The history of relations between Russia and Finland displayed at the Presidential Library

October 22 the exhibition "Russia - Finland: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Contacts" was inaugurated at the Presidential Library within the framework of the XI Annual Integration Forum. The anniversary date will be celebrated on December 31.

The opening of the exposition was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to the Russian Federation Antti Helanterä, representatives of the authorities and leading cultural institutions of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region.

Antti Helanterä expressed his sincere gratitude to the organizers and partners of the exhibition from Russia and Finland, who, in difficult epidemiological conditions, were able to implement a joint project that was important for the development and strengthening of cooperation between the two countries.

At the opening of the exhibition, a welcoming speech was made by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Finland Pavel Kuznetsov. He noted that the documents presented in the exposition provide information about important milestones in the joint history of the two countries and, undoubtedly and will be of great interest both to representatives of the scientific community and to the general public of Russia and Finland.

Welcoming words were also made by acting General Director of the Presidential Library Pavel Tereshchenko, Deputy General Director of Nokian Tyres Russia Alexander Ustavshchikov, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society and Executive Director of the Fatherland History Foundation Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Rector for International Affairs of St. Petersburg State University Sergey Andryushin, Vice Governor of Leningrad Region Vladimir Tsoi, Head of the Archives Department of Leningrad Region Andrey Savchenko, Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Evgeny Grigoriev, Director of the Russian Ethnographic Museum Yulia Kupina and Deputy Chairman of the Archives Committee of St. Petersburg Irina Garkusha.

The exhibition of the Presidential Library, organized jointly with the National Archives of Finland with the participation of numerous partners and the support of Nokian Tyres Russia, spotlights the main milestones in the joint history of Russia and Finland, reveals the details of the social, cultural and economic relations that existed between the residents of the Grand Duchy of Finland and other regions of Russian Empire for many years.

The exposition contains copies of the most important documents on the history of Russian-Finnish relations: the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (1809) and the Treaty of Tartu (1920), the Manifesto of Alexander I on the state structure of Finland (1809), "Rescript on the language" of Alexander II (1863), which equalized the Finnish language in rights with the Swedish, documents on the recognition of the independence of the Republic of Finland by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies (1917), etc.

Visitors to the exhibition will see the first edition of the famous Karelian-Finnish poetic epic "Kalevala" in 1835; the Kalevala edition with illustrations by the representative of the Golden Age of Finnish art Akseli Gallen-Kallela; richly illustrated albums of the 18th-19th centuries, introducing the northern beauty of Finland; plans of cities and fortresses; postcards with views of the stations of the Finnish railway (Terijoki, Lanskaya, Udelnaya, Ozerki, Shuvalovo, Pargolovo, etc.), built according to the designs of the architect Bruno Granholm, a prominent representative of "national romanticism"; photographs of the past and present of the Nokian Tyres factory, whose history began in 1898; and many other interesting materials.

The Presidential Library’s portal features electronic collection "Russia - Finland: The History of Relationship". It includes studies, official and archival documents, cartographic and visual materials which spotlight the geographical, economic and legal position of Finland from ancient times to the beginning of the twentieth century, most of the period of joining the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland, as well as materials reflecting the current state of relations between our countries.

The partners of the exhibition "Russia - Finland: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Contacts" are Historical and Documentary Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland, Russian State Historical Archives, Russian State Navy Archives, Central State Archives of Literature and Art of St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Regional State Archives in the city of Vyborg, the M. Gorky Scientific Library of the St. Petersburg State University, the National Library of Russia, the Russian Ethnographic Museum.

The exhibition "Russia - Finland: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Contacts" will run until December 14. By the end of 2020, a virtual tour of this exposition will be publicly available on the Presidential Library’s portal.