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Abstract
This article examines the Finnish industrial and trade fairs held in the Soviet Union in the context of Finnish–Soviet trade and scientific–technical cooperation in the 1950s and 1960s. While primarily focused on fairs, it also discusses different activities that accompanied them, such as lectures, visits, and negotiations between Finnish traders and Soviet officials and specialists. This study illustrates how such first-hand contact played an important role in Finnish–Soviet communications. First, they helped Finnish producers showcase their goods and technologies directly to Soviet buyers in various ministries and organizations. Second, these contacts included diverse activities such as face-to-face contacts, lectures, and seminars, being a means of technology transfer from Finland to the USSR . Finally, although they were commercial interactions without explicit ideological purposes – like many international exhibitions of the last century – Finnish fairs demonstrated a technological gap between Finland and the USSR.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. ’Kauppa- ja teollisuusministeri Karjalaisen avauspuhe’, 76.
2. Applebaum, ‘Test of Friendship’, 213.
3. Péteri, ‘Introduction’, 7.
4. Neuburger, ‘Introduction’, 540.
5. Péteri, ‘Introduction’, 11
6. Otchet otdela inostrannykh vystavok SSSR o rabote za 1946-1963// Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE), Fond 638, Opis` 1, Delo 566, List 15.
7. Katyrin, ed., Expocentre – the Planet of Exhibitions, 21.
8. Greenhalgh, ‘Ephemeral Vistas’.
9. Kerin and Cron, ‘Assessing Trade Show Functions and Performance’, 87.
10. See, for example, Ambartsumov, ‘Sovetsko-finliandskie otnosheniia’; Barten`ev and Komissarov, SSSR – Finliandiia. See more on how the views on Finnish–Russian relations were changing in Kuulla, Non-Alignment.
11. Lamberg and Skippari, ‘Endogenous and Exogenous Variables’, 39.
12. Sutela, Trading with the Soviet Union; Autio-Sarasmo, ‘Technological Modernization’, among others.
13. Péteri, ‘Introduction’, 11.
14. Alho, Neuvostoliiton-kauppa; Androsova, ‘Suomen ja Venäjän/Neuvostoliiton väliset kauppapoliittiset suhteet’; Autio-Sarasmo, ‘Knowledge through the Iron Curtain’; Hjerppe, ‘Finland’s Foreign Trade’; Jensen-Eriksen, ‘CoCom and Neutrality’; Kaukonen, Kaksi vuosikymmentä; Kohvakka, ‘Science, Technology and Changing Power Relations’; Laurila, ‘Finnish-Soviet Clearing Trade’; Pihkala, ‘The Political Economy of Post-War Finland’; Sutela, ‘Sotakorvauksista idänkauppaan’; Sutela, Trading with the Soviet Union, among others.
15. See more on East–West interactions at international exhibitions as well as images of the USSR at Soviet exhibitions in Schmid, ‘Celebrating Tomorrow Today’; Siegelbaum, ‘Sputnik Goes to Brussels’; Reid, ‘Who Will Beat Whom?’; Reid, ‘Our Kitchen is Just as Good’; Oldenziel and Zachmann, eds., Cold War Kitchen, among others.
16. Autio-Sarasmo, ‘Knowledge through the Iron Curtain’.
17. Vegelius, ‘Tret`ia finskaia promyshlennaia vystavka’, 4.
18. ‘IV finskaia promyshlennaia vystavka’, 9.
19. Lamberg and Skippari, ‘Endogenous and Exogenous Variables’, 35.
20. Lamberg and Skippari, ‘Endogenous and Exogenous Variables’, 44.
21. Otchet otdela inostrannykh vystavok SSSR o rabote za 1946-1963 gg.// RGAE, Fond 638, Opis` 1, Delo 566, List 15. Finskyi torgovyi zhurnal, no. 37, 1960// ELKA Suomen puunjalostusteollisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliitto. Suomen teollisuusnäyttely Moskovassa, 1960. Kauppa, 1962-1963. In other sources, in particular in the film magazine made for the Soviet television it said about 128 Finnish companies. See Kinozhurnal. Novosti dnia, no 20. Available at http://www.net-film.ru/film-10901/
22. From a vast literature on the wars see, for example, Edwards, White Death; Lunde, Finland’s War of Choice.
23. See more on reparations, their structures, and meaning for Finnish economy in Rautkallio, ed., Suomen sotakorvaukset. The largest part of reparations was pulp and paper products, which constituted about 20% of all the payments between 1944 and 1952. Heikkinen, Paper for the World, 212.
24. During the payments, Finnish engineers gave consultation to Soviet specialists and were somehow important in digesting the territory. For instance, in 1945 a group of Finnish engineers came to Johannes, a former Finnish pulp and paper plant that moved to the USSR after the war. The engineers were those who worked at the plant before evacuation. The trip was made within trade consultations, and the Finnish delegates consulted Soviet specialists on what techniques should be purchased and shared their knowledge about the plant. Interestingly, they told about some ‘secrets’ the recent history left out, such as where the Finns hid liquid glass purchased from Germany and other raw materials while retreating. See Pamiatnaia zapiska otnositel`no nedostaiuishchego oborudovaniia// Leningrad Regional State Archive in Vyborg (LOGAV), Fond R-69, Opis` 2, Delo 3, List 2.
