningrad, in one of the most critical operations of WW2. Instead, the Finns froze their counter-offensive to the level of the River Svir, a tributary to Lake Ladoga.

Furthermore, the Finns held back from cutting down the Murmansk railroad - near the Finnish border - which delivered vast amount of Allied supplies to the Soviets.

Besides the Soviet Union, the Finns refused to declare war to any other Allied power or to attack same targets with the Germans. The Finns did not want to interfere with the Allied war against Germany, despite the fact that the Allied arms transported near the Finnish border regularly ended up being used against the Finns themselves - not only against the Nazis.

Finland also refused to hand over her Jews to the Nazis (note: eight non-Finnish Jews were denied political asylum by Finland). In many ways, the Finns in fact made an important contribution to the Allied war against Germany. While the Nazis were allowed to utilize the northernmost part of Finland, the Finns kept them away from the south, where the Finns stopped short of interrupting the Allied supply lines.

By not cutting the Allied supply route over Lake Ladoga - near Leningrad - and by not participating in the attempted full encirclement of Leningrad, during the Nazi siege which lasted over 900 days, the Finns denied a huge strategic and moral victory from the Nazis.

The Soviet attempt to occupy Finland in the Winter War, starting in 1939, had been pre-approved by Adolf Hitler in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In Berlin, November 12-13, 1940, the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov sought for a renewed Hitler's approval for the Soviet take-over campaign over Finland. However, Hitler no longer approved.

Nevertheless, on June 25, 1941, a new Soviet invasion of Finland was seen, when nearly 500 Soviet planes bombarded the country, while the Soviet artillery attacked in Hanko and the Red Army crossed the border to Finland in Parikkala. This was to be the first stage of even larger offensive to follow (Manninen, 2008).

By August, 1944, it had become clear to all, however, that Finland could not be beaten militarily. The Finns had pushed the Red Army back behind the border and had held it there until the war's end.

On the Leningrad sector, the final showdown had to be fought on the Finnish side of the pre-WW2 Finnish-Soviet border, because the border along the outskirts of Leningrad, and because Marshal Mannerheim had given strict orders for the Finns to stay out of the city.

On June 17, 1944, before the anticipated summer offensive of the Red Army, Finnish General Oesch - with Mannerheim's approval - made a final decision about the defensive line, where the Finnish troops would be withdrawn on this sector and where the Red Army would be stopped.

Following the plan - using delaying tactics -, the Finnish army on this sector was withdrawn to the VKT-line. Although the Soviet offensive turned out to be extremely fierce, the VKT-line proved impenetrable, despite the unprecedented Soviet fire power which included an artillery bombardment - in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala - unlike never seen before in history.

Only after suffering a loss in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, not before, the Soviets began pulling out the Red Army divisions - what remained of them - from the Finnish front, to be joined with the Allied forces advancing towards Berlin.

After the Continuation War, the Finns had a war against the Nazis, who had to be chased out of Northern Finland next.

As the Continuation War had been a separate war from WW2, its aftermath was dealt under a separate, conditional peace treaty. The Nazis were forced into a treaty of their own. It was unconditional and meant full surrender.

Unlike Nazi leaders, many of whom were sentenced to death, Mannerheim had advanced to become the President of Finland on August 4, 1944, continuing in office until March 4, 1946, when he resigned and retired - 19 months after the ending of the Continuation War.

Finland had won - in only way a defensive war can be won - by a defensive victory.