Johan Bäckman
Encyclopedia
Erkki Johan Bäckman is a Finnish
political author, legal sociologist and criminologist, holding an adjunct professorship in three Finnish universities.
He received his training in sociology
at the University of Helsinki
, where he defended his Ph.D. in 2006, and is now an adjunct professor in the sociology of law
. He is also an adjunct professor in criminology at the University of Turku
and the University of Eastern Finland
. He has taught courses on the sociology of law, criminology, and Russian studies in several Finnish universities.
Bäckman has written books, some of which highly controversial, about Finnish-Soviet relations during the Cold War
, war history of Finland and the Soviet Union, organized crime
in Russia
and Estonia
, the Russian Mafia
, terrorism, and the history of Estonia
. As a spokesman for the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
he is against the integration policies
of Estonia
and Latvia
, claiming they are "apartheid
policies". On the whole, he does not recognize them as states. In recent years Bäckman has frequently commented on Finnish-Russian child custody
and grandmother cases in the Russian media
.
Bäckman has a background in music. According to Helsingin Sanomat he became a public figure in the late 1980's when playing the bassoon in the EBU Young Solists Competition on national television. Bäckman also played the bassoon in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
and challenges the traditional Finnish ideas that Finland waged a separate Continuation War
against the aggression of the USSR. According to Bäckman, the Finns participated in the Siege of Leningrad
actively and asked Hitler to destroy the city. He speculates that Finland also planned an ethnic cleansing
in Karelia
in order to create a Fenno-Ugric
superpower
, possibly stretching as far as the Urals, or even to the river Yenisei, which he claimed is proven by vast amounts of documents and in several Finnish history books by Helge Seppälä, Osmo Hyytiä and Nikolai Baryshnikov.
Bäckman accuses Finland of being the aggressor in WWII: that it allied with Hitler in attacking the USSR in 1941 (Continuation War
)—omitting the original source conflict (Winter War
); plotted territorial expansion and planned to conduct ethnic cleansing; and that, along with the Estonians and Germans, believed in its Aryan origins (a Nordic master race). He contends Finns are both anti-Semitic and Russophobic, Russophobia being a "racist political ideology"—both per "several academic works by Finnish authors."
In 2002, Bäckman publicly accused the Foreign Ministry of Finland of Russophobia
and racism. He claimed that the ministry was preparing a campaign to smear Russia and return the territories lost in the Paris Peace Treaty.
Bäckman has frequently travelled to Russia since 1993, and is fluent in Russian
. In 2000, he established a publishing institution named the Johan Beckman Institute in Saint Petersburg
.
In March 2002, during a military historical festival in Suojärvi in the Republic of Karelia
which was dedicated to the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Winter War
, Bäckman made a sensational claim that the modern authorities of Finland propagated the idea that the Russian people are genetically inferior and expected Russia to collapse in about twenty years. The other participants at the festival considered that he unreasonably overestimated the extent of anti-Russian sentiment in Finland. According to Bäckman's article "Finland without a mask" (the title alludes to a 1943 proclamation by Otto Wille Kuusinen), published in Russian in May 2002, the Finns in general consider themselves a superior nation, all Russian women prostitutes, and all Russian men thieves and bandits. During 2002, Bäckman gained an odious reputation both in Russia and among his Finnish colleagues.
In 2003, Johan Beckman Institute published the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by the Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov. The Saint Petersburg legislature
awarded Bäckman their Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2003) for the book. Historian Timo Vihavainen
, a historian at the University of Helsinki described it as "a book built on Stalinist
propaganda stereotypes". Vihavainen also said that Baryshnikov had misunderstood some of the language in Finnish archive documents. Bäckman and Baryshnikov threatened to sue Vihavainen.
According to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat
, Johan Bäckman was a talented researcher in Russian studies
in the early 2000s, who has since "marginalized" himself in Finland.
