Spontaneous Finnish Humanitarian Aid as Catalyst for Independent Estonia: From a Personal Touch to the Success of a Nation (Fin-Est Connection)
Main funder
Funder's project number: 101106240
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 215 534,40
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 08/01/2024
Project end date: 07/01/2026
Summary
The last five years of Soviet rule marked by perestroika and glasnost enabled Estonians not only to communicate their dissent but also to build relationships with people on the other side of the Iron curtain. One of the first types of contacts to start popping up were those with neighboring Finns. Spontaneous unofficial person-to-person networks sprung into action delivering food, medicine, clothes, toys and technology to Estonia. This gave people a “taste of freedom” in a very direct way. It not only helped to kindle the fire of pro-independence movements but also provided a great starting position for the budding country and might account for some of the surprising success it has had during subsequent decades, especially when compared with other post-Soviet states. Finnish humanitarian aid to Estonians during the re-independence era is among some of the most basic narratives in Estonia, but there is hardly anything researched or written about it. More than thirty years have passed since the first contact was made and some of the women and men in the front lines of this “diplomacy of the people” have begun to fade away. The research project will unearth valuable source materials and place them in a matrix of meaning to render the nature of this large-scale process comprehensible for possible future application for countries facing similar circumstances.
Principal Investigator
Other persons related to this project (JYU)
Contact person (yes/no): Yes |
