Studia Fennica Historica

The Grand Duchy of Finland

From Princely Power to National Statehood

Histories of Finland within the Swedish Kingdom and Russian Empire often treat the country's status as a grand duchy as a mere curiosity. This book challenges this trivialization by illuminating the grand duchy's crucial role in shaping how historical actors understood political structures...

Performative Histories, Foundational Fictions

Gender and Sexuality in Niskavuori Films

Films are essential to national imagination and promotional publicity markets "domestic films" not only as entertaining, exciting, or moving, but also as topical and relevant in different ways. When assessing new films, reviewers make reference to other...

Shipping and Commodity Flows in the Late Eighteenth-Century Baltic

Vessel traffic and commodity flows expanded at a remarkable pace from the 1750s to the late 1780s, making maritime trade one of the most dynamic sectors of the international economy in an era otherwise marked by slow growth...

Lake Ladoga

The Coastal History of the Greatest Lake in Europe

This multidisciplinary volume offers a spectacular view and the first overall presentation of the history of Lake Ladoga, of the greatest lake in Europe. The focus of the study is on the northern parts of the shores of the lake, which belonged to Finland's rule between 1812 and 1944...

Strategies of sanity and survival

religious responses to natural disasters in the middle ages

Natural disasters have long been a neglected subject in the study of history. At most they have been casually mentioned as a background material for political or social history. During the 90s this state of affairs has slowly began to change...

Moving in the USSR

Western anomalies and Northern wilderness

This book deals with 20th century resettlements in the western areas of the former USSR, in particular the territory of Karelia that was ceded by Finland in the WWII, Podolia in the Ukraine, and the North-West periphery of Russia in the Kola peninsula...

Handwritten Newspapers

An Alternative Medium during the Early Modern and Modern Periods

This book is the first edited volume focusing on handwritten newspapers as an alternative medium from a wide interdisciplinary and international perspective. The primary focus is on handwritten newspapers as a social practice...

Personal Agency at the Swedish Age of Greatness 1560-1720

Personal Agency at the Swedish Age of Greatness 1560-1720 provides fresh insights into the state-building process in Sweden. During this transitional period, many far-reaching administrative reforms were carried out, and the Swedish state developed into a prime example of the "power-state...

Fibula, Fabula, Fact

The Viking Age in Finland

Were there Vikings in Finland? Fibula, Fabula, Fact - The Viking Age in Finland is intended to provide essential foundations for approaching the Viking Age in Finland. The volume consists of a general introduction followed by nineteen chapters and a closing discussion...

Colonial Aspects of Finnish-Namibian Relations, 1870-1990

Cultural Change, Endurance and Resistance

This edited collection re-examines the long history of Finnish-Namibian relations through the lens of colonialism without colonies as well as anti-colonialism. The book argues that although Finland never acquired colonies, Namibia was once treated in...

The Enemy Within

Homicide and Control in Eastern Finland in the Final Years of Swedish Rule 1748-1808

This work explores the quantitative and qualitative development of homicide in eastern Finland in the second half of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth. The area studied comprised northern Savo and northern Karelia in eastern Finland...

Dynamic Finland

The Political System and the Welfare State

Finland celebrated its 85th year of independence in 2002. It is one of the thirteen countries of the world that have preserved their democracy uninterrupted since the First World War. Despite its modest origins and difficult wartime experiences, this...

Modernisation in Russia since 1900

Modernisation has been a constant theme in Russian history at least since Peter the Great launched a series of initiatives aimed at closing the economic, technical and cultural gap between Russia and the more 'advanced' countries of Europe...

Noble conceptions of politics in eighteenth-century Sweden (ca 1740-1790)

Noble conceptions of politics in eighteenth-century Sweden (ca 1740-1790) is a study of how the Swedish nobility articulated its political ideals, self-images and loyalties during the Age of Liberty and under the rule of Gustav III...

The Springs of Democracy

National and Transnational Debates on Constitutional Reform in the British, German, Swedish and Finnish Parliaments, 1917-1919

During the First World War, conflicts between the people's sacrifices and their political participation led to crises of parliamentary legitimacy. This volume compares British, German, Swedish and Finnish debates on revolution, rule by the people, democracy...

Across the Oceans

Development of Overseas Business Inforrmation Transmission 1815-1875

In the early 19th century, the only way to transmit information was to send letters across the oceans by sailing ships or across land by horse and coach. Growing world trade created a need and technological development introduced options to improve general information transmission...

Novels, Histories, Novel Nations

Historical Fiction and Cultural Memory in Finland and Estonia

Since its emergence along with Western nationalism, historical fiction has been one of the key forms for constructing national histories - and it has not lost its importance even today. This volume highlights the cultural work historical fiction performed in Finland and Estonia ca...

Sport, Recreation and Green Space in the European City

Green space has become a major issue in European cities in recent years as a result of enhanced environmental awareness, urban marketing, planning policy and growing population densities. Up to now, however, the subject of sports areas and grounds has...

Literacy Skills as Local Intangible Capital

The History of a Rural Lending Library c. 1860 - 1920

This book studies the "grey area" of the success story of rural lending libraries in the Nordic countries through the activities of people's libraries in one area of Central Finland, in the parish of Kivijärvi and its neighbouring parishes...

On the Legacy of Lutheranism in Finland

Societal Perspectives

This volume analyses the societal legacy of Lutheranism in Finland by drawing on a multidisciplinary perspective from the social sciences and humanities. Involving researchers from a wide range of such fields has made it possible to provide fresh and...

Continued Violence and Troublesome Pasts

Post-war Europe between the Victors after the Second World War

In most European countries, the horrific legacy of 1939-1945 has made it difficult to remember the war with much glory. Despite the Anglo-American memory narrative of saving democracy from totalitarianism and the Soviet epic of the Great Patriotic War,...

Rhetorics of Nordic Democracy

Democracy is today a concept that is overwhelmingly positively evaluated almost everywhere. A lot has been written about socio-economic and cultural backgrounds of democratic regimes as well as their institutional settings...

Fashion Meets Socialism

Fashion industry in the Soviet Union after the Second World War

The Soviet Union was not renowned for its fashionable clothing. However, after the World War II the Soviet Government opened several parallel organizations of fashion design with fashion houses and ateliers all over the country...