>he said, adding that “Finland cannot allow old-school Russia hatred to return”.
I wouldn’t say “return”, more like “resurface”. Distaste and distrust towards Russia has never gone anywhere.
More like who likes you at all.
This is relatively easy to counter: Just hang up Ukrainian flags in your shops.
Any reason you won’t do that?
I wonder why…
Opinion poll in March said that 71 percent still had a positive opinion of Russians living here. 8% said their opinion has become more negative and 5% who were already negative are even more negative now. 16 % were probably just whatever.
Gee. I wonder why…
It should be pointed out that the restaurant and book-selling business are run by Ukrainians born in Russia (and most revenue and expenses going from and back into the EU and Finnish economy) for the former, and a Armenian-Finnish origin business owner for the latter.
I’m all for decrying Russia’s government and it’s citizens (including expatriates) who support the war and it’s crimes, but it’s better to not get too worked up and start targeting innocent people.
The Russian government is counting on it to create a siege mentality.
Shocking
It’s super-easy to counter this. Put up Ukrainian flags, put up signs or any kind of indications that you’re disgusted with Russia as a nation right now. I’m like an eight or so ethnic Russian, and I have no shame about my identity. My identity is more than just the ethnic cocktail I have – identity per se is an issue only for racists, xenophobes and ethnonationalists. However it’s silence and inaction what everyone is disgusted by. You can’t expect to live as you did before, you *have* to show your opposition to what is happening in Russia and in Ukraine. It doesn’t mean abandoning your identity, however if your identity is so fused to the Russian state – then spare us the bullets, and go fuck yourself and drown yourself in the Baltic sea.
Edit: To illustrate what I mean – I am Latvian but my identity, views and culture has very little to do with the Latvian nationstate. I have a lot of bad to say about Latvia, even if I myself feel at least a bit patriotic. The nation of Latvia and Latvianness are two different concepts for me. I have zero issues with strong critique of Latvia – so long as its factual.
It’s almost like people dislike countries that constantly threaten them?
Some Russians in Poland attach Ukrainian flags on their cars or some anti-Putin slogans. Usually it fixes animosities. Thing is some Russians that claim to have nothing to do with Putin’s vision for Europe can’t swallow even that.
I fucking wonder why….
Finland is in every way a superior nation to Russia. I’d always trust them more. This is out of experience, not racism.
not cool but maybe it’s time for a rebranding
”I am Ukrainian but grew up in Russia. My wife is part-Ukrainian. All our staff are either Ukrainian or have a lot of family there.”
I’m not sure I like how he is beating around the bush here, and it certainly won’t help his case. Just makes it sound more suspicious. No way am I going eating to a place were the waiters and chef support a genocidal regime, and if you’re Russian then, I’m sorry but the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you are a decent human being.
The war has been such a shock to the mind that it’s inevitable to lead to some irrational and obnoxious behavior. It’s obviously unacceptable but not surprising.
I have noticed it in myself. I love Russian language and literature, but now almost anything Russian (apart from those who explicitly have come against the invasion) just feels totally off.
16 comments
>he said, adding that “Finland cannot allow old-school Russia hatred to return”.
I wouldn’t say “return”, more like “resurface”. Distaste and distrust towards Russia has never gone anywhere.
More like who likes you at all.
This is relatively easy to counter: Just hang up Ukrainian flags in your shops.
Any reason you won’t do that?
I wonder why…
Opinion poll in March said that 71 percent still had a positive opinion of Russians living here. 8% said their opinion has become more negative and 5% who were already negative are even more negative now. 16 % were probably just whatever.
Gee. I wonder why…
It should be pointed out that the restaurant and book-selling business are run by Ukrainians born in Russia (and most revenue and expenses going from and back into the EU and Finnish economy) for the former, and a Armenian-Finnish origin business owner for the latter.
I’m all for decrying Russia’s government and it’s citizens (including expatriates) who support the war and it’s crimes, but it’s better to not get too worked up and start targeting innocent people.
The Russian government is counting on it to create a siege mentality.
Shocking
It’s super-easy to counter this. Put up Ukrainian flags, put up signs or any kind of indications that you’re disgusted with Russia as a nation right now. I’m like an eight or so ethnic Russian, and I have no shame about my identity. My identity is more than just the ethnic cocktail I have – identity per se is an issue only for racists, xenophobes and ethnonationalists. However it’s silence and inaction what everyone is disgusted by. You can’t expect to live as you did before, you *have* to show your opposition to what is happening in Russia and in Ukraine. It doesn’t mean abandoning your identity, however if your identity is so fused to the Russian state – then spare us the bullets, and go fuck yourself and drown yourself in the Baltic sea.
Edit: To illustrate what I mean – I am Latvian but my identity, views and culture has very little to do with the Latvian nationstate. I have a lot of bad to say about Latvia, even if I myself feel at least a bit patriotic. The nation of Latvia and Latvianness are two different concepts for me. I have zero issues with strong critique of Latvia – so long as its factual.
It’s almost like people dislike countries that constantly threaten them?
Some Russians in Poland attach Ukrainian flags on their cars or some anti-Putin slogans. Usually it fixes animosities. Thing is some Russians that claim to have nothing to do with Putin’s vision for Europe can’t swallow even that.
I fucking wonder why….
Finland is in every way a superior nation to Russia. I’d always trust them more. This is out of experience, not racism.
not cool but maybe it’s time for a rebranding
”I am Ukrainian but grew up in Russia. My wife is part-Ukrainian. All our staff are either Ukrainian or have a lot of family there.”
I’m not sure I like how he is beating around the bush here, and it certainly won’t help his case. Just makes it sound more suspicious. No way am I going eating to a place were the waiters and chef support a genocidal regime, and if you’re Russian then, I’m sorry but the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you are a decent human being.
The war has been such a shock to the mind that it’s inevitable to lead to some irrational and obnoxious behavior. It’s obviously unacceptable but not surprising.
I have noticed it in myself. I love Russian language and literature, but now almost anything Russian (apart from those who explicitly have come against the invasion) just feels totally off.