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Johan Bäckman

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Johan Bäckman
Born1971
NationalityFinnish
Alma materUniversity of Helsinki
Known forControversial views

Johan Bäckman (born in 1971) is a Finnish controversial political author, legal sociologist and criminologist, holding adjunct professorship and temporary teaching positions in several Finnish universities[1][2].

He received his training in sociology and political history in the University of Helsinki, where he defended his Ph.D. in 2006 [3] and is now adjunct professor in the sociology of law[4]. He is also adjunct professor in criminology at the University of Turku[5] and the University of Joensuu. He has taught courses on the sociology of law, criminology and Russian studies in several Finnish universities.

Bäckman has written about Finnish-Soviet relations during the Cold War, war history of Finland and the Soviet Union, organized crime in Russia and Estonia, the Russian Mafia, terrorism and history of Estonia. Bäckman's writings, published in Finland and Estonia, have been regarded as pro-Putin and anti-Estonian.[6]

Bäckman and Russia

Bäckman has frequented Russia since 1993[7] and is fluent in Russian. In 2000, he established in Saint Petersburg a publishing institution named after himself as Johan Beckman Institute.

In March 2002 in Suojärvi, Republic of Karelia, Russia, during a military historical festival dedicated to the end of the Winter War, Bäckman made a sensational claim that the modern authorities of Finland propagated the idea that the Russian people is genetically inferior and expected Russia to collapse in about twenty years.[8][9] Other participants of the festival considered that he unreasonably overestimated the extent of anti-Russian sentiment in Finland.[10] According to Bäckman's article "Finland without a mask", published in Russian in May 2002, in general the Finns consider themselves a superior nation, all Russian women prostitutes and all Russian men thieves and bandits.[11] During 2002, Bäckman gained an odious reputation both in Russia and among his Finnish colleagues.[12]

In 2002 Bäckman publicly accused the Foreign Ministry of Finland of Russophobia and racism. He claimed that the ministry was preparing a campaign to smear Russia and return the territories lost in the Paris Peace Treaty.[13] Furthermore, he accused the ministry of smearing him personally and threatened to sue it. According to a report by the ministry, in the Russian press Bäckman conducted a media campagn directed against Finland.

In 2003 Johan Beckman Institute published the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov. The Saint Petersburg legislature awarded Bäckman Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2003) for that work. The book was labelled by Finnish historian Timo Vihavainen of the University of Helsinki as "a book built on Stalinist propaganda stereotypes". Vihavainen also said that Baryshnikov had misunderstood some of the language in Finnish archive documents.[14] Bäckman and Baryshnikov threatened to sue Vihavainen. Bäckman is highly critical of the modern Finnish historiography of World War II and challenges the traditional Finnish ideas that Finland waged a separate Continuation War against the aggression of the USSR. According to Bäckman, the Finns participated in the Siege of Leningrad actively and asked Hitler to destroy the city. He speculates that Finland also planned ethnic cleansing in Karelia in order to create a Fenno-Ugric superpower, possibly stretching as far as the Urals or even the river Yenisei, which he claimed was proven by vast amounts of documents and also several Finnish history books by Helge Seppälä, Osmo Hyytiä and Nikolai Baryshnikov.

File:Saatana Helsinkiin.jpg

In his 2007 book "Satan Arrives in Helsinki" (Finnish: Saatana saapuu Helsinkiin) he supported the conspiracy theory that Anna Politkovskaya assassination was organized by circles who wanted to smear Russian president Vladimir Putin[15]. According to Bäckman, Politkovskaya was an American agent. He also critizes Finns reactions for murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Bäckman accused Finnish Green League politician Heidi Hautala and the Finnish media of inciting hatred towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Hautala, depicted on the book cover (pictured), saw this as a smear campaign, but refused to take legal action, preferring to allow the book to speak for itself.[16]

