Review of Kotiranta's "The Finnish and Estonian Churches during the Cold War

2015

2015

The post-Stalinist decade resulted in a temporary liberalization in Soviet religious policy in 1956-1957, followed by an intensification of administrative suppression of religious life during the years 1958-1964. A close evaluation of archival sources reveals the quiet two-faced tendencies of Soviet religious policies vis-a-vis the Orthodox Church of occupied Estonia: on one hand, the dozens of orthodox congregations at the local level were forcibly liquidated and the number of clerics decreased rapidly; on the other hand, the patriotic and ecumenical activities of the administration of the Estonian Eparchy increased dramatically and achieved its "golden era" during the tenure of its new bishop of Tallinn, Aleksii Ridiger (the future patriarch Aleksii II of Moscow). This study describes in detail the gradual increase in the interference of Soviet propaganda with the ecumenical and patriotic activity of the Estonian Eparchy from 1959. In the course of subsequent restrictions and the persecution of religion under Khrushchev, the Estonian Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate was integrated into the larger scheme of Soviet peace propaganda and ecumenical cooperation. This took the form mainly of the joint reception of foreign church delegations which coincided with the tenure of Bishop Aleksii, who played a big role in the Moscow hierarchy as well as in the external affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Visits of Church delegations in Tallinn and Kuremae monastery became a kind of "show piece" of religious freedom and played their part in Soviet peace propaganda. In conclusion, the rise and ebb of the patriotic and ecumenical activity of the Orthodox diocese in occupied Estonia were influenced by the changes, which took place among the USSR's highest authorities in the religious policies level and by the transition from Stalinist totalitarian dictatorship toward Nikita Khrushchev's more oligarchical system.

2011

Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, 2020

In recent years, Finland has closely cooperated with NATO and Finnish politicians emphasize that Finland may consider joining the Alliance at any point. However, this step is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Russia’s aggressive actions abroad disconcert Finland; as this article shows, even after Russia’s war with Georgia and the breakout of the crisis in Ukraine, the situation is not deemed serious enough by the Finns for them to risk a serious deterioration of relations with their eastern neighbor. Rather than crossing the interests of Moscow, whose perception of the world Finland has been able uniquely to understand thanks to its historical experience, the country opts for a more complex, yet also safer, path of balancing between ever-closer cooperation with NATO, and maintaining the status of a non-member country.

Behind the Iron Curtain, 2015

The author demonstrates that the implementation of state policy on religion was not particularly effective in the Estonian SSR. It was mild compared to several other regions of the Soviet Union, and particular campaigns “on the religious front” frequently depended on the discretion of local officials. Soviet policy on religion directed a great deal of attention toward new secular Soviet ceremonies and managed rather effectively to graft new rites into society.

Il Politico, 2022

This work aims to trace the evolution of Finnish-Russian relations, starting with Finland's independence (1917) and ending with the present day. Particular attention is paid to the second post-war period, during which the Finnish country, following a reversal of its traditional policy towards the East, experienced so-called Finlandisation. Outlining the singular characteristics of the relationship between the two countries during the twentieth century allows us to better appreciate the new change of course that the Finnish leadership has recently made towards Moscow: In fact, in the face of an improvement in its relative position vis-à-vis its cumbersome neighbour, and following its entry into the European Union, Helsinki now seems to have abandoned the policy of conciliation that - shared by representatives of the entire parliamentary arc, and remaining a fundamental assumption of Finnish foreign policy strategies for over forty years - was now becoming part of the Finnish national identity itself.

Lithuanian Historical Studies

Institute of National Remembrance Review , 2021

This article critically discusses the publication entitled Sovietisation and violence: the case of Estonia, edited by Meelis Saueauk and Toomas Hiio, published in 2018 by the University of Tartu Press as the first volume of the Proceedings of the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory series. The author refers in detail to several of the studies and articles published in the book, most of which were written by researchers associated with its publisher, the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory. In terms of content, as the reviewer notes, the publication aims to introduce the international academic reader to the topic of the forced Sovietisation of Estonia in the 20th century. The author attempts to assess to what extent the discussed volume lives up to the hopes placed in it.

V. Ingimundarson, & R. Magnúsdóttir (Eds.), Nordic Cold War Cultures. Ideological Promotion, Public Reception and East-West Interactions (pp. 109-131). Helsinki, Finland: Kikimora Publications., 2015