In his 2007 book Finland washed with Anna Politkovskaya's blood ' onMouseout='HidePop("2743")' href="/topics/The_Master_and_Margarita">The Master and Margarita
by Bulgakov
) he supported the conspiracy theory that Anna Politkovskaya assassination
was organized by circles who wanted to smear the Russian president Vladimir Putin
. Bäckman even hints that Politkovskaya was depressed and ordered her own murder. According to Bäckman, Politkovskaya, a Russian writer and human rights activist, was an American agent. He also criticizes Finns' reaction to the murder. Bäckman accused Finnish Green League
politician Heidi Hautala
and the Finnish media of inciting hatred towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Hautala, depicted on the book cover (pictured), saw this as a smear campaign
, but refused to take legal action, preferring to allow the book to speak for itself.
Bäckman admires Vladmir Putin, crediting all recent successes of Russia to Putin's personality and health. He has compared Putin to Cold War-era Finnish president Urho Kekkonen
, and claimed he wishes Putin would likewise rule Russia for 26 years. He stated that Finland also needs organizations such as the pro-Kremlin Nashi and Walking Together
. According to Bäckman, the freedom of the press in Russia
is considerably higher than in Finland, and Estonia is not free at all.
and anti-Estonian
by commentators in the Estonian press. Bäckman has stated that Estonia "does not exist" as a sovereign state.
According to Bäckman, the Estonians
and Finns are actually one nation and the Republic of Estonia
should be united with Finland
where it could still have an autonomy.
. In his opinion, Estonian integration policies that have seen some 147,000 Russian speakers receiving Estonian citizenship in the past decade are "apartheid" and represent a "criminal discrimination of Russians". In the Bronze Soldier he dismissed the Soviet occupation of Estonia as a "Nazi myth". Bäckman has gained wide publicity in Estonia for denying the Soviet occupation during 1940-1941 and 1944-1991:
In connection to the publication of the book in September 2008, Bäckman gave several controversial interviews, e.g. one in which he claimed Estonia will join Russia within a decade. Bäckman also claimed that the "destruction" of the Bronze Soldier grave site and monument in April 2007 by the Estonian government was "the end of history of Estonia". He speculated that most of the Russian youth all over Russia, including children, hate Estonia and deny her the right to exist. Bäckman went on to predict that in ten years at most, the Nashi would come to power in Russia, leading to an end of the Estonian statehood shortly afterwards.
After the publication of the book, a number of Finnish and Estonian cultural figures, scholars, journalists and politicians, including Henrik Lax
, Lasse Lehtinen
and Sofi Oksanen
, addressed the University of Helsinki in an open letter
of protest, partly in relation to Bäckman teaching a course on "specialities of Estonian legal policy" in the Spring 2009 semester. Bäckman immediately threatened to sue letter's authors for libel and later filed a criminal complaint, but Helsinki Police refused to open investigation. The former minister of foreign affairs of Finland Dr. Erkki Tuomioja
called Bäckman's book as "deliberate provocation", but condemned the open letter for violating the principles of freedom of speech. The University of Helsinki
distanced itself in a statement holding that Bäckman's political views are his own and do not represent the University's.
In March 2009 Bäckman as part of the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
arranged a series of protests in Helsinki attended by activists of Russian Nashi
, Night Watch
, against what they called the opening [of] a new anti-Russian front of information warfare on the territory of Finland by [the] Estonian embassy. Also Abdullah Tammi and his followers from the prospective Finnish Islamic Party
participated. The protests were aimed against seminars, against a book about the Soviet occupation of Estonia, and against films presented by the Estonian embassy in Finland, especially the film Soviet Story by Edvins Snore
. In media commentaries for Swedish, Finnish and Russian press, television and radio, Bäckman claimed that the Soviet Union did not occupy Estonia, and belittled the significance of the Soviet deportations from Estonia
.
