 The leader of the Leningrad Military District, Andrei Zhdanov, commissioned a celebratory piece from Dmitri Shostakovich, "Suite on Finnish Themes", to be performed as the marching bands of the Red Army would be parading through Helsinki.After Finnish defenses surprisingly held out for over three months and inflicted stiff losses on Soviet forces, under the command of Semyon Timoshenko, the Soviets settled for an interim peace.Finland ceded southeastern areas of Karelia (10% of Finnish territory), which resulted in approximately 422,000 Karelians (12% of Finland's population) losing their homes.