Page 153 [153]
OCR
The Old Foe Again: The Pictorial Image of the Ruskie (ryssä) in the Finnish Sports Journal 1939-1940 Conclusion The dualism of aggressive texts vs. humorous figures remained in the Suomen Urheilulehti throughout the Winter War. By definition, a cartoon (pilakuva in Finnish) should be humorous, poking fun of its subject matter. How on earth could killing be depicted in a funny way? In addition, in Suomen Urheilulehti ridicule was regarded as the right and most efficient tool to lift the spirits of the soldiers on the front and satisfy the need to make Russians look both laughable and miserable. In contrast, whenever a Russian civilian featured in the texts, he/she was deemed to be innocent, misled by the regime. The message to kill as many Russian soldiers as possible was reserved for the editorials, special articles and letters from the front (Halmesvirta 2014: 40). For one reason or another, cartoons disappeared from the journal during the Continuation War.‘ References Aho J. 1918. Hajamietteitä kapinaviikoilta I (Musings from the Weeks of Rebellion’). Helsinki: WSOY. Halmesvirta A. 2014. Kun ryssä löi vyötärön alapuolelle. Urheilu ja maanpuolustus talvisodan aikana (“When Russians Hit below the Belt. Sports and Defence during the Winter War’). In: Sironen E. & Roiko-Jokela H. (eds) Urheilu ja sota (‘Sports and War’). Suomen Urheiluhistoriallisen Seuran vuosikirja (“Yearbook of the Finnish Society of the History of Sports’) 2013-2014. Porvoo: Bookwell Oy, pp. 33-41. Hänninen V. & Karjalainen J. 2014. Sarjatulta! Sota-ajan suomataiset pilapiirrokset ja sarjakuvat (‘Sustain Fire! Finnish Cartoons and Comics from the Wartime’). Helsinki: Jalava. Klinge M. 1983. Vihan veljistä valtiososialismiin (From Brothers of Hate to State Socialism’). Porvoo & Helsinki & Juva: WSOY. Kokkonen J. 2014. Sisu ja urheilu—suomalaisten salaiset aseet (Guts and sports—Finnish Secret Weapons’). In: Sironen E. & Roiko-Jokela H. (eds) Urheilu ja sota (‘Sports and War’). Suomen Urheiluhistoriallisen Seuran vuosikirja (“Yearbook of the Finnish Society of the History of Sports’) 2013-2014. Porvoo: Bookwell Oy, pp. 43-54. ‘Ryssaviha’, Wikipedia, vapaa tietosanakirja (Free Encyclopaedia) (last accessed on: February 24, 2014). Vares V. 2012. Childlike Masses against True Men of Valour: the Comical Image of the Russians in Finland during the Finnish-Soviet Winter War (1939-1940). In: Vuorinen M. (ed.) Enemy Images in War Propaganda. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 59-61. Vihavainen T. 2013. Ryssäviha. Venäjän-pelon historia (Hatred of the Russian. A History of Fear of Russia’). Helsinki: Minerva. Vilkuna K.H.J. 2005. Viha. Perikato, katkeruus ja kertomus isostavihasta (Hatred. Ruin, Rancor and A Narrative of the Great Wrath’). Historiallisia tutkimuksia 229. Jyvaskyla: Gummerus. 4 On what happened to the image of the Russian during the Continuation War (1941-1944), see Kokkonen 2014: passim. 151
