In Finland, the Lenin Museum closed forever — it had been operating since 1946

In the city of Tampere in the south of Finland, the Lenin Museum stopped working on November 3. He worked for almost 80 years.

This is reported by the Finnish media Yle.

The institution was founded by the society "Finland — USSR". In 1905, the future Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin met for the first time in the building that housed the museum until recently. However, as museum employees say, the name of the politician will no longer be in the title, as it "leads to misunderstandings."

Plans to close the museum were announced in the spring of 2024. The news attracted the attention of a number of propagandist Russian media. They sent requests for interviews. One of the main Kremlin TV channels, Rossiya-1, also wanted to make a thematic story. The management of the museum refused to comment to the Russians.

"We donʼt want to be part of propaganda wars or government policies. We want to engage in normal, safe museum activities," says Kalle Kallio, director of the institution.

He said that the media of the Russian Federation had already claimed that the decision to close the Lenin Museum was made in Washington, USA, although in fact it was done in Tampere. Moscow misinterpreted the news and distorted the facts, Kallio added.

In February 2024, the Nootti Museum of Oriental Relations should be opened in the building of the former museum. His exposition will talk about politics, history, relations between Finns and Russians, the USSR and modern times.

After Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Finland began to actively move away from the Russian Federation and break ties. On October 28, 2024, the district court of the city of Helsinki seized assets belonging to the Russian Federation on the territory of Finland. Earlier, the country finally closed the temporary checkpoints "Inari" and "Parikalla" on the border with Russia.

In September of the same year, there was talk in Finland about the possibility of banning Russians from buying real estate in the country. The relevant draft law is planned to be submitted to the parliament by the end of the year. And in the summer, the Finnish parliament supported a law that allows border guards to return asylum seekers to Russia.

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