News from Finland

[giacomo]

(I wish to begin a new thread here, concentrating in Finland. I would like to show such view to this country, that foreigners seldom see. Things that are not written in tourist brochures, or news services. But I see happening every day in this country. )
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Welcome to Hell - A Russian in Finland

A russian woman, Inna Latišev has written a book of her years in Finland. She was married with a Finnish man. The book is published in 2010, and its name is "Ryssänä Suomessa - Vieras väärästä maasta". ( translated something like: Russian in Finland - A Guest from a Wrong Country)

She compares life in Finland to life in Russia, and Finland pales in this comparison. In fact, she sees Finland as very strange country. People are not happy there. They have no friends, at most "drinking pals". Finland is such a small country that nothing ever happens there. People are pathologically russophobic, and full of hatred. This is apartheid country. In Finland, happiness can only be found from a bottle. The only real friend to a Finn, is alcohol.

Johan Bäckman analyzes this book, and tries to find reasons for such situation. He says that the first reason is the Finnish media, which is hating russian people and mankind in general (ig. is misanthropic). People are born into this kind of atmosphere, and are grown into it, and they will never know any alternative.

The other problem in Finland is that we never went through the de-nazification program, like Germany. We have never faced our past. never faced that we were allied with Hitler, and that our leaders were nazi sympathizers.

The article is in Finnish, but I guess it can translated with google. This blog is great reading. In March 23, he wrote how Finland is mistreating the children of Russian mothers. He writes that Finland has now proved to be a stalinist rogue state.

I feel there might be some insight.

 

[Socrates the Greek]

Hi giacomo, very brave of you to openly depict the way of life in Finland, as I understand it is your home land. Do the Fins have a strong military?

Is the youth at all interested for change of the alcohol abuse as well the isolationist mentality?:smile::canada:

 

[Blackleaf]

Finland is a Nordic country, shaped a bit like a slug, which measures 339,424 sq kms in size.

It is the 8th largest country in Europe after Russia (even if you only consider the part of it which isn't in Asia), Ukraine, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

Despite this, its population is just 5 million, and the majority of them live in the southern part of the country. Its capital, Helsinki, has a population of almost 600,000.

Of the five Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark) only Finland and Iceland are republics.

The official language of Finland is Finnish, which is part of the Finno-Ugric language family, meaning it is closely related to Estonian and Hungarian but completely unrelated to the other Nordic languages, such as Finnish. It also isn't an Indo-European language. Written Finnish almost resembles Martian.

Unfortunately for Finland, it joined the EU on 1st January 1995. Despite this, Finland has been ranked the second most stable country in the world, in a survey based on social, economic, political and military indicators.

Finland has a small army of just 16,500 personnel (not including conscripts), of which just 8,700 are professional. Finland has universal male conscription under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 6, 9 or 12 months. Including conscripts, Finland's army has 27,300 personnel, 4,400 air force personnel and 3,000 naval personnel. This is in contrast to Britain, which has the EU's second largest army (after France), with 150,000 personnel, plus 122,000 Regular Reserves; the EU's largest, and NATO's second largest, navy with 39,100 Regulars, 3,600 Volunteers and 19,560 Regular Reserves; and the EU's largest, and the world's fifth largest, air force, with almost 47,000 active personnel and 83,430 reserves.

The only time in history that a democracy declared war on another democracy was during World War II when Britain declared war on Finland on 5th December 1941.

Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia.

 

[Johnnny]

The only time in history that a democracy declared war on another democracy was during World War II when Britain declared war on Finland on 5th December 1941.

do you see do you see

 

[L Gilbert]

Quote: The only time in history that a democracy declared war on another democracy was during World War II when Britain declared war on Finland on 5th December 1941.

do you see do you see

Yep. I see a BS comment. Lots of democracies have warred with other democracies.

 

[giacomo]

Here is an (video) interview of Inna Latiševa (in finnish from YLE - The Finnish Broadcasting Company, 22.03.2010) Venäläiset kuulevat edelleen "ryssittelyä"

An article from Russian magazine "Itoki", ( in russian language) about the Rantala family case: Дело семьи Рантала

Here, an article in YLE website, Turun tauti ja tapaus Astahov ( The Disease of Turku, and Case Astahov) It is about the visit of Russia's child affairs ombudsman Pavel Astahov to Finland. This was because of Russia´s concern of possible mistreatment of the children of Russian mothers. Mr. Astahov gave quite a lecture about Finland.

