A Ukrainian girl, 11, in Finland told her teacher she did not want to sing a song in Russian.
The teacher responded: “We don’t discuss the war at school”

by Lysychka-

15 comments

  1. At one of the schools in Espoo (near Helsinki), students were asked to sing the Russian song *“Kalinka”* during a music class. The incident sparked outrage within the Ukrainian community after an 11-year-old student from a Ukrainian family refused to perform the song in Russian.

    The girl’s mother, musician Iryna Horkun-Silen, said that her daughter Nicole told the teacher she was Ukrainian and did not want to sing in Russian. The teacher replied that *“we don’t discuss the war at school.”*

    “Nicole understood that if she didn’t sing, she would get a bad grade, so she felt forced to sing. But it really upset her,” the mother said.

    Iryna added that *“Kalinka”* is a song known for being performed by the Red Army Choir, which is a symbol of Russia’s military and imperial past. She believes that such assignments in schools amount to *“normalizing the culture of the aggressor country.”*

    The principal of Storängen School in Espoo, Eleanor Hellman, stated that the school *“welcomes all children regardless of their background”* and follows the national curriculum. According to her, *“in subjects like music, students can learn about different cultures, and assignments are chosen based on pedagogical reasoning.”*

    The Finnish National Agency for Education stated that, due to the war in Ukraine, certain cultural topics can trigger strong emotions.

    “If a student feels uncomfortable performing a certain song or task for personal reasons, the teacher has the right to make an exception,  for example, by choosing another song or giving the student a different role in the performance,” said lawyer Heidi Ruonala.

    The head of the Ukrainian Society in Finland, Vasyl Hutsul, said the incident deeply infuriated the Ukrainian community.

    [https://suspilne.media/1157384-u-finskij-skoli-ukrainsku-divcinku-zmusili-spivati-kalinku/](https://suspilne.media/1157384-u-finskij-skoli-ukrainsku-divcinku-zmusili-spivati-kalinku/)

  2. My wife works with several young Ukrainians at our local school and has arranged tailored educational help to their needs. The lack of understanding shown in that Finnish school by that teacher is astoundingly stupid but I’m sure, like my wife and her school, a great many are very willing to go out of their way to help these young people who are suffering so much. Stay strong.

  3. This is crazy, I underestimated if Finland even taught russian media.

  6. This is a disgusting lapse in judgment on that teacher’s part unless he/she were a distant spawn of [one the Finnish Reds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Socialist_Workers%27_Republic) from the time of the Finnish Civil War and trying to channel his/her Bolshevik-loving ancestors. If that were the case, then I’m ultimately unsurprised by this teacher’s social cluelessness and dоuсhеbаggеrу. Based on the kid’s account, it was this teacher’s *choice* to browbeat her with the Russian supremacist complex and make her figuratively eat Russian-flavored ѕhіt.

    BTW, the [Finnish source](https://yle.fi/a/74-20191073) (YLE) for Suspilne’s article goes into more detail since I can tell that the latter is based on only the first half of the Finnish source. I’ve included a DeepL translation of the second half of the Finnish original.

    >[…]
    The incident has shocked Ukrainians living in Finland, many of whom strongly believe that culture cannot be separated from politics. The incident has been widely discussed on social media.

    >”We are very saddened by this situation. It raises the question of whether it is appropriate to promote Russian culture in schools,” says Vassili Hutsul, chair of the Ukrainian Association in Finland.

    >Iryna Horkun-Silén, the mother of one of the schoolchildren, says that this is not the first case in Finland where the Russian language and culture have put Ukrainians in an uncomfortable situation.

    >Horkun-Silén points out that although many Ukrainians understand Russian and can speak it, the language is traumatic for Ukrainians. It is the language of the people who are currently killing Ukrainians, she says. The Ukrainian mother is surprised that this does not seem to be clear to Finns.

    >For example, most of the services offered to Ukrainians in Finland are only available in Russian. In the capital region, there are hardly any Finnish language courses in Ukrainian, only in Russian. In addition, in many situations, Ukrainian interpreters are replaced by Russian interpreters, according to the Ukrainian association.

    >Russian is not a neutral language for Ukrainians. From their perspective, it is the language of violence, war, and oppression. This is according to Eilina Gusatinsky from the Cultura Foundation, which promotes the integration of Russian speakers.

    >”The Russian language has a historical burden; it is a symbol of Russification and the suppression of Ukrainian identity,” says Gusatinsky.

    >”If this is not recognized, it is easy to unwittingly repeat the old colonialist model, in which Ukrainian culture is once again overshadowed in the so-called common post-Soviet space.

    >It is important that the integration of Ukrainians in Finland is based on respect and the recognition of Ukrainian identity as independent and valuable, Gusatinsky emphasizes.

    N.B. Eilina Gusatinsky (sic) is an interesting and refreshing case as a member of the Russian diaspora. Her mother is a Finn who moved to Moscow as a university student during the Cold War and eventually married a local. Eilina moved to Finland in 1990 after finishing her university studies but judging by her comments to YLE, she’s clearly not bothered by telling it like it is about the sinister colonialist stench that her native language holds for Ukrainians and other non-Russians from the old USSR.

  8. Why is a Fin teacher forcing students to sing in Russian? That seems made fishy.

  9. Why is Finland singing a Russian song? They weren’t even part of the USSR. In fact, they actively fought the USSR. WTF

  10. I thought relations between Finland and Russia had a long and rocky history.

  11. The teacher is definitely Russian. No Russian should be in any position of education or power in the EU. This is a disgrace.

  13. As a Finn this is a very disappointing read. That school has totally failed on a moral and ethical level. You just cannot play a neutral card saying culture is disconnected from war and any historical context. It is very much a central aspect of russification and you’re a naive idiot or purposefully spreading misinformation of you think otherwise. We had our share of this in the 1800’s.

    I’m willing to bet the teacher is either of Russian background (with putinist sympathies) or a morally compromised leftist who dreams of soviet restoration.

  14. Thats not a tiny incident.

    Instant reminder on Stasi at school.

    If you’d know that teachers in russia more than likely still do flag children and their families for state-disloyal behaviour (the results can be seen as of general degradation of society) or signs of it and you’d further know that universities in russia are also recruitment centers for kgb or informal access supporters (also known as ‘unofficial’ members) then you could clearly see this particular teacher should be fired – without any curriculum, cultural blurb excuses.

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