Johan Bäckman admires Vladmir Putin, crediting his personality and health with all recent successes of Russia.[17][18] He has compared Vladimir Putin to Cold War-era Finnish president Urho Kekkonen and claimed that he wish Putin likewise ruled Russia for 26 years. He stated that Finland also needs such organizations as pro-Kremlin Nashi and Walking Together.[17] According to Bäckman, the freedom of the press in Russia is considerably higher than in Finland, and Estonia is not free at all.[17]

Bäckman has explicitely denied that he is an agent of the FSB. He claimed that he sought imprisonment for Aila Niinimaa-Keppo, a Finnish woman who publicly stated so, and for Heidi Hautala, who claimed that Bäckman was spreading FSB disinformation with his book directed against her.[17]

Bäckman and Estonia

Lately, Bäckman has written and argued against what he calls "apartheid policies" of Estonia and Latvia.

In an interview given in Tallinn in August 2008 promoting his book "Bronze Soldier" scheduled for publication in September 2008, he claimed that Estonia would not survive for another ten years due to the incoming economic crisis and ethnic tensions[19][15][20][21][22], while believing the main problem of the country is that the integration policies are "apartheid" and represents a "criminal discrimination of Russians"[15]. Bäckman also claims the "destruction" of the Bronze Soldier grave site and monument in April 2007 by the Estonian government was "the end of history of Estonia". He speculated that most of the Russian youth all over Russia, including children, hated Estonia and denied it the right to exist. Bäckman went on to predict that in ten years at most, the Nashi comes to power in Russia, leading to end of the Estonian statehood shortly afterwards.[15] In "Bronze Soldier" he dismissed the Soviet occupation of Estonia as a "Nazi myth".[23] On September 11, 2008, Bäckman wrote in his blog dedicated to the forthcoming book:

In my opinion speaking or writing of Soviet "occupation" should be criminalised as a form of racist propaganda. I demand five years prison sentence to everyone who dears to say Estonia was "occupied" by Soviet Union.[24]

On September 24, 2008, a number of Finnish and Estonian cultural figures, scholars, journalists and politicians, including Henrik Lax, Lasse Lehtinen and Sofi Oksanen, addressed the University of Helsinki with an open letter of protest, partly in relation Bäckman teaching a course on "specialities of Estonian legal policy" in Spring 2009.[25] The former minister of foreign affairs of Finland Dr. Erkki Tuomioja reacted by saying the letter was "censorship letter" violating principles of freedom of speech.[26] The University of Helsinki made a distancing statement holding that Bäckman's political views are his own and not representing the University's.[27][28]

In the opinion of the Estonian counter-intellegence agency Kaitsepolitseiamet, Bäckman is a Russian propagandist spreading disinformation which is similar to the claims Moscow is making[29]. In March 2009 Kaitsepolitseiamet said that Bäckman is a communist who maintains close friendship with well-known Finnish neo-nazi Risto Teinonen, both of whom know the former KGB agent residing in Estonia Vladimir Ilyashevich, all of them being linked with the young Muscovite historian Alexander Dyukov. [30] In the assessment by Kaitsepolitseiamet, both Bäckman and Teinonen are likely to be part of a FSB operation directed from Moscow through Ilyashevich. Bäckman has denied he is a communist but at the same time he has said he admires the pro-Soviet Taistoist movement of the 1970s.[31]

Bäckman has seriously stated that Estonia does not exist[32]. Following publication of the final report of the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity, Bäckman claimed that its chairman, the Finnish diplomat and one-time UN Secretary-General candidate Max Jakobson, is the "ideological father of the criminal apartheid regime of Estonia"[33] and that this ideology being maintained by official Estonia is Nazism, according to Bäckman[34].

Bäckman arranged the "Nashi-protest" in March 23, 2009. The handful of demonstrators were the focus of attention for about 40 representatives of the media.[35]

On March 23, 2009, in Helsinki he arranged a protest held by activists of Nashi, Night Watch, the prospective