In March 2009, the newspaper Eesti Ekspress
reported a link between Bäckman and the well-known Finnish neo-nazi Risto Teinonen, both of them being connected to the alleged former KGB
agent Vladimir Ilyashevich residing in Estonia, and all of them are linked to the young Muscovite historian Alexander Dyukov. In the assessment by Kaitsepolitseiamet, Bäckman, Teinonen and Ilyashevich are working as a team with support from Moscow, attempting to undermine the names of many good people, the relations between Finland and Estonia, and the Republic of Estonia itself.
Finnish counter-intelligence has not commented on Bäckman publicly. Regarding Nashi
-demonstrations organised by Bäckman in Helsinki March 2009, the Finnish security police spokesman replied they heard "rumours" about the demonstrations but would not comment on issues regarding free democratic activism.
and expelled from the country under a brief entry prohibition. Among reasons for expulsion, the Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs
lists first of all twelve statements by Bäckman in the Estonian press and in his blog, claiming Estonia is an "apartheid" regime that "falsifies" history. Helsingin Sanomat
pointed out such prohibition against entry into Estonia by Finnish citizens is extremely rare. Previously such entry bans have been issued to some Finns suspected of connections with racist movements. In December 2010 Tallinn regional court declared entry prohibitions against Bäckman illegal and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs compensate his legal fees in sum of 16 600 Estonian kroon
s.
, speculated that this has happened due to fact that Bäckman's opinions fit in interests of the Kremlin. Usually he was presented as the Chairman of the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
, but also as independent human rights activists or defender and adjunct professor in sociology of law of Helsinki university.
Bäckman has been an active commentator for Russian press during the Anton incident
in 2009. Later Bäckman apologized for his behaviour, and promised not to intervene the incident. He was also an active commentator for Russian press during the Rantala incident
in 2010. Bäckman has also received media time with grandmother and similar child custody cases in 2010.
movement of the 1970s, the hardline pro-Soviet faction in the Communist Party of Finland
, as "the best thing that happened in the history of Finland", "We can thank the Taistoists for high-quality science, art and culture we enjoy today" claims Bäckman. Bäckman was an independent candidate
for European Parliament election in 2009
on the Workers Party of Finland
list. He got 554 votes and was not allocated a seat.
In March 2011, Bäckman announced he is a candidate for the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election
on the Workers Party of Finland list. He got 36 votes and was not allocated a seat.
beverage company. Johan Bäckman has courted against his Soviet-born ex-wife for years in which both parties have received sentences for libel. Bäckman's current family consists of a girl and two boys. His wife is the Russian language and literature teacher. According to Helsingin Sanomat, Bäckman had been treated with caution in the Finnish public media because he is sensitive to make libels against journalists. According to the newspaper he has won a court case two times, but equally self-convicted of libel in July 2009.
Bäckman wrote a letter to the editor saying he had won seven libel cases during past couple of years, not two, as the paper claimed. Bäckman wrote he won the cases against five persons, all of whom are female citizens of Finland.
awarded Bäckman Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2004) for publishing the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by the Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
political author, legal sociologist and criminologist, holding an adjunct professorship in three Finnish universities.
He received his training in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
, where he defended his Ph.D. in 2006, and is now an adjunct professor in the sociology of law
Sociology of law
The sociology of law is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies...
. He is also an adjunct professor in criminology at the University of Turku
University of Turku
The University of Turku , located in Turku in southwestern Finland, is the second largest university in the country as measured by student enrollment, after University of Helsinki. It was established in 1920 and also has faculties at Rauma, Pori and Salo...
and the University of Eastern Finland
University of Eastern Finland
The University of Eastern Finland is a university in Finland with three campuses in Joensuu, Kuopio, and Savonlinna. It was formed in 2010 by a merger of two previously independent universities.- History :...
. He has taught courses on the sociology of law, criminology, and Russian studies in several Finnish universities.
