Finlandization continues to divide opinion in Finland

Ben Zyskowicz

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A public debate held at the University of Helsinki on Tuesday evening showed that views remain divided over the historical phenomenon of "Finlandization".
      The concept refers to what was perceived as an excessive deference to Soviet sensibilities in Finnish politics and the media during the Cold War. However, those taking part in the two-hour debate failed to reach agreement on a precise definition of the concept.
      Some saw it as giving in to pressure from the Soviet Union, while others saw it as spinelessness in domestic policy - a political game in which politicians used relations with the Soviets to promote their personal ambitions. There are also those who continue to deny that the phenomenon ever really existed.
      Taking the role of prosecutor in the debate was National Coalition Party MP Ben Zyskowicz, who discusses Finlandization in his recently published book of notations from his diary.
     
Zyskowicz found it amazing that Finlandization continued into the 1980s. He said that foreign policy was used as a political tool; Finns would enthusiastically join the Finnish Peace Committee (a faction of the peace movement that took pains not to contradict the Soviet world view), and the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) would produce programmes that presented an idealised view of the Soviet Union.
      "People would go just a little bit further than others, be slightly better friends than others. The phenomenon strengthened the influence of the Soviet Union in Finland."
      Zyskowicz said that it was quite natural for those in the hard-line minority faction of the Finnish Communist Party to join the Finnish Peace Committee, "but what were the others doing there?", he asked.
     
Taking a completely different view was former Finnish Road Administration director-general Jouko Loikkanen (Centre Party), a long-term supporter of President Urho Kekkonen. He noted that "Finlandization" does not appear in his Finnish dictionary, and that he never encountered the phenomenon described by Zyskowicz in any of the dozens of meetings he had with Soviet officials.
      Former Minister for Foreign Trade Jermu Laine (SDP) said that everything was a "theatre" of sorts, in which the people participated. A major goal was to integrate Finland with the West, and to that end, it was necessary to be "adaptable".
      Dr. Mikko Majander noted that there were some limits to Finnish acquiescence: in 1982 the main Finnish government coalition parties failed to agree on a Presidential candidate that would have been to the liking of the Soviet Union.
      "Members of the Centre Party, who were of sound mind, nevertheless warned that if Ahti Karjalainen were not elected President, Finland would lose its independence", said Hannu Taipale, one of the members of the audience.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  The silent war against Finlandization (30.1.2002)

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