In the distant year of 1921, a young Russian man, Mikhail Nikolayevich Shilkin, crossed the Finnish border on Lake Ladoga in a small sailing boat, where he was detained by Finnish border guards for illegal border crossing. Later, he was released and granted refugee status in Finland.
Mikhail came from a peasant family; in Russia, he worked as a tailor and served on the railway. In Finland, he found work on a farm, and later he worked as a driver. Since Mikhail had always been passionate about creativity, he enrolled in the Higher School of Industrial Design, which is now part of Aalto University.
After his studies, he got a job at the Arabia ceramics factory, obtained Finnish citizenship, and was awarded Finland’s highest honor for creative professionals—the Pro Finlandia medal. Mikhail Shilkin made a significant contribution to Finnish art, and today his works are exhibited in museums and sold at auctions.
The public organization, Initiative FoReDi, is in constant dialogue with Finnish and European politicians regarding the acceleration of refugee application processing, the possibilities for opening humanitarian visas, and addressing unjustified rejections of asylum seekers. Unfortunately, due to the ruling parties in some countries, bureaucracy, and the lack of a unified approach to the problem from the European Union, progress has been slow.
Russian refugees faced difficulties with life, legalization, and integration even 100 years ago. Mikhail didn’t give up—so neither should you. Everything will definitely work out for you! ❤️
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