Bäckman has written books, some of which highly controversial, about Finnish-Soviet relations during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, war history of Finland and the Soviet Union, organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, the Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
, terrorism, and the history of Estonia
History of Estonia
Estonia was settled near the end of the last glacial era, beginning from around 8500 BC. Before the German invasions in the 13th century proto-Estonians of the Ancient Estonia worshipped the spirits of nature...
. As a spokesman for the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee , also known by its Finnish abbreviation SAFKA, is a radical political organisation operating in Finland, founded in November 2008, but never registered...
he is against the integration policies
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, claiming they are "apartheid
Crime of apartheid
The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other...
policies". On the whole, he does not recognize them as states. In recent years Bäckman has frequently commented on Finnish-Russian child custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
and grandmother cases in the Russian media
Media of Russia
Media of Russia is diverse, with a wide range of broadcast and print outlets are available to the consumer. In total, there are 93,000 media outlets in Russia, including 27,000 newspapers and magazines and 330 television channels. Television is the most popular source of information. There are...
.
Bäckman has a background in music. According to Helsingin Sanomat he became a public figure in the late 1980's when playing the bassoon in the EBU Young Solists Competition on national television. Bäckman also played the bassoon in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Bäckman and Russia
Bäckman is highly critical of the modern Finnish historiography of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and challenges the traditional Finnish ideas that Finland waged a separate Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
against the aggression of the USSR. According to Bäckman, the Finns participated in the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
actively and asked Hitler to destroy the city. He speculates that Finland also planned an ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
in Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
in order to create a Fenno-Ugric
Finno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples are any of several peoples of Europe who speak languages of the proposed Finno-Ugric language family, such as the Finns, Estonians, Mordvins, and Hungarians...
superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
, possibly stretching as far as the Urals, or even to the river Yenisei, which he claimed is proven by vast amounts of documents and in several Finnish history books by Helge Seppälä, Osmo Hyytiä and Nikolai Baryshnikov.
Bäckman accuses Finland of being the aggressor in WWII: that it allied with Hitler in attacking the USSR in 1941 (Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
)—omitting the original source conflict (Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
); plotted territorial expansion and planned to conduct ethnic cleansing; and that, along with the Estonians and Germans, believed in its Aryan origins (a Nordic master race). He contends Finns are both anti-Semitic and Russophobic, Russophobia being a "racist political ideology"—both per "several academic works by Finnish authors."
In 2002, Bäckman publicly accused the Foreign Ministry of Finland of Russophobia
Russophobia
Russophobia refers to a diverse spectrum of prejudices, dislikes or fears of Russia, Russians, or Russian culture. Its opposite is Russophilia....
and racism. He claimed that the ministry was preparing a campaign to smear Russia and return the territories lost in the Paris Peace Treaty.
Bäckman has frequently travelled to Russia since 1993, and is fluent in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. In 2000, he established a publishing institution named the Johan Beckman Institute in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
In March 2002, during a military historical festival in Suojärvi in the Republic of Karelia
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is located in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic seas...
which was dedicated to the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
, Bäckman made a sensational claim that the modern authorities of Finland propagated the idea that the Russian people are genetically inferior and expected Russia to collapse in about twenty years. The other participants at the festival considered that he unreasonably overestimated the extent of anti-Russian sentiment in Finland. According to Bäckman's article "Finland without a mask" (the title alludes to a 1943 proclamation by Otto Wille Kuusinen), published in Russian in May 2002, the Finns in general consider themselves a superior nation, all Russian women prostitutes, and all Russian men thieves and bandits. During 2002, Bäckman gained an odious reputation both in Russia and among his Finnish colleagues.
