FINLAND: Pliant President

When the Russians recently agreed to dismantle their naval base at Porkkala and return the area to Finland, their immediate aim was to persuade the Finns to elect a pro-Russian successor to old (85) President Juho Paasikivi, who is the only non-Communist chief of state to hold the Soviet Order of Lenin. Last week the newly chosen Electoral College picked pliable Premier Urho Kekkonen, 55, who has stood close behind Paasikivi in tiny, democratic Finland's enforced dealings with the Russian Communists.

Lawyer Kekkonen, city-bred boss of Finland's Agrarian Party, squeaked in for his six-year term after the most protracted balloting in...

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