Finland was not independent in World War II, it got partially taken over by Russia, and then was eventually forced to become a puppet state of Nazi Germany, later fighting alongside it. Being subservient to the Nazis and surrendering to the Russians is about as far from being independent as you can be short of being outright annexed by either of them in your entirety.
Perhaps this is part of the Finnish national psyche, that you tell yourself you're better than others because you sided with the Nazi's by choice using the rather arbitrary choice of the Molotov-Ribbentrop construct rather than simply comparing against more similar neighbours like those physically next to you in Scandinavia like Sweden that was actually neutral, or Norway that fought and lost against the Nazis but still at least stood for what it believed in and fought for it's independence. Claiming being forced under the whims of Nazi Germany is somehow retention of independence is a desperate nationalist view at best, a lie at worst.
I know it's painful for you Finns, you've never really accepted that you helped a group of people who were responsible for the most horrendous acts against humanity in modern history, and you like to deflect by saying "But Stalin was a bad guy too and even the allies killed some people!" as if all measures of killing or torturing are somehow equal (I'll give you a hint: Stalin, Churchill et. al. weren't making lampshades out of human skin and throwing babies up into the air as a kind of living clay pidgeon). At the end of the day though, instead of feigning superiority and pretending you're just better than anyone else because you supposedly chose to side with the Nazis, you guys just need to accept the past, get over it, and move on, something the Germans themselves have managed to do incredibly well (now there's a real bastion of moderation, progressivism, and relatively independent thought in international politics if ever their was one - one that puts you Finns to shame).
The reality is that Finland is probably the worst country to talk about freedom and independence, it's been walked all over for much of it's modern history, and I get it, that's the Finnish way, to you that is independence, but to us independence is making our own decisions, deciding the fate of our own sovereignty rather than having it forced upon us. So I'm dismayed, albeit not surprised that Finns like you believe you're somehow superior for being everyone's doormat, to be walked over at will, and to see you spin capitulation as knowing how to defuse conflict.
It's nonsense of course, anyone can defuse a conflict by capitulating, the difference is that nations like Finland are relatively rare in their willingness to give up their independence to actually do that - the rest of us prefer to stand with like minded allies and fight for what we believe in. I don't want what Putin is offering just like I'd never have wanted what either Stalin or Hitler was offering. Corrupt fascist dictatorships are not my thing and I believe they're worth fighting against.
So you should probably stop looking down on other nations in the West, and start looking down at yourself and your countrymen for being willing to give up your independence and identity to whoever scares the shit out of you the most at any given time. It seems right now that that's Russia, so, well, good luck with that. Let us know how it goes, we'll be here waiting to look out for you when you realise that corrupt dictatorships aren't for you, again, as always. Maybe this time you'll learn, but I wont hold my breath, you never have before.