Olli Nurmi will talk about Finnish President Urho Kekkonen’s multifaceted relations with Estonia

On 30 October at 16:15, Olli Nurmi will talk about Finnish President Urho Kekkonen’s multifaceted relations with Estonia in room 213 of Jakobi study building. The lecture will be held in English. Everybody interested in the topic is welcome.

President Urho Kekkonen was the only European state leader of his time who had a dedicated and active policy towards Estonia. Its peak was the “private” but in reality very formal visit to Soviet Estonia in March 1964.

Kekkonen's relationship with Estonia had its emotional roots in the 1920s and 1930s radical student movement. Kekkonen's policy towards Estonia was highly adaptive. During the postwar period it was subordinated to the demands of the Finnish-Soviet relationship. Kekkonen did not hesitate to sacrifice his sympathy towards Estonians when needed and to use Estonia as a tool against his domestic political rivals either.

The lecture offers a critical assessment of Kekkonen's multifaceted relationship with Estonia based on archival research as well as earlier studies.

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Olli Nurmi (born 1984) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki. His main academic interests are related to the politics of history, particularly the use of history during periods of political transition and the dismantling of totalitarian regimes. He has studied in Finland and Germany and holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences. Mr Nurmi is a career diplomat who has worked for more than ten years at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He has been posted to Berlin, Kabul, and Brussels. He has also served as a peacekeeper and written an autobiographical book based on his experiences in Lebanon.

You can follow the event on Teams.

The event is part of International History Seminars, and is guided by the motto: “national history cannot be understood without the framework of international history” (Hans Rothfels, “Zeitgeschichte als Aufgabe,” Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 1, 1953).