Spontaneous Finnish Humanitarian Aid as Catalyst for Independent Estonia: From a Personal Touch to the Success of a Nation (Fin-Est Connection)


Päärahoittaja

Rahoittajan antama koodi/diaarinumero101106240


Päärahoittajan myöntämä tuki (€)

  • 215 534,40


Rahoitusohjelma


Hankkeen aikataulu

Hankkeen aloituspäivämäärä08.01.2024

Hankkeen päättymispäivämäärä07.01.2026


Tiivistelmä

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.


Vastuullinen johtaja


Muut hankkeeseen liittyvät henkilöt (JYU)

Yhteyshenkilö (kyllä/ei)Kyllä


Päävastuullinen yksikkö


Seurantakohteet


Viimeisin päivitys 2024-14-05 klo 16:17