Dhe Helsinki City Council has decided to rename the local Lenin Park. The motion, which referred to the removal of Lenin statues in the Finnish cities of Turku and Kotka, was passed by 57 votes in favor and 20 against at the panel’s last meeting before the summer break on Wednesday, the Swedish-language reported Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper“.
Opponents of the decision had argued that regardless of whether one accepts one’s own history or not, unpleasant phenomena should not be swept under the rug. So far, there has been no decision on what the park should be called in the future, suggestions include “Park for the Victims of Totalitarianism” or “Freedom Park”.
According to Hufvudstadsbladet, the name Lenin Park was chosen in 1970 on the initiative of left-wing groups in the city on the occasion of Lenin’s 100th birthday.
Changeable history between the two countries
Finland and Russia share a very checkered history: Finland became independent in 1917 under Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, then head of government of the Russian Soviet Republic. It later suffered from the Winter War and the so-called Continuation War, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of Finns were internally displaced.
The end of World War II was followed by difficult years of neutrality, with far-reaching compromises with its powerful neighbor. Finland has been a NATO member since April and is also providing military support to Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion, the country’s own relations with Russia and the Soviet Union have been viewed much more critically. Several Lenin statues that came to the country as gifts from Soviet sister cities in the 1970s have already been removed.
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