Gorbachev Begins Visit to Finland : Hopes for Helsinki’s Help in Bolstering Soviet Economy

President Mikhail S. Gorbachev got a red-carpet welcome today as he began a visit to a thriving Soviet neighbor, seeking Finnish help in bolstering his country’s ailing economy.

Accompanied by his wife, Raisa, Gorbachev was greeted at the airport by President Mauno Koivisto and driven under overcast skies to the waterfront presidential residence in downtown Helsinki.

Finland has long sought to maintain its independence and neutrality, but for centuries it has generally been subservient to its giant neighbor. The nations fought bitter battles twice during World War II, and Finland each time was forced to grant territorial concessions to the Soviet aggressors.

Though long considered to be under Moscow’s thumb, increasingly liberal East European countries and Soviet republics are using Finland as a model of how to cooperate with Moscow, maintain independence and run an effective economy.

A handful of demonstrators were among several hundred Finns who lined the street near the palace to greet the Soviet leader, many cheering and waving small Finnish and Soviet flags.

The demonstrators want their government to seek the return of Karelia, an eastern region that Finland ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944.

“Give us back our Karelia!” the protesters shouted in Finnish as Gorbachev reviewed the honor guard in a light rain.

“I want the Soviets to discuss with us whether they would return it, since they said Stalin took it and that it was an unwarranted aggression. . . . What would be wrong with correcting that mistake?” said Martti Siirala, 66, who said he was born in the annexed territory.

But Finnish officials have said they do not expect the issue to be raised during Gorbachev’s three-day visit, and they said most Finns accept Soviet control of the region. About 400,000 Finns were displaced by the annexation.

Gorbachev, whose economic reforms need an infusion of Western technology and business acumen, plans to sign a five-year trade agreement and several specific accords for new joint businesses.

One agreement is to set the groundwork for new industries in the Kola Peninsula, which until recently was a closed military area. It is the home of the Soviet Northern Fleet and the base for northern defenses.

In the Gorbachev entourage is Vaino Vyalyas, the Communist Party chief of Estonia. His inclusion reflects recognition of the cultural links between the Finns and the people of the Baltic republic across the Gulf of Finland.