Popular Songs as Vehicles for Political Imagination: The Russian Revolutions and the Finnish Civil War in Finnish Song Pamphlets, 1917–1918
Sami Suodenjoki
2/2019
Forum AI
From a province to the state, and back:
The Russian Northwest and Finland during the revolutionary years
SUMMARY:
This article examines the way in which the widespread printed collections of songs reflected the developing revolutionary situation and fuelled political imagination in Finland during the years 1917 and 1918. The analysis shows that the Russian February Revolution of 1917 and the Finnish Civil War of 1918 became key events that stimulated the proliferation of popular song pamphlets and influenced the content of the songs. Acting as an affective medium, the song pamphlets contested old forms of political legitimacy and reinforced ideas of class solidarity, national unity, and ethnic stereotypes.