In 2003, Johan Beckman Institute published the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by the Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov. The Saint Petersburg legislature
Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg
The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg is the legislative power body of Saint Petersburg, a federal subject of Russia, which has existed since 1994 and succeeded the Leningrad Council of People Deputies...
awarded Bäckman their Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2003) for the book. Historian Timo Vihavainen
Timo Vihavainen
Timo Juhani Vihavainen is a Finnish historian and a professor of Russian Studies at the University of Helsinki. He has written extensively on Russian and Finnish history. Vihavainen graduated as the Master of Philosophy in 1970, the Licentiate in Philosophy in 1983, the Doctor of Philosophy degree...
, a historian at the University of Helsinki described it as "a book built on Stalinist
Neo-Stalinism
Neo-Stalinism is a political term referring to attempts at rehabilitating the role of Joseph Stalin in history and re-establishing the political course of Stalin, at least partially. The term is also used to designate the modern political regimes in some states, political and social life of which...
propaganda stereotypes". Vihavainen also said that Baryshnikov had misunderstood some of the language in Finnish archive documents. Bäckman and Baryshnikov threatened to sue Vihavainen.
According to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
, Johan Bäckman was a talented researcher in Russian studies
Russian Studies
Russian studies is a field of study first developed during the Cold War. It is an interdisciplinary field crossing history and language studies. It is closely related to Soviet and Communist studies...
in the early 2000s, who has since "marginalized" himself in Finland.
Bäckman's views of Vladimir V. Putin
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
by Bulgakov
Bulgakov
Bulgakov is a common Russian family name and may refer to:*Gediminid family of Princes Bulgakov*Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bulgakov, Soviet politician, USSR Minister of Education 1978 to 1983*Aleksandr Viktorovich Bulgakov Bulgakov is a common Russian family name and may refer to:*Gediminid family...
) he supported the conspiracy theory that Anna Politkovskaya assassination
Anna Politkovskaya assassination
The assassination of Anna Politkovskaya , the Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist, took place on Saturday, 7 October 2006. She was well known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin...
was organized by circles who wanted to smear the Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
. Bäckman even hints that Politkovskaya was depressed and ordered her own murder. According to Bäckman, Politkovskaya, a Russian writer and human rights activist, was an American agent. He also criticizes Finns' reaction to the murder. Bäckman accused Finnish Green League
Green League
The Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö....
politician Heidi Hautala
Heidi Hautala
-External links:* * *...
and the Finnish media of inciting hatred towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Hautala, depicted on the book cover (pictured), saw this as a smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
, but refused to take legal action, preferring to allow the book to speak for itself.
Bäckman admires Vladmir Putin, crediting all recent successes of Russia to Putin's personality and health. He has compared Putin to Cold War-era Finnish president Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...
, and claimed he wishes Putin would likewise rule Russia for 26 years. He stated that Finland also needs organizations such as the pro-Kremlin Nashi and Walking Together
Walking Together
Walking Together is a Russian youth movement that was created by Vasily Yakemenko in May 2000. The group, which had over 50 thousand members as of January 2002, is strongly pro-Putin and is openly endorsed by President Vladimir Putin's administration...
. According to Bäckman, the freedom of the press in Russia
Freedom of the press in Russia
The issue of freedom of the press in Russia involves both the ability of directors of mass media outlets to carry out independent policies and the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outside pressure...
is considerably higher than in Finland, and Estonia is not free at all.
Bäckman and Estonia
Bäckman has authored several writings, published in Finland and Estonia. Many of his published opinions are provocative and some have been regarded as pro-PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and anti-Estonian
Anti-Estonian sentiment
Anti-Estonian sentiment generally describes dislike or hate of the Estonian people or the Republic of Estonia. Its opposite is Estophilia.-Bronze Soldier controversy:...
by commentators in the Estonian press. Bäckman has stated that Estonia "does not exist" as a sovereign state.
According to Bäckman, the Estonians
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
and Finns are actually one nation and the Republic of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
should be united with Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
where it could still have an autonomy.
