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On February 11 at 6:00 PM , you are invited to attend the lecture “Russian War and Anti-War Poetry of the 20th and 21st Centuries.” Literary scholar and Doctor of Philology Oleg Lekmanov  will speak about Russian war and anti-war poetry of the 20th and 21st centuries. During the lecture, poems about war written during World War I, World War II, and in the present day will be compared in order to identify common patterns across these texts, as well as to highlight the specific

As part of the DocPoint Documentary Film Festival  in Helsinki, a wide range of important and compelling films will be screened. Antidote  is a film about people who oppose Vladimir Putin’s violent regime despite threats, repression, and the murder of political opponents. At the center of the film is the escape of a whistleblower involved in the development of poisons intended to eliminate the opposition, as well as the stories of journalist Christo Grozev  and politician Vla

On January 23 at 6:00 PM , we invite you to a screening of the documentary film Close Ones . The film tells the story of the final months of the life of Dmitry Zimin , an outstanding Russian radio engineer and philanthropist, who chose assisted dying shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is both an intimate personal story and a sweeping chronicle of 20th-century Russia, unfolding as a profound family saga. At the heart of the film is a thirty-year friends

On January 9 at 6:00 PM , we will gather to watch and discuss the documentary film “The Color of the Nation”  about Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, a pioneer of color photography who, 120 years ago, undertook the crucial task of capturing the cultural and geographical diversity of the Russian Empire on the eve of the turbulent 20th century. In the film, we will see the wonder of pre-revolutionary Russia in color, along with comparative footage showing what once was and what it has be

On January 16 at 18:00 , we invite you to a lecture and discussion titled “Key Principles of Classical Liberalism.” Classical liberalism is a political and philosophical tradition centered on individual freedom, equality before the law, limited government power, and personal responsibility for one’s own life and choices. These ideas laid the foundation for modern democratic institutions, human rights, and the rule of law. During the lecture, we will discuss why the term “libe

Friends, we would like to start the New Year with a board games meetup! We invite you to join us on January 6 at 12:00  for a full day of gaming. 🎲 “Scientific Apocalypse” A board game created by science popularizer Alexander Panchin  and his team. Together we will learn the rules of this new board game and dive into a world of moral and spiritual degradation, frightening GMOs and vaccines, “healing” homeopathy, fears of a world government, and robot uprisings. 🔹 There will

We wish peace and love to all of us. Strength to those who remain in Russia to endure the current regime, and strength and success in integration to those who were forced to leave their homeland. May the new year bring wisdom to world leaders and see dictatorships fall. May wars end, borders open for everyone, and nations live in harmony, support one another, and freely share knowledge. In January 2026, we have planned a film screening with a discussion of the work of photogr

This week, the final event of the project “How has the Russian language changed in the 2020s?”  took place, featuring one of Finland’s most renowned scholars of the Russian language — Professor Arto Mustajoki. Arto Mustajoki spoke about how contemporary political, social, and cultural processes influence the Russian language. An unexpected example he mentioned was the word “скуф”  from Russian internet culture, which amused the audience. The professor explained that the term

We are pleased to present the dictionary “Russian Newspeak ”  — a Russian–Finnish dictionary of new words and expressions , created as part of the project “How has the Russian language changed in the 2020s?” . The dictionary is based on a series of discussions held in Finland and on additional research examining vocabulary that has emerged or changed under the influence of war, repressive laws, migration, internet culture, and other processes shaping contemporary Russian real

On December 11 at 18:00, Suomi–Venäjä-seura and Initiative FoReDi invite friends to our Pikkujoulut (Little Christmas) celebration. The event will be a relaxed, festive gathering aimed at bringing together Finnish- and Russian-speaking participants. The programme will take place in two languages — Finnish and Russian. You can expect music and singing, competitions, Christmas workshops, warm glögi and light snacks, as well as a bilingual — but fully united — Santa Claus / Joul