25. Sanchez-Sibony, Red Globalization, 58; Harrison, ‘The Soviet Union after 1945’.
26. Sutela, ‘Sotakorvauksista idänkauppaan’, 281.
27. Laurila, ‘Finnish-Soviet Clearing Trade’. For the USSR, the trade with a capitalist Finland was important in terms of showing that the socialist system was capable of cooperating with the West. See more in Ketola and Vihavainen, Venäjän historia, 135. It fitted with a peaceful coexistence, which became a key vector of Soviet foreign policy after the late Stalin’s era. The coexistence meant that the USSR promoted a peaceful state with capitalist countries while simultaneously competing in agriculture, science, technology, and other non-military spheres.
28. A cursory look at the statistics proves that, compared to other European countries, Finland was the leader in Soviet imports of forest industry products and machinery in the 1950s and 1960s, with some interruptions. For instance, in 1958 Finland exported paper products equal to slightly less than 12,500 Soviet rubles while Austria, the second-largest paper importer to the Soviet Union that year, delivered products worth 3,300. Vneshniaia torgovlia Soiuza SSR za 1961 g., 62; Vneshniaia torgovlia Soiuza SSR za 1964 g., 83. See also Alho, Neuvostoliiton-kauppa, 19.
29. Sutela, ‘Finland’s Foreign Trade’, 82.
30. Mashiny zhellulozno-bumazhnoi promyshlennosti – finskaia spetsialnost`// Suomen Elinkeinoelämän Arkisto (ELKA). Suomen puunjalostusteoliisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliiton kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
31. Niklas Jensen-Eriksen, however, mentions the unpredictability of Soviet side, referring to December 1954, when the Soviets claimed suddenly that they would not purchase Finnish wooden houses, although in February these items were put into a five-year trade treaty. See Jensen-Eriksen, Läpimurto.
32. Finska Pappersbruksföreninger. Raport, ”Besök i Moskva, Simferopol, Kiev och Leningrad,” 3 July 1961// ELKA. Suomen puunjalostusteollisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliitto. Kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
33. Osmo Kopolan kirje, 2 December 1952// Ulkoasiainministeriön arkisto. Signum 58. Ulkomaankauppa ja ulkomaankauppapolitiikka. Kotelo 112. 58 B. Neuvostoliitto.
34. Jensen-Eriksen, ‘CoCom and Neutrality’, 60; Hjerppe, ‘Finland’s Foreign Trade’.
35. KU, 29 November 1955, Kansallisarkisto. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:5. Teollisuusnäyttely (1957-1959).
36. Untitled letter, 14 October 1958// Kansallisarkisto. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:5. Teollisuusnäyttely (1957-1959).
37. Bailes, ‘The American Connection Ideology’, 434.
38. Androsova, ‘Suomen ja Venäjän/Neuvostoliiton väliset kauppapoliittiset suhteet’.
39. Kohvakka, ‘Science, Technology and Changing Power Relations’.
40. Soobshchenie glovnogo spetsialista GNTK P.G. Istomina na Piatoi sessii sovetsko-finliandskoi komissii// GARF, Fond 408, Opis` 1, Delo 879, List 134.
41. Finlandization was a useful term used by some authors when describing a unique Finnish position in her relations with the USSR. See more in Bäckman, ed., Entäs kun tulee se yhdestoista?, among others.
42. GARF. Fond 9480.
43. KPSS. S`ezd XXII, 48.
44. Soobshchenie glavnogo spetsialista GNTK P.G. Istomina na 5-i sessii sovetsko-finliandskoi komissii// State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), Fond 408, Opis` 1, List 136.
45. The Soviet Union traded with other Western countries and transferred technologies to many industries from West Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the United States, among many others. See, for example, Cohen, ‘Circulatory Localities’; Sutton, Western Technology, among others.
46. Harima, ‘Torgovlia mezhdu Finliandiei i Sovetskim Soiuzom’, 5.
47. Spravka stoimosti reklamy// Kansallisarkisto. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:5. Teollisuusnäyttely (1957-1959).
48. Zakaz v AO Rauma-Repola, 1956// Rauma-Repolan oy:n arkisto. Pori kansio I. Vanhoja sopimuksia SNTL:oon.
49. Interview with Kari Ketola, held 27 November2013 in Helsinki.
50. Helsingissä syksyllä 1959 järjestettävän Neuvostoliiton näyttelyn mainonnasta ja siihen liittyvistä mielenkiintoinnon herättämistoimenpideistä// Kansallisarkisto. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:5 Teollisuusnäyttely.
51. Neuburger, “Kebabche”, 54.
52. Brythe, ‘Using Trade Fairs’, 627.
53. Converta was a significant player in the Finnish Eastern trade. Its share in the whole forestry industry export to the Soviet Union constituted about 30–40%.
54. Eloranta and Ojala, ‘Converta’, 171, 188.
55. ‘Chetvertaia finskaia promyshlennaia vystavka’, 50.
