Microsoft Word Лингвистика 2015 №4. docx

WHERE THE MUTUAL INTEREST COMES FROM? 
Neighbours are usually understood as people who live near each other. Whether they 
have good or bad relations, they sometimes need to communicate. The same applies 
to neighbouring countries: their linguistic policy must take into account the fact that 
they have to discuss and agree upon certain things. This is why Finland has a unique 
history of Russian studies. The EU asks its citizens to learn the languages of their 
neighbours and of their own minorities, and Russian is historically and geographically 
such a language in Finland. 
The number of Finns speaking Russian is remarkably small. It is hard to find an-
other country in the world where learning the language of a big neighbour is so rare. 
It is clear from Finland’s past and current history that psychological factors have had 
a bigger impact on the Finns’ interest in learning Russian than rational considerations 
and state-level guidance: compare the ban on learning Russian in the 1920s with the 
state-level rhetorical support in the 2000s, for example. The ‘otherness’ of Russians 
as far as the Finns are concerned includes aspects such as language, religion, values and 
mentality (Sternin 1998—2007). 
Archaeologists, historians and linguists have attested the presence of Russians on 
the territory of Finland, and of Finns on the territory of Russia in the past (Helanter
ä
, 
Tynkkynen 2002). The experience of intercultural communication was collected dur-
ing thousands of years, and still it is qualified as something remarkable and strange 
(as is reflected in the businessmen guide to Russian everyday culture VOT TAK! 2013). 

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Mustajoki A., Protassova E. Finnish-Russian Relationships: the Interplay of Economics, History... 
71 
Interestingly, the name of the former capital of Finland, Turku, derives from the Russian 
word torg ‘market’, whereas that of the Russian capital Moscow may derive from the 
Finnish word meaning ‘river’. The close relationships can be traced back to the 10th cen-
tury. Nevertheless, Finns tend to forget the influence of Russian(ness) on their own cul-
ture, despite the substantial Russian impact on Finnish literature and arts (e.g., Mejias-
Ojaj
ä
rvi 2010). 
One of the sources of arguments for the reciprocal influence is language. Finnish 
and Russian languages have borrowed words from each other. There are some 300 hund-
red Russian loanwords in the Finnish standard language adopted in different 
é
poques, 
such as savotta ‘
logging site’
(< Rus. zavod ‘works, mill’
)
, lusikka ‘spoon’ (< lozhka), 
raamattu ‘Bible’ (<gramota ‘literacy, writings’), ikkuna ‘window’ (<okno), putka 
‘jail, shed’ (<budka ‘cabin, cage’) and siisti ‘tidy, clean’ (<chistyi). The number of 
loanwords is much higher in Eastern Finnish dialects. There are also many surprising 
similarities in Finnish and Russian grammar. From the borrowing of words thousands 
of years ago to contemporary Russian-Finnish pidgins, from the first Russian diction-
aries to inscriptions and advertising in the modern linguistic landscape, from the first 
Orthodox missionaries and Russian ambulant merchants to the biggest immigrant mi-
nority and the Russian Federation as one of the most influential trade partners of 
Finland — the history of mutual influence is fascinating. 
Finland was part of Sweden in the Middle Ages. Following the Stolbov Peace treaty 
in 1617, the Eastern regions used Russian as their official language, although Swedish, 
Latin and Danish were otherwise functioning in that capacity. When Finland became 
a Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire in 1809 as a result of the Napoleonic wars 
the Russian Tsars promoted the use of Finnish to counteract the earlier Swedish influ-
ence. They also tried to introduce Russian, which became an obligatory language for bu-
reaucrats after 1818, but only until 1824 when Finnish replaced it. Those with knowledge 
of Russian were treated with suspicion, but it opened some doors even in the 19
th
century 
(Ketola 2007). For a short period between 1903 and 1905 the laws were translated 
into Russian, and the ‘Language Manifesto of His Majesty Nicolas II’ transformed the 
language of administration into Russian. These Russification efforts left deep traces 
in Finnish history: the two campaigns during 1899—1905 and 1908—1917 were called 
‘times of oppression’ in Finnish, and were characterised by resistance to integration into 
the Russian Empire. Finland declared independence in 1917, which Lenin’s Bolshevik 
government verified (Alenius 2004). 
Sopo (2014) studied the cultural influences of the Russian Empire in the period 
of Autonomy when the Finnish cultural infrastructure was constructed and the prac-
tice of collecting art took root. The Russian policy resulted in the financial and moral 
promotion of national Finnish values, together with a nascent loyalty to the imperial 
power and the acculturation of the ethnic elite, as elsewhere in Russia. According to 
Sopo, the Russian influence remains under-recognised in Finnish environs. Ketola and 
Vihavainen (2015) analysed the more recent developments and claim that only those 
who are acquainted with Russia’s history and cultural heritage are able to understand 
what is going on there. 

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Russian Journal of Linguistics, Vestnik RUDN, 2015, N. 4 
72 
Sweden, Russia and Germany are Finland’s main import-export markets. According 
to The Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoel
ä
m
ä
n keskusliitto, EK), Finns will 
have to master Russian, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish in future if they want to suc-
ceed in foreign trade, which will mean abandoning the obligatory Swedish that is 
generally popular and making it a voluntary subject. About 30 per cent of the compa-
nies investigated wanted employees with knowledge of Russian, whereas about 15 per 
cent emphasised German. English remains obligatory, of course. Entrepreneurs sup-
port the diversification of languages in schools and the amelioration of the students’ 
proficiency level: the diet should be rich in the major languages (Helpinen 2013). 
According to Russian media reports in 2013, Russians have developed a liking for 
big expensive dachas in Finland. The average price of a dacha in 2012 was 115,000 euro: 
in Southern Savo, a house with a stretch of beach cost 189,000 euro; whereas Finns 
paid 29,000 euro for a flat, Russians paid 45,000 euro for the same property. Russian 
politicians have bought a lot of property in Finland (Volkova 2013), which has led to 
a proposal for a new Finnish law to prevent the selling or renting of land to customers 
outside the EU and other members of the European Economic Area (Puintila, Holo-
painen 2013). 
A special number of the AMK journal (AMK-lehti 2013) was devoted to finding 
out how Finnish people managed in Russia and with Russian, how to interest young 
people in these subjects, and what must be taken into account by people starting to 
work with Russians. Views on Russian business were also considered, and opportunities 
in the arctic area were discussed. 
The number of new books dealing with Russia and Finnish-Russian relationships 
is astonishingly high. Examples from 2013 include: Russians in Finland (Flinckenberg-
Gluschkoff 2013, Varpio 2013), Finns in Russia (Harjula 2013, Kujala 2013, Rislakki 
2013, Vilhunen 2013), moments of Russian history and presence (Hirvisaari 2013, 
Koskinen 2013, M
ä
kel
ä
2013, Niinivaara 2013) and relationships between the two 
countries (Uola 2013, Vihavainen 2013), in addition to doctoral dissertations on simi-
lar themes. 
The Russian theme has been very prominent in Finnish prize-winning literature 
in recent years. The 2011 Finlandia Prize for fiction was awarded to Hytti no 6 (‘Com-
partment number 6’) by Rosa Liksom: the novel is about a Finnish girl who shares a train 
compartment with a Russian man on the long journey from Moscow through Siberia 
to Ulan Bator. Another book telling a Russian story about the problematic relations 
between Maria Tsvetaeva and her daughter, Riikka Palo’s Jokap