Post-War Friendship Between Neighbors: An outline of Soviet-Finnish Music Exchanges from 1944 towards the collapse of the Soviet Union

In this article, I will analyze the role of music in the process of building peaceful relations between the Soviet Union and the Republic of Finland after the Second World War. The role of music as a weapon of “soft power” was an important alternative in Finnish-Soviet relations in order to enhance understanding between them and to avoid further conflict.I will analyze how the leading Soviet soloists were often first “tested” in Finland before their further outreach to the West from 1944 to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Because of its position as a neutral country between the East and the West Finland was seen as a safe experimental location in which to evaluate the performers’ loyalties to the Soviet regime. However, violinist Victoria Mullova’s 1983 defection to the West via Finland showed that the Soviet power was not so overpowering any more, even towards its own citizens. The Soviet Union was already heading for a collapse due to political and economic realities. Its diminishing cultural influence on the West undermined its power, and accelerated its demise.Using primary source materials and newspapers mainly from the Finnish National Archives and Sibelius Museum as well as the former Soviet archives in Moscow, I will examine the ways in which Soviet government cooperated with Finnish non-governmental organizations such as the Finland-Soviet Union Friendship Society, the main coordinating body of Finnish-Soviet relations, Finnish concert firms etc.