The Bronze Soldier book
In his highly controversial book about the Estonian Bronze Soldier Pronssisoturi: Viron patsaskiistan tausta ja sisältö, published in Finnish in 2008, Bäckman argues against the integration policies of EstoniaEstonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. In his opinion, Estonian integration policies that have seen some 147,000 Russian speakers receiving Estonian citizenship in the past decade are "apartheid" and represent a "criminal discrimination of Russians". In the Bronze Soldier he dismissed the Soviet occupation of Estonia as a "Nazi myth". Bäckman has gained wide publicity in Estonia for denying the Soviet occupation during 1940-1941 and 1944-1991:
"In my opinion speaking or writing of Soviet "occupation" should be criminalised as a form of racist propaganda.
In connection to the publication of the book in September 2008, Bäckman gave several controversial interviews, e.g. one in which he claimed Estonia will join Russia within a decade. Bäckman also claimed that the "destruction" of the Bronze Soldier grave site and monument in April 2007 by the Estonian government was "the end of history of Estonia". He speculated that most of the Russian youth all over Russia, including children, hate Estonia and deny her the right to exist. Bäckman went on to predict that in ten years at most, the Nashi would come to power in Russia, leading to an end of the Estonian statehood shortly afterwards.
After the publication of the book, a number of Finnish and Estonian cultural figures, scholars, journalists and politicians, including Henrik Lax
Henrik Lax
Henrik Lax is a Finnish politician and formerMember of the European Parliament with the Swedish People's Party, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.Lax was a substitute...
, Lasse Lehtinen
Lasse Lehtinen
Lasse Lehtinen is a Finnish politician, former Member of the Finnish Parliament and former Member of the European Parliament...
and Sofi Oksanen
Sofi Oksanen
Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish contemporary writer. She was born in Jyväskylä. Her father is Finnish and her mother is Estonian. So far, Oksanen has published three novels, one an international best seller and a play. She has received several awards for her literary work.-Life:Sofi Oksanen was born and...
, addressed the University of Helsinki in an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
of protest, partly in relation to Bäckman teaching a course on "specialities of Estonian legal policy" in the Spring 2009 semester. Bäckman immediately threatened to sue letter's authors for libel and later filed a criminal complaint, but Helsinki Police refused to open investigation. The former minister of foreign affairs of Finland Dr. Erkki Tuomioja
Erkki Tuomioja
Erkki Sakari Tuomioja is the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is currently a member of the Finnish Parliament.Tuomioja is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, although his political views are thought to be more to the left than the party line. He is also a member of ATTAC...
called Bäckman's book as "deliberate provocation", but condemned the open letter for violating the principles of freedom of speech. The University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
distanced itself in a statement holding that Bäckman's political views are his own and do not represent the University's.
Nashi protests in Helsinki
Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee , also known by its Finnish abbreviation SAFKA, is a radical political organisation operating in Finland, founded in November 2008, but never registered...
arranged a series of protests in Helsinki attended by activists of Russian Nashi
Nashi (Ours)
Nashi is Vladimir Putin's political youth movement in Russia, which declares itself to be a democratic, anti-fascist, anti-'oligarchic-capitalist' movement. Its creation was encouraged by senior figures in the Russian Presidential administration, and by late 2007, it grew in size to some 120,000...
, Night Watch
Nochnoy Dozor (pressure group)
Nochnoy Dozor is a group of mostly Russophone political activists living in Estonia. It was set up in the summer of 2006, with its original declared goal of defending the Bronze Soldier, a monument grave marker in Tallinn, near the Estonian National Library and next to a trolleybus stop, against...
, against what they called the opening [of] a new anti-Russian front of information warfare on the territory of Finland by [the] Estonian embassy. Also Abdullah Tammi and his followers from the prospective Finnish Islamic Party
Finnish Islamic Party
Finnish Islamic Party is a registered political association in Finland, that aims for the status of a registered political party. It was founded in September 2007 by a former KGB spy Abdullah Tammi. Its founders are Finnish converts to Islam....
participated. The protests were aimed against seminars, against a book about the Soviet occupation of Estonia, and against films presented by the Estonian embassy in Finland, especially the film Soviet Story by Edvins Snore
Edvīns Šnore
Edvīns Šnore is a Latvian film director.He has become known for his 2008 documentary The Soviet Story. For this film, he was awarded with the Latvian Order of the Three Stars in 2008, and the Estonian Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana in 2009....
