New book based on Soviet Navy guide to Finnish harbours
Original guides found in Tallinn used book store
A new book based on guidebooks of the Soviet Navy to Finnish harbours on the Gulf of Finland is soon to be published.
The book, Punalaivaston väyläoppaat Haminasta Hankoon 1954 - 1988 ("Channel Guides of the Red Navy from Hamina to Hanko 1954 - 1988") is a direct translation from the original works, edited by Antero Uitto with background information in the introduction.
Previously Uitto has edited a number of historical books based on Soviet sources, including Talvisota puna-armeijan silmin ("The Winter War through the Eyes of the Red Army", 1999), and the documentary works Stalinin istunnot. Suomen ja Baltian kohtalo Neuvostoliiton asiakirjoissa 1939 - 1940 ("Stalin’s Sessions. The Fate of Finland and the Baltic States in Soviet Documents 1939 - 1940", 1982), and Puna-armeijan marssiopas Suomeen 1939 ("The Red Army’s March Guide to Finland 1939", 1989).
About ten years ago Uitto learned about the naval guides, and began to search for copies in Estonian used bookstores. In about 2000 he managed to locate a guide dated 1954. He also requested a search for similar works, and last summer he received more recent channel guides, one from 1968, and one from 1979. The last updates were from 1988.
The pilots’ guides describe the easiest routes to Finnish harbours, and passages through the archipelagoes. The guides contain silhouette drawings of landscapes and landmarks en route, as well as details of the routes themselves.
There is also detailed information on the length of harbour piers, and the depth of the water next to the piers. For instance, at the pier of the passenger terminal in Helsinki’s South Harbour, the water is between 7.5 and 7.7 metres deep.
Uitto says that while the guides have probably been written primarily for military purposes, they also have civilian applications.
The Soviet Navy wrote similar guides for the entire Baltic Sea, and for other areas. The coasts of the Baltic states and the Gulf of Finland were in the first part of the pilot book, with detailed descriptions of the Finnish coast.
The military bases on the Upinniemi and Hanko peninsulas are described in minute detail, even though the sea lanes near Hanko, an important Finnish naval base, are not especially important for merchant shipping.
The book is scheduled for publication in about two weeks. The publisher expects that the book will find a following among those interested in security policy, as well as maritime enthusiasts.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 5.5.2004 - TODAY |
 New book based on Soviet Navy guide to Finnish harbours |
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