Porkkalanniemi

If the same power controlled the Estonian coast, on the opposite side of the gulf, it would then be able to block Saint Petersburg's naval access to the Baltic Sea.

[2] Beyond its military use, the naval base served to apply political pressure on the Finnish governments and also to help build a Soviet espionage network.

[2] While under Soviet control, Finnish passenger trains running between Helsinki and Turku were in 1947 allowed to use the railway through the area under payment of fees.

The renunciation of Stalinism by the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev and Finland's neutrality and remaining out of NATO were also important contributing factors.

[citation needed] Upon re-entering the area, the Finns found that the Soviets had destroyed about 50% of civilian housing and 80% of commercial properties which had been handed over in 1944.

The Soviet lease of Porkkala and the return of the area to former inhabitants are key events in the Finnish Noir mystery, Below the Surface by Leena Lehtolainen.