As reported by Yle.
In the Finnish city of Espoo, at Storängen School, an 11-year-old girl of Ukrainian origin was forced to sing the song “Kalinka” during a music lesson. The incident sparked outrage from the child’s mother and the Ukrainian community, once again raising questions about the acceptability of using Russian culture in Finland’s educational process during the war.
According to the mother, her daughter Nicole, who was born in Finland, said that during the music lesson the teacher introduced the class to Russian culture, and all the students were to sing the song “Kalinka”.
Nicole explained that she is Ukrainian, and does not want to use the Russian language. In response, the teacher told her that “in school we do not talk about the war”.
According to the mother, the girl understood that if she did not complete the assignment she would get a bad grade, so she was forced to sing, which became a traumatic experience for her.
What if in her place there was a Ukrainian child whose parents were killed by Russians?
She also expressed surprise why the introduction to world musical cultures began with Russian, calling this the normalization of the aggressor. She also emphasized that the song “Kalinka” gained worldwide popularity in the performance of the Soviet Army Choir – a symbol of the Soviet, and now modern Russian, militarist ideology.
The school principal Ellinor Hellman refused to comment on the case, limiting herself to a formal statement that the school adheres to the national curriculum, and that teachers “are encouraged to thoughtfully respond to students’ questions, taking into account the needs of the whole group”.
However, in the Finnish National Agency for Education they acknowledged that in the context of war certain content can evoke strong emotions. The agency’s lawyer Heidi Ruonala noted that the teacher has pedagogical freedom and the possibility to show flexibility by offering an alternative assignment.
This case proved to be only the tip of the iceberg of systemic problems faced by Ukrainians in Finland. The head of the Ukrainian Association in Finland, Vasyl Hutsul, stated that the community is “deeply distressed” and this situation raises questions about the usefulness of promoting Russian culture in schools.
As representatives of the Ukrainian community explain, the problem is much broader: most services for Ukrainian refugees are provided in Russian, there are almost no Finnish-language courses with Ukrainian translation, and Ukrainian translators are often replaced by Russian ones.
Even though Ukrainians understand Russian and may speak it, it is traumatic for us, as it is the language of those who are killing Ukrainians right now. It is not obvious to Finns
An expert from the Culture Foundation, Aylina Husatynska, emphasized that for Ukrainians Russian is not neutral – it is the language of violence, war, and centuries of russification.
The Russian language carries historical and symbolic burden – the legacy of russification and the displacement of Ukrainian identity. Without recognizing this, it is easy to unwittingly reproduce the old colonial model, where Ukrainian culture again falls under the shadow of the so-called common post-Soviet space
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- Police in Chernihiv region investigate a video of girls dancing to a Russian song at a memorial alley in Pryluky, ensuring respect for fallen heroes and ongoing monitoring.
- A Finnish school in Espoo sparked controversy after Ukrainian students were asked to sing the Russian song “Kalinka,” raising concerns about cultural sensitivity amid the war in Ukraine.
- Oklahoma introduces a controversial teacher certification test developed by PragerU, sparking debate over education standards and political influence in schools.
