The history of relations between Russia and Finland displayed at the Presidential Library’s virtual exhibition

December 31, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Russia and Finland. On the eve of an important date, the Presidential Library provides a virtual tour of the exhibition timed to this memorable event.

The exhibition "Russia - Finland: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Contacts", organized by the Presidential Library in conjunction with the National Archives of Finland with the participation of numerous partners and with the support of Nokian Tires Russia, was opened in the library building on Senate Square, 3 in October 2020.

An information video prepared by specialists of the Presidential Library tells about the opening ceremony of the exposition with the participation of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to the Russian Federation Antti Helanterya, representatives of the authorities and leading cultural institutions of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region. It is available on the institution's portal at the link https://www.prlib.ru/informacionnyy-rolik-o-vystavke-rossiya-i-finlyandiya-k-100-letiyu-ustanovleniya-diplomaticheskih.

A virtual tour of the exhibition "Russia - Finland: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Contacts" introduces the main milestones of the joint history of the two countries, 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 the Russian Empire for many years.

The most important documents on the history of Russian-Finnish relations are provided within the framework of the virtual tour: the Treaty of Fredrikshamn  (1809) and 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 equated the Finnish language in rights with Swedish, an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the executive committee of the Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies with the decision on recognizing the independence of the state Republic of Finland (1917), etc.

The virtual exposition features the first edition of the famous Karelian-Finnish poetic epic "Kalevala" of 1835; the Kalevala edition with illustrations by the representative of the Golden Age of Finnish art Akseli Gallen-Kallela; the book of samples by the jeweler Henrik Wigström; postcards with views of the stations of the Finnish railway (Terijoki, Mustamyaki, Kuokkala, Pargolovo, etc.); plans of cities and fortresses; photographs of the past and present of the Nokian Tires factory, whose history dates back to 1898, and many other interesting materials.

Virtual projects are an actively developing area of the Presidential Library's activity, thanks to which the electronic repository along with paper, photo, audio and video materials is added with exhibits from exhibitions, items from museum collections.

Today there are more than twenty-five virtual tours and excursions available for remote visits. They are available on the Presidential Library’s portal in the Exhibitions section at the link https://www.prlib.ru/about_exhibition.