56. ‘Nasha produktsiia’, 90.
57. ‘Kartonnye upakovki TAKO’, 21.
58. ‘Kartonnye upakovki TAKO’, 51.
59. ‘Finskaia el` izvestna povsiudu v mire’, 15.
60. ‘ASKO’, 44.
61. ‘Sbornye karkasnye doma’, 27.
62. ‘Finskaia mebel’, 26.
63. ‘Shveinaia mashina TIKKA’, 11.
64. ‘Finskie avtolesovozy i avtopogruzchiki’, 32.
65. ‘Finskie avtolesovozy i avtopogruzchiki’, 49, 60.
66. Alton, ‘Marketing in Finland’, 47.
67. Alton, ‘Marketing in Finland’, 47.
68. Bogdanova, ‘The Soviet Consumer’, 119.
69. Otchet otdela inostrannykh vystavok SSSR o rabote za 1946-1963 gg.// Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE). F. 638. Op. 1. D. 566. L. 15.
70. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin toiminta// Kansallisarkisto. 58. Hc:7 Näyttelyt ja tuote-esittelyt STLT:ssa.
71. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin toiminta// Kansallisarkisto. 58. Hc:7 Näyttelyt ja tuote-esittelyt STLT:ssa.
72. Pis`mo iz Konverty S.F. Ul`ianovu v Gosudarstvennyi komitet po tselliulosznoi, bumazhnoi, derevoobrabatyvaiushchei promyshlennosti i lesnomu khoziaistvu pri Gosplane SSSR, 1964// Kansallisarkisto. 58. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppa-kamarin arkisto. Hc:7 Näyttelyt ja tuote-esittelyt SNTL:ssa (1964-1965)
73. Pis`mo predsedateliu Presidiuma Vsesoiuznoi torgovoi palaty gospodinu M.V. Nesterovu// Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:5. Teollisuusnäyttely (1957-1959).
74. Kaukonen, ‘Kaksi vuosikymmentä’, 27.
75. Eloranta and Ojala, ‘Converta’, 187.
76. Nils J. Lindbergs rapport över fabriksbesöken i USSR i samband med resan, 9-23 June 1961// ELKA. Suomen puunjalostusteoliisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliiton kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
77. Program under resa i Sovjetunionen, 9-23 June 1961// ELKA. Suomen puunjalostusteoliisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliiton kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
78. Osto-osasto, pis`mo dlia M. Niinima// ELKA, Suomen puunjalostusteollisuuden Keskusliitto. Osto-osaston tiedotus ostovaltuuskunnan Moskovan matkasta. Metsäteollisuus ry. Materiaalivaliokunta.
79. Finska Pappersbruksföreninger. Raport, ”Besök i Moskva, Simferopol, Kiev och Leningrad,” 3 July 1961// ELKA. Suomen puunjalostusteollisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliitto. Kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
80. T. Lassenius. Studierresa till cellulosa- och pappersindustrin i Sovjetunionen, 1956// ELKA. Kansio 1768-1769.
81. T. Lassenius. Studierresa till cellulosa- och pappersindustrin i Sovjetunionen, 1956// ELKA. Kansio 1768-1769.
82. Finska Pappersbruksföreninger. Raport ”Besök i Moskva, Simferopol, Kiev och Leningrad”, 3 July 1961// ELKA. Suomen puunjalostusteollisuuden keskusliitto. Neuvostoliitto. Kauppa, 1958-1961. Kansio 1765-1767.
83. Selostus, 10 September 1957// ELKA. Suomen Puuteollisuusyhdistys.
84. Kochetkova, ‘Seeing the Forest and the Trees’, 598.
85. Selostus, 10 September 1957// ELKA. Suomen Puuteollisuusyhdistys.
86. Työpaperit, 1956// Ulkoasiainministeriön arkisto. Signum 58. Ulkomaankauppa ja ulkomaankauppapolitiikka. 58B1, Neuvostoliitto, kotelo 119.
87. Sutela, Trading with the Soviet Union.
88. Pis`mo posetitelnitsy vystavki, 22 May 1960// Kansallisarkisto. Suomalais-venäläinen kauppakamarin arkisto. Hc:6. Teollisuusnäyttely (1960).
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90. See more on consuming in state socialism in Fehérváry, ‘Goods and States’.
91. Eloranta and Ojala, ‘Converta’,185.
92. Obsuzhdenie otcheta, 1955 g.// RGAE, Fond 7637, Opis` 1, Delo 3256, List 28.
93. Doklad zamestitelia ministra lesnoi promyshlennosti SSSR O. Raeva o rezultath vyezdov spetsialistov Ministerstva lesnoi promyshlennosti za granitsu v 1955-1956 gg. po voprosam izuchenia zarubezhnoi nauki i tehniki// RGAE, Fond 9480, Opis` 2, Delo 527, List 239.
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Elena Kochetkova
Elena Kochetkova is a Senior Lecturer at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Address: 16 Soiuza Pechatnikov st., Saint-Petersburg, Russia 190008. [email: [email protected]]