The 12th IRS Forum Held

On July 2nd at 11:00, the Russian Institute invited Professor Markku Kangaspuro, Director of the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland, to hold the 12th Russian Institute Forum (IRS Forum) with the theme “From Neutrality of Finland to Alignment.”

In this presentation, Professor Kangaspuro explained the background of Finland, which maintained neutrality not only during the Cold War but also after the collapse of the Soviet Union, joining NATO, a military alliance of European and North American countries in April 2023, based on the geopolitical situation, including the relationship between Finland and Imperial Russia from the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century to the Bolshevik Revolution in the 20th century, the Finnish-Soviet War during World War II, and the relationship with Russia in the post-Soviet period. Professor Kangaspuro discussed the changes in Finnish-Russian relations after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the resulting stationing of US troops in Finland, as well as the changes in the political situation in Europe after the war. In addition, Professor Kangaspuro explained the changes in the status of Russian studies in Finland by comparing the periods before and after the Russo-Ukrainian War.

After the announcement, our institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for academic cooperation with the Aleksanteri Institute, a leading Russian and Slavic studies research institute in Finland, and the two institutes agreed to continue academic cooperation in the future.