”Lustration is the process of making something clear or pure, usually by means of a propitiatory offering. It is also the purge of government officials once affiliated with the Communist system in Central and Eastern Europe”
– From Wikipedia 2016
A groundbreaking new archival project, Lustraatioarkisto, has been launched in Finland to archive and record the process of Finlandization and the connections of Finnish public figures, politicians and government officials to the Soviet block intelligence apparatus.
Finland’s foreign policy towards the Soviet Union gave birth to the term “Finlandization” in the 1960’s and 70’s, when western and NATO leaders used it to describe the policy of states that appeased powerful neighboring states by acquiescing to their demands in order to maintain national sovereignty.
Similar work has been carried out in ex-Communist countries and around the former Soviet controlled areas of Eastern Europe. In many such cases, the process of lustration has been publicly funded. Despite obvious connections to the Soviet regime, Finlandization has not been examined to the same degree in Finland. Lustraatioarkisto is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose aim is to start collecting information and records about Finlandization.
Lustraatioarkisto is publicly asking for any materials associated with Finlandization and Finland’s historical relationship with the Soviet regime, such as official documents, texts, pictures, recordings, videos and any other materials. Private memoirs are also accepted. All donors are welcome including foreign diplomats, journalists, politicians and expatriate Finns.
The Lustraatioarkisto archive is operating in cooperation with the Porvarillisen Työn Arkisto and can be contacted here:
Address Kalkkipellontie 6 B, 02650 Espoo, Finland
Email: arkisto@lustraatio.fi
