The End of the Cold War and the Dead-Body-Politics between Finland and Russia

Abstract

The article examines how the repatriation of missing soldiers became an important component of a new Finnish neo-patriotic memory regime that emerged after the Cold War. As borders opened and the Soviet Union adopted the policy of glasnost, Finnish non-governmental organizations – including war-veteran and Karelian heritage associations – turned their attention to ceded Karelia (in Russia) to commemorate fallen soldiers who had been forgotten or left behind. Finnish efforts at both the NGO and state levels were positively received by the Russian side, fostering transnational cooperation between Finland and the newly formed Russian state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.