ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Moscow Armistice

Imagine playing a game with your friend where you are both mad at each other and keep taking each other's toys. Finally, you both agree to take a break and talk about how to share the toys without fighting. This is similar to what happened in 1944, during World War II.

The Soviet Union, which is like a big country to the East of Europe, was fighting against Germany (a big country in the middle of Europe) in the war. Finland, a smaller country north of Germany, was also involved in the war and was fighting against the Soviet Union.

Eventually, the Soviet Union and Finland agreed to stop fighting for a while and talk about how to make peace. This agreement was called the Moscow Armistice, named after the city where they met to discuss things.

The Moscow Armistice was like a timeout or a break from fighting. Both sides agreed to stop fighting and to exchange prisoners of war, which means soldiers who had been captured.

While they were talking, they also agreed on some other things, like how much land Finland could have and how much money Finland would have to pay the Soviet Union for damages caused by the war.

After these discussions, the fighting officially ended, and the two countries could start to work towards long-term peace.

So, think of the Moscow Armistice like taking a break from a fight and agreeing to talk things out peacefully with the hope of reaching a lasting resolution.