Irina Saari (née Lahtinen, born on 10 May 1975 in Kauhajoki), better known by her stage name Irina, is a Finnish pop and suomirock singer with a number of best-selling albums. She currently lives in Heinola. Irina was in the music business for about a decade before her first album (which … Continue reading
Skädäm is a Finnish rock-band founded in Kauhajoki in 1984. In 1985 Skädäm won Finland’s Rock-Kuningas (King of Rock) competition. Skädäm’s best-known song is “Katujen kuningatar” (Queen of the Streets, a song which has been covered by any number of other singers). Another of there better known tracks was the title song of their one and only album from 1986, “Mustat … Continue reading
Suomalainen sänky (The Finnish Bed), by ethnologist Leena Sammallahti and researcher Marja-Liisa Lehto (SKS 2006), is an illustrated history of Finnish sleeping arrangements, from simple benches along the wall, once common in many farmhouses, to elaborately carved and cushioned laps of luxury from upper-class homes. Sammallahti wanted to place the Finnish bed into … Continue reading
The 1930’s was decade of rising tension in Europe, and this tension was felt not only among those countries bordered by Germany but also in peaceful countries such as Finland, where the great threat was seen as being the Soviet Union. The Finnish film industry created a trilogy of “propaganda” … Continue reading
First, for those not familiar with the Russo-Finnish War, the battle of Tali-Ihantala 1944 (June 25 to July 9, 1944) was part of the Continuation War (1941-1944), fought by Finland, supported by Germany, against the Soviet Union and is to date the largest battle in the history of the Nordic countries. … Continue reading
An interesting cultural theme of Finnish Film in the 1920’s and 1930’s The golden age of Finnish Film began in the 1930’s, when going to the cinema became a wildly popular pastime. Within this rapid popularity of a new media, an interesting cultural theme of the 1920’s and 1930’s was … Continue reading
Korsuorkesteri – Finnish songs from the War Years Korsuorkesteri is a Finnish band that plays 1950s and 1960s dance music as well as the war-time songs of World War 2, performing about 170 gigs a year. The band’s most recent efforts are the popular Korsuhartaus church concerts. Korsuorkesteri was founded in February 1990 when Pepe Kovanen arranged a special dance program … Continue reading
The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland, 1939-1940 by Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen There are a number of books available on the now little-known Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, which was fought from December 1939 to March during the Sitzkrieg, and just before the Nazi … Continue reading
Finnish Air Force 1939-45 by Kalevi Keskinen & Kari Stenman This is a short (64 page) book but with the large format, there is a lot of content. It’s short on verbage (a 1 page written introduction that’s a history of aircraft acquisitions – this book assumes that if you’re … Continue reading
Winter War Forgotten Images by Bair Irincheev “Winter War Forgotten Images” is a collection of unpublished images from the Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939-40. The book is 190 pages, hardcover and contains a unique collection of mostly unpublished photos many of them from the old Soviet archives, bunker blueprints and … Continue reading
Frozen Hell – The Legend and the Tragedy of Raate Road by Mika Kulju – the first book in English that covers the Battle of Raate Road in real detail If you’re interested in the Winter War that was fought between the Soviet Union and Finland starting in late November 1939, then … Continue reading
The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon Sotilas) by Väinö Linna The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon Sotilas), first published in 1954, was author Väinö Linna’s (1920-1992) first major novel and, whilst almost unknown in the English-speaking world, is, in Scandinavia, widely recognized as among the greatest novels of the twentieth century. In Finland, a … Continue reading