Finnish newspapers and citizens have received this cynically, I think it was expected, knowing how Finns usually can take criticism. Some write, that Russia plays with "double cards", or are "self-centered". This was an invasion of "russian cavalry", and it was "politics". Many refer to Winter War; russians were our enemies back then. ( It is impossible to discuss about Russia in Finland, without someone remembering the Winter War. But nobody remembers the Continuation War, which was Finnish offensive, and lasted much longer than the Winter War.)

Particularly amusing is to watch people´s reactions to some of the more personal criticism that Inna Latiševa is writing in her book. She writes: "Eleettömät ja tunteettomat tuppisuusuomalaiset ovat lähes käsittämättömiä - puhumattomuudessaan ylimielisiä ja itsekeskeisiä." Which means something like, "the unemotional mute-Finns are almost incomprehensibe - and arrogant and self-centered in their mutism."

Oh! This hits very hard. In newspaper "Uusi Suomi" (Finnish for The New Finland) is one article by a journalist specialized in Russia, "Ryssänä Suomessa" about these cases. Inna Latiševa is dismissed, because she has been born in Baku (Soviet Union), but raised in Leningrad, and worked as Intourist-guide, so her life in 1990´s has been "moving from one lie to another". "Bakussa syntynyt, mutta Leningradissa kasvanut nainen muutti 1990-luvulla valheesta toiseen. " It actually reads here so. The tone is light, jovial, ironical. - I don't understand what are the "lies". Is it that she was born in Baku, but lived in Leningrad, is it a lie? That she worked for Intourist? That she married a Finnish man? Then the article goes on to point that this is a book about alcoholism and depression. And that not all Russian living in Finland are good people, for example "Aleksei" has been living in Finland for 20 years, and is rich, and can not even speak Finnish and is proud of his KGB-connections. And why would he need to speak Finnish, when he spends all profit from his business in Riviera with his Finnish friends. .....

You see? This reaction isn´t odd? I can not understand what these two cases; the writer Inna Latiševa, and the fictive businessman "Aleksei" who enjoys to spend his money in Riviera, have to do with each other. Yes, they are both russians, but still...

The logic goes something like this, as I understand: Finnish people are not mute and unemotional, because:

- business is tough play
- writer is from Baku
- she was Intourist guide
- Intourist was the only travel agency in Soviet Union
- because "Aleksei" is spending his money in Riviera
- being mute and cold is actually nice and friendly

Huraa! Uraa.. The honour of Finland and Finnish people have been saved...

No wonder Inna Latiševa could not adapt to this country. She is living now in Spain.

Even me - who was born in Finland, and am a native person, can not understand Finnish logic. It´s Martian logic. Before I used to be sad about it, but nowadays I think it should be taken as comedy, in the same way that Anatole France was describing the life of penguins, or Karel Čapek the newts.

 

[wulfie68]

The other thing to remember about Russians is according to them nowhere compares to Russia and nothing compares to the Russian version of anything (the original that everything else is copied off). Their entire national psyche seems to be similar to that of France: reaching for the glory of their faded empire, which may not have been all that great to begin with...

 

[giacomo]

Unfortunately for Finland, it joined the EU on 1st January 1995.

Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia.

Joining EU was a good thing. It brought Finland to Europe, and away from isolation. Of course, there are always someone to complain, but these are mainly the ultranationalistic True Finns, a minor party, but all the louder.

There is a campaign backed up by many of our politicians, and major thinkers, that we should go to NATO, but I believe there still are many, who think that Finland should stay in it's tradition of neutrality. Joining NATO would jeopardize our relation with Russia. Russia has always been our most important trade-partner. I believe Finland can not afford to lose it.

 

[giacomo]

Is the youth at all interested for change of the alcohol abuse as well the isolationist mentality?:smile::canada:

No.

We must receive more immigrants. Otherwise after 2030 here will be living only pensioners. People here are worried about the spread of Islam, but what the heck, Islamic law forbids alcohol. ..

 

[giacomo]

The other thing to remember about Russians is according to them nowhere compares to Russia and nothing compares to the Russian version of anything (the original that everything else is copied off). Their entire national psyche seems to be similar to that of France: reaching for the glory of their faded empire, which may not have been all that great to begin with...

This is true.

But Russians have something to back up this wish. They have people and culture. What do Finland and France have...

 

[Walter]

A Finnish tourism ad. Finnish tourism ad.