In Oulu , a performance titled “Putin is a terrorist. Freedom and peace are held hostage” was organized, where participants protested against the criminalization of the Russian opposition following the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to designate the Anti-Corruption Foundation as a terrorist organization. In Uusikaupunki , participants of the picket drew attention to the paradox: the Taliban — previously recognized as a terrorist organization — was re

Today, the organization “ European Choice for Russia ”  published an open appeal to the international community calling for the release of political prisoners in Russia. “In November 2025, discussions intensified about a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States. Unfortunately, neither the Trump plan nor the proposals by European politicians mention the fate of Russian political prisoners — citizens of Russia, Ukraine and other countries — o

Two years ago, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation  declared the “international public LGBT movement”  an extremist organization — thereby putting a large part of Russian society under the threat of criminal prosecution and changing the lives of LGBTQ+ people by depriving them of safety, support, and visibility. On 30 November , events will take place in Helsinki  under the slogan “Love is not extremism” , organized by Queer Asylum: FI  ( qa-finland.yhdistysavain.fi )

On 3 December at 18:00 , we invite you to a meeting dedicated to the Russian language with one of Finland’s most renowned Russian linguists — Professor Arto Mustajoki . The event will be held in Finnish. Professor Mustajoki will talk about how the Russian language is changing in the 2020s.The main theme of the evening is “novoyaz”  — the new political language of Russia — and how it is used in contemporary political rhetoric, as well as the newest borrowings and semantic shif

On 25 November at 18:00 , we invite you to a discussion as part of National Dialogue Day , dedicated to the theme: “Does an immigrant need Sisu?” Sisu  is a uniquely Finnish concept often associated with national character. It means perseverance, determination, courage, and the ability to keep going no matter what. Together, we will explore this fascinating Finnish word and talk about: • Have you had situations in Finland where you truly needed to show sisu? • Are some people

On the big screen we will watch a production directed by Dmitry Krymov , inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s  historical drama “Boris Godunov.” The performance premiered in 2019, was removed from the repertoire in March 2022, and by September 2022 all Krymov’s works were banned from Moscow theatres by order of the city’s Department of Culture. The play draws parallels between today’s Russian style of governance and its imperial past, revealing the myths on which Russian identity

On November 26 at 18:00  in Helsinki, a discussion “Who is to blame and what should be done: trust in the media and the Russian-speaking residents of Finland”  will take place, organized by the Cultura Foundation . The discussion will focus on the reasons behind the lack of trust in Finnish-language media among Russian-speaking residents of Finland, and on the ways this trust can be rebuilt and strengthened.The goal of the dialogue is to deepen mutual understanding and ident

📍 On November 6 from 16:00 to 20:00  in the city of Kemi , the association Kemi Against War will hold a letter evening in support of political prisoners . The organizers invite both Russian- and Finnish-speaking residents of Finland — interpretation from Russian will be provided, as well as assistance in translating letters to political prisoners. Address:   Kemin kulttuurikeskus, Marina Takalon katu 3 , Auditorium “Aquarium.” For any questions, please contact Maksim . 📍 O

We have managed to collect the full amount needed to bring the project to life! The project received financial support from 114 people across 23 countries , with a total of €9,797  raised. Huge thanks to everyone for your help and support! ❤️ A special thank you to journalist Michael Nacke for his generous donation, which allowed us to complete the fundraising ahead of schedule. Our goal is to install the memorial by June 4, 2026  — the day Aleksei Navalny would have turned

On October 23, a panel discussion titled "Russian-Speaking Civil Society in Europe: Extremists Fighting against Extremism?"  took place in Helsinki. The event was organized by the Finland–Russia Society  in cooperation with Initiative FoReDi ry  as part of the annual Aleksanteri Conference , dedicated to the theme “Extremisms: ambiguities, ideologies, agency.” The discussion focused on the different meanings and uses of the term “extremism”  in Russia and Europe. Participant