This nation of 5.4 million people is officially known as the Republic of Finland (Suomen tasavalta). During the Winter War (Finnish: Talvisota, Swedish: Vinterkriget, Russian: Зимняя война) of 1939-1940, also known as the Russo-Finnish War, Finnish soldiers were often clad in a solid white snow suit, which seems to be the first instance of using camouflage by this nation. Finland did not develop its own distinctive camouflage pattern until around 1962, but it was retained with relatively few changes until 2003. Since then, a variegated pattern (often mistaken for a pixelated pattern) has been worn, with several variations for different types of terrain and climate.
