Finland and Lithuania: Features of Historical Relations (until the beginning of the 17th century)

The article analyses the historical relations between the people who inhabited the territories of today’s Lithuania and Finland during the longue durée period (from the first contacts until the beginning of the 17th century). Two periods are distinguished: early period and contacts in historical times (the 12th – the beginning of the 17th centuries). The study, based on a rich historiography, provides a synthetic view on the issue. The article discusses the most important aspects of communication (from cultural-linguistic and economic exchanges in prehistoric times to the political-cultural contacts from the end of the 12th to the beginning of the 17thcenturies). The article highlights the mutual communication in the present-day territory of Lithuania, hence “the Lithuanian perspective”, and reflection of this communication in Lithuanian historical culture.