Assimilated, silenced, and forgotten — Decolonized perspectives on the Finnish-Karelian past and present: Researching the impacts of Finnish politics of forgetting on young Karelians
Laitinen, Essi (2023)
2023
Master's Programme in Global Society
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-05-19
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304244218
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202304244218
Tiivistelmä
Karelia has long had a passive role in Finnish public discourse. Research in Finnish history and memory politics has characterized the Finnish national narrative as patriotic and nationalistic, in which the role of Karelia has been reduced to a lost and utopian Finnish region, and the role of Karelians either as evacuees or as a Finnish tribe. As such, Finland can be seen to have forgotten Karelia in its collective remembering. The Finnish nationalistic perceptions of Karelia, Karelians, and Karelianness have also pierced the field of Karelia research until recent years, and especially post-colonial research, and research on the collective memory, experiences, and realities of young Karelians are still in its infancy.
In this master's thesis, I examine how Finnish politics of forgetting has affected young Karelians. More precisely, I study the collective memory of the members of Karjalazet Nuoret Suomes (KNŠ) (a Karelian youth association), the process of its construction and the collective burdens created by Finnish politics of forgetting. The topic is also personal, as I am a young Karelian and a member of the KNŠ. Considering the marginalized position of Karelians in the Finnish national narrative, research, and society, my research is collaborative in nature, and uses indigenous methodology even though Karelians are not considered indigenous in Finland. I interviewed seven young Karelians for the research.
The effects of Finnish politics of forgetting have colonial tendencies, and are violent in an epistemic manner, as young Karelians had internalized a Finnish perception of Karelianness until their teenage years and even adulthood. In the childhood of the interviewees, Karelianness was hidden in plain sight, and was only visible at school and in the surrounding society as either Finnishness or Russianness. The real meaning of one's Karelianness had been realized only when young Karelians found others like them on social media. With the realization came also the need to understand why Karelianness has been silenced at home and in the Finnish society. As a result, young Karelians have constructed a new collective memory that corresponds to the short-comings of the Finnish national narrative. In this Karelian counter-memory, Finland is seen as a colonial state, and is considered to have systematically assimilated, silenced, and forgotten Karelians. In the KNŠ collective memory, Karelians are seen as a people and a nation, torn apart since the treaty of Nöteborg in 1323. Thus, KNŠ collective memory offers a decolonizing perspective on the past and present of Finland and Karelia, that resists the Finnish nationalistic interpretation of the past.
Young Karelians also carry collective burdens related to the Finnish politics of forgetting and its structural violence. Experiences of discrimination have been passed down through generations in the families of young Karelians, and the experiences reflect the wide-ranging lack of knowledge Finnish people have about Karelia and the Finnish-Karelian history. Due to the forgetting and discrimination, the roots, i.e., the connection to Karelian language and culture, had been broken in the families of many young Karelians, leading them to believe that they are not Karelian enough. Due to the lack of structural support and recognition, such as a language act, the burden of rehabilitation of Karelian language and culture also rests largely on the shoulders of young Karelians.
On the other hand, the KNŠ community functions as a safe space for speaking the truth and reconnecting with Karelianness, where the Finnish influences on one's own perceptions of Karelianness can be dismantled, and the language and culture can be relearned. As such, KNŠ can be considered to contribute to reconciling with the past injustices, and healing from burdens. However, without a diverse and inclusive remembrance and structural support, Karelian burdens cannot be sustainably healed.
In this master's thesis, I examine how Finnish politics of forgetting has affected young Karelians. More precisely, I study the collective memory of the members of Karjalazet Nuoret Suomes (KNŠ) (a Karelian youth association), the process of its construction and the collective burdens created by Finnish politics of forgetting. The topic is also personal, as I am a young Karelian and a member of the KNŠ. Considering the marginalized position of Karelians in the Finnish national narrative, research, and society, my research is collaborative in nature, and uses indigenous methodology even though Karelians are not considered indigenous in Finland. I interviewed seven young Karelians for the research.
The effects of Finnish politics of forgetting have colonial tendencies, and are violent in an epistemic manner, as young Karelians had internalized a Finnish perception of Karelianness until their teenage years and even adulthood. In the childhood of the interviewees, Karelianness was hidden in plain sight, and was only visible at school and in the surrounding society as either Finnishness or Russianness. The real meaning of one's Karelianness had been realized only when young Karelians found others like them on social media. With the realization came also the need to understand why Karelianness has been silenced at home and in the Finnish society. As a result, young Karelians have constructed a new collective memory that corresponds to the short-comings of the Finnish national narrative. In this Karelian counter-memory, Finland is seen as a colonial state, and is considered to have systematically assimilated, silenced, and forgotten Karelians. In the KNŠ collective memory, Karelians are seen as a people and a nation, torn apart since the treaty of Nöteborg in 1323. Thus, KNŠ collective memory offers a decolonizing perspective on the past and present of Finland and Karelia, that resists the Finnish nationalistic interpretation of the past.
Young Karelians also carry collective burdens related to the Finnish politics of forgetting and its structural violence. Experiences of discrimination have been passed down through generations in the families of young Karelians, and the experiences reflect the wide-ranging lack of knowledge Finnish people have about Karelia and the Finnish-Karelian history. Due to the forgetting and discrimination, the roots, i.e., the connection to Karelian language and culture, had been broken in the families of many young Karelians, leading them to believe that they are not Karelian enough. Due to the lack of structural support and recognition, such as a language act, the burden of rehabilitation of Karelian language and culture also rests largely on the shoulders of young Karelians.
On the other hand, the KNŠ community functions as a safe space for speaking the truth and reconnecting with Karelianness, where the Finnish influences on one's own perceptions of Karelianness can be dismantled, and the language and culture can be relearned. As such, KNŠ can be considered to contribute to reconciling with the past injustices, and healing from burdens. However, without a diverse and inclusive remembrance and structural support, Karelian burdens cannot be sustainably healed.