Finns in the Soviet Press 1920–1937
Narratives of the New Soviet Finn
Anna Laakkonen's paper explores the image of Finns in the Soviet press from 1920 to 1937. It is particualrly interested in the ways Finnishness was constructed by the Finnish-language newspaper published in Soviet Karelia, which was aimed at Finnish emigrants in the Soviet Union. The version of Finnishness they built was closely tied to the Soviet Union's nationality policies, first to the korenizatsiya policy, which granted advantages to minority peoples, and later to Soviet patriotism, which emphasized Russianness.
Dr. Laakkonen approaches the topic through two narratives: one portraying Finns as revolutionary fighters in the Finnish Civil War, and the other as socialist builders of Soviet Karelia. Eventually, nearly all Finnish journalists were executed during the Great Terror in 1937–1938.