Finland needs Russian
The Russian language has a weak position in the Finnish education system. Now, the authorities step up their efforts to motivate young people to learn the language.
The importance of the Russian language is increasing in Finnish society, participants at the recent Russia Forum in Oulo, Finland concluded. Timo Lankinen, Head of the Finnish National Board of Education, said that the teaching of German, French and Russian has significantly decreased, while English has been steadily increasing. -We need the Russian language. We do not live any longer in the world, where interpreters are the tool of communication. We need to communicare directly with each other, Mr. Lankinen stressed. Expert on Russian literature and culture from the University of Helsinki Tomi Huttunen reminded that Finland is in a favourable position in its relations with Russia, compared with the rest of Europe. “-We share the border, the culture and hundreds of words. With a little bit of education, we can transform the present sceptisism towards Russia into expertise, he said. Tomi Huttunen believes that the Finnish band Kursk (KYPCK) , which sings in Russian, is a good example of how to familiarize the Finnish youth with Russian culture. However, the frontman in the band Erkki Seppänen underlines that he does not view himself as a stimulator of Russian culture or language interest in Finland. -The interest in Russia will come if it comes. We just hope that our band will not stop it from coming, says Erkki.