. In media commentaries for Swedish, Finnish and Russian press, television and radio, Bäckman claimed that the Soviet Union did not occupy Estonia, and belittled the significance of the Soviet deportations from Estonia
Soviet deportations from Estonia
As the Soviet Union had occupied Estonia in 1940 and retaken it from Nazi Germany again in 1944, tens of thousands of Estonia's citizens underwent deportation in the 1940s...
.
Estonian security police and Bäckman
The Estonian security police and counter-intelligence agency Kaitsepolitsei (KAPO) official Andres Kahar has claimed in the Estonian press that Bäckman is "a Russian propagandist" spreading disinformation similar to the claims Moscow makes.In March 2009, the newspaper Eesti Ekspress
Eesti Ekspress
Eesti Ekspress was the first politically independent newspaper in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet control of Estonia. Making use of Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost, it was established as a weekly newspaper in 1989 by Hans H. Luik and others...
reported a link between Bäckman and the well-known Finnish neo-nazi Risto Teinonen, both of them being connected to the alleged former KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agent Vladimir Ilyashevich residing in Estonia, and all of them are linked to the young Muscovite historian Alexander Dyukov. In the assessment by Kaitsepolitseiamet, Bäckman, Teinonen and Ilyashevich are working as a team with support from Moscow, attempting to undermine the names of many good people, the relations between Finland and Estonia, and the Republic of Estonia itself.
Finnish counter-intelligence has not commented on Bäckman publicly. Regarding Nashi
Nashi
Nashi may refer to:*Nashi , a Russian youth movement*Nashi , a former Russian political movement*Nashi pear*Nashi , a northeast wind which occurs in winter on the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf...
-demonstrations organised by Bäckman in Helsinki March 2009, the Finnish security police spokesman replied they heard "rumours" about the demonstrations but would not comment on issues regarding free democratic activism.
Expulsion from Estonia
On 26 April 2009, Bäckman was detained after his disembarkation off a ferry in the Tallinn Passenger PortTallinn Passenger Port
The Tallinn Passenger Port is the Old City Harbour located in Tallinn, Estonia. Regular lines serve routes to Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.The port is one of the five ports within the state-owned company Port of Tallinn.- External links :...
and expelled from the country under a brief entry prohibition. Among reasons for expulsion, the Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs
Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs
The Minister of Internal Affairs is the senior minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Estonian Government.-Ministers of Internal Affairs:List of ministes of Internal Affairs since 1990....
lists first of all twelve statements by Bäckman in the Estonian press and in his blog, claiming Estonia is an "apartheid" regime that "falsifies" history. Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
pointed out such prohibition against entry into Estonia by Finnish citizens is extremely rare. Previously such entry bans have been issued to some Finns suspected of connections with racist movements. In December 2010 Tallinn regional court declared entry prohibitions against Bäckman illegal and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs compensate his legal fees in sum of 16 600 Estonian kroon
Estonian kroon
In 1992, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 & 50 senti, as well as 1 kroon. The 1 kroon was struck in cupronickel, the others in aluminum-bronze. However, in 1997, nickel-plated steel 20 senti were introduced, followed by aluminum-bronze 1 kroon in 1998. 5 senti coins were not...
s.
Bäckman and Finland
Bäckman has received widely media time in Russia, both in national tv channels, the press and Russian Internet news portals. Bäckman has been an active commentator of Finnish-Russian child custody and "grandmother cases". The Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle, quoting to famous opponent of Bäckman Timo VihavainenTimo Vihavainen
Timo Juhani Vihavainen is a Finnish historian and a professor of Russian Studies at the University of Helsinki. He has written extensively on Russian and Finnish history. Vihavainen graduated as the Master of Philosophy in 1970, the Licentiate in Philosophy in 1983, the Doctor of Philosophy degree...
