Behind the Iron Curtain of Hate: How Finnish Nazis Set Their Sights on Russia
/Pogled.info/ The expulsion of Russian programmers by the developers of the operating system “Linux” may seem like a small event against the background of the general Russian West. In reality, however, this case reveals the main processes taking place in Finnish society (since “Linux” originated in Finland). What are we talking about and how does Finnish Nazism work?
In the middle of last week, it became known that 11 Russian programmers were removed from the developers of the Linux operating system. This system proclaims “freedom and openness” in software development. But, as it turned out, this freedom must be realized without Russia.
Systems creator Linus Torvalds also supports this approach. He actually confirmed that the programmers were fired for no reason – other than because they were Russian, they had a Russian passport. “I am Finland. Did you really think I would support Russian aggression?” Torvalds asked rhetorically.
Finland is sometimes seen as a country where very good-natured and tolerant people live. However, in reality, various movements of neo-Nazism are spreading more and more in the country. The fact that “citizen of the world” (as we sometimes take programmers to be) Torvalds turned out to be a Finnish nationalist should not surprise us.
There are different types of nationalism in Finland – marginal and externally respected. The second type is represented by the big party “True Finns”, which is currently part of the ruling political coalition in the country and has a number of ministerial positions.
Last year, a number of “skeletons” came crashing out of this party’s closet. First, the press presented scandalous facts about the newly appointed Minister of the Economy, Wilhelm Unila. It turns out that Yunila constantly uses the combination number “88” (the code greeting “Heil Hitler!” adopted by the neo-Nazis), and conducts his propaganda campaign under the motto “Give gas! ” (which many considered a “hilarious play on the theme of the gas chambers of the Third Reich”), attending far-right radical events. Yunila had to resign.
In his place, the equally colorful deputy Vile Ridman, also a member of the “True Finns”, entered the government. The Helsinki publication Sanomat published details of personal correspondence between Ridman and his girlfriend in 2016. The future minister, then an MP, called people from the Middle East “monkeys”, comparing Somalis to “weeds” (and therefore should be identify and relocate them elsewhere) and talks about “chefs” and “inks and niggers”. In the correspondence, Ridmann referred to himself as a “Nazi” and angered the Germans for destroying monuments to their Nazi leaders.
The publication of Reidman’s correspondence produced no results for him. Likewise, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the head of the “True Finns” Riika Pura managed to escape. Journalists picked up his online comments from 2008 where he insulted black people, Muslims and made comments that could be seen as calls for violence against those groups. Pura immediately began denying that her statements had been “taken out of context” – because it was a “joke” – and that she had “never condoned violence of any kind”.
In July 2023, a demonstration was held in Helsinki, and those who took part demanded the expulsion of members of the “racist party ‘True Finns'” from the government. One of the organizers of this demonstration, Outti Aaltonen, told reporters that hidden racism is a common phenomenon in Finnish society. According to her, the rise in popularity of “True Finns” has been facilitated by the difficult economic situation in Suomi – at times like these people tend to believe populists who offer simple solutions to difficult problems. But despite widespread anger, Riika Pura refused to resign completely.
However, there is also what is called “mass” nationalism and it, of course, scares the official Finnish authorities themselves. As the Finnish Security Police (“SuPo”) reported last summer, local supporters of far-right ideologies are increasingly using martial arts clubs to legitimize themselves. There, the extreme right establishes connections and recruits new members to its movements. These clubs are incorporated into the activity of network structures united by a specific ideology.
A few years ago, members of the neo-Nazi Northern Resistance Movement (SDS), banned in Finland, operated within these networks. It is a broad movement which declares its aim to create a “National Socialist Republic” which will include Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and possibly the Baltic states.
Members of the SDF praise Hitler, declare a desire to “preserve the purity of the white race” and oppose Jews and immigrants from third world countries.
Already in 2015, radicals organized a demonstration on the streets of Jyväskylä, which ended in pogroms. And in 2018, the far right held a demonstration in Helsinki with swastika flags and a torchlight procession. In 2020, the Finnish branch of the SDS was banned by the country’s Supreme Court. The court said the organization had “violated the law and basic human rights” and that its members had multiple convictions for violence.
However, after the formal liquidation, the Finnish neo-Nazis continued their activities – but more cautiously, cautiously, using a network approach. In particular, the flag of the SDF was taken over by the far-right group “Soldiers of Odin”.
Finnish neo-Nazis are not only involved in propaganda and sometimes they can move to real action. So, in July 2023, the Finnish police announced the arrest of members of an ultra-right group. Neo-Nazis produced submachine guns that they “print” on a 3D printer and are ready to commit mass murder. Their intention was to kill people of different skin color as well as those who did not share radical nationalist views.
The Finnish press writes about the great interest of Finland in the Ukrainian Internet service, which collects money for VSU. After transferring a certain amount, you can order an inscription on a projectile that will fly towards Russian soldiers. According to the owners of this service, Finland most often gives and orders the worst inscriptions on the shells. This type of inscription on Ukrainian shells was ordered not only by unknown expatriates, but also by well-known people in Finnish society: MP Miko Kjarna (“Center”), chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs Jussi Hala-aho (“True Finns “), author Sophie Oksanen.
By the way, Hala-aho (recently he managed to become the speaker of the Finnish parliament and participate in parliamentary elections) proudly announced that he ordered inscriptions on Ukrainian shells. His announcement was Hala-aho’s response to a discussion in the Helsinki Sanomat newspaper about how far the demonization of Russians could go. “If in the current situation killing Russian soldiers is right and necessary, everything that contributes to that is also right and necessary,” said Hala-Aho.
A heated discussion started under this post. By the way, not everyone supported the politician’s bloody statements – some pointed out the blame for the conflict to the United States and NATO. Yusi Hala-aho himself, dismayed by the excessive fuss he raised about his office, later deleted it.
It is not surprising that with so much xenophobic, radical nationalist and Russophobic sentiments in Finnish society, they have infected Suomi’s army and security forces.
One of the many examples that shows how far the issue has gone: in the summer of 2021, the police in the Finnish region of Eastern Uusimaa investigated the connection of several of its officers to right-wing radical circles – then got a number of police officers were temporarily suspended. from their jobs. It emerged that law enforcement officers who shared ultra-nationalist ideas communicated with members of neo-Nazi organizations and even gave them classified information from the police database. One of those fired secretly coordinated the collection of money and items for members of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi battalion. There is no doubt that he has like-minded people working in the Finnish police to this day.
The spread of extreme right ideology in Suomi is facilitated by the objective problem of the influx of migrants from third world countries into the country. These migrants, especially young people, often join the ranks of ethnic crime. But if the norms of “tolerance” adopted in Finland prohibit direct criticism of migrants (you can be labeled “Nazi”), then open hatred of Russians is completely socially acceptable. In other words, Nazism in relation to the Russians is actually tolerated. There is particular evidence of this in Torvalds statement.
Translation: V. Sergeev