On September 20, a meeting dedicated to commemorating Alexei Navalny in Helsinki was held at the Luckan space.
Residents of Finland, as well as representatives of public organizations, journalists, and politicians, participated in the meeting.
Anni Sinnemäki, Deputy Mayor of Helsinki for City Planning, explained that renaming a street or square near the Russian Embassy in Finland in honor of Alexei Navalny would not be a quick process, as according to the law, the Toponymy Commission only considers renaming applications for deceased individuals five years after their passing. Anni suggested that the attendees consider the possibility of installing a memorial in memory of Alexei Navalny in Helsinki, such as a memorial plaque or a bench. This type of memorial would be quicker and easier to approve, but the initiative group would need to independently prepare a project, submit it for approval by the city, and then finance the implementation of the planned memorial.
Finnish MP Kimmo Kiljunen spoke at the meeting about how he helped organize the visit of Yulia Navalnaya and Vladimir Kara-Murza. Kimmo noted that during the visit, the guests met with leading politicians from all levels in Finland, which is very important for the Finnish side, as they need a safer neighbor on the Russian side. It is now crucial to support democratically-minded Russians in forced migration for the future construction of a better Russia.
The memorial evening continued with a musical and poetic program. Maria Konoshenko performed works based on poems by contemporary Russian-speaking poets, accompanied by piano, with young Vladik playing the tambourine. Mikhail Ionin performed songs by Vertinsky, Okudzhava, and Vysotsky on the guitar, and Dmitry Skripnikov concluded the program with a rendition of Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends on guitar.
A huge thank you to all the participants! Special thanks to Toivo Tupin for helping with the translation of the meeting!
❗️Stay tuned — we will soon present options for an Alexei Navalny memorial in Helsinki for your consideration.
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