, speculated that this has happened due to fact that Bäckman's opinions fit in interests of the Kremlin. Usually he was presented as the Chairman of the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee , also known by its Finnish abbreviation SAFKA, is a radical political organisation operating in Finland, founded in November 2008, but never registered...
, but also as independent human rights activists or defender and adjunct professor in sociology of law of Helsinki university.
Bäckman has been an active commentator for Russian press during the Anton incident
Anton incident
Anton Salonen is a child with Russian-Finnish dual citizenship involved in an international child custody dispute between his parents. The Finnish-born child was first abducted by his Estonian Russian mother in 2008 and taken to Russia...
in 2009. Later Bäckman apologized for his behaviour, and promised not to intervene the incident. He was also an active commentator for Russian press during the Rantala incident
Rantala incident
Robert Rantala is a 7-year-old child with Russian-Finnish dual citizenship who was taken by the Finnish social service to a children’s shelter in early 2010. Russian media followed closely the incident for weeks...
in 2010. Bäckman has also received media time with grandmother and similar child custody cases in 2010.
Politics
Bäckman considers the TaistoistsTaistolaisuus
Taistoism was an orthodox pro-Soviet tendency in the mostly Eurocommunist Finnish communist movement in 1970s and 1980s. The Taistoists were an interior opposition group in the Communist Party of Finland. They were named after their leader Taisto Sinisalo whose first name means "a battle", "a...
movement of the 1970s, the hardline pro-Soviet faction in the Communist Party of Finland
Communist Party of Finland
The Communist Party of Finland was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944.SKP did not participate in any elections with its own name. Instead, front organisations were used...
, as "the best thing that happened in the history of Finland", "We can thank the Taistoists for high-quality science, art and culture we enjoy today" claims Bäckman. Bäckman was an independent candidate
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
for European Parliament election in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
on the Workers Party of Finland
Workers Party of Finland
Workers' Party of Finland is a left-wing political party in Finland. The STP was founded in 2006 as a successor to the Alternative League .In the 2007 parliamentary election the party obtained 1,764 votes...
list. He got 554 votes and was not allocated a seat.
In March 2011, Bäckman announced he is a candidate for the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election
Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
on the Workers Party of Finland list. He got 36 votes and was not allocated a seat.
Private life
Johan Bäckman is a son of Erkki Bäckman who was a Managing Director of HartwallHartwall
Hartwall is a beverage company based in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1836. Its soft drinks range includes Hartwall Jaffa and Hartwall Novelle water. The company also owns the license for manufacturing and selling PepsiCo's Pepsi, 7 Up and Mountain Dew brands in Finland...
beverage company. Johan Bäckman has courted against his Soviet-born ex-wife for years in which both parties have received sentences for libel. Bäckman's current family consists of a girl and two boys. His wife is the Russian language and literature teacher. According to Helsingin Sanomat, Bäckman had been treated with caution in the Finnish public media because he is sensitive to make libels against journalists. According to the newspaper he has won a court case two times, but equally self-convicted of libel in July 2009.
Bäckman wrote a letter to the editor saying he had won seven libel cases during past couple of years, not two, as the paper claimed. Bäckman wrote he won the cases against five persons, all of whom are female citizens of Finland.
Awards
The Legislative Assembly of Saint PetersburgLegislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg
The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg is the legislative power body of Saint Petersburg, a federal subject of Russia, which has existed since 1994 and succeeded the Leningrad Council of People Deputies...
awarded Bäckman Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2004) for publishing the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by the Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov.
Sources
- eesti.ca 4 December 2008: Jarmo Virmavirta: väljakutse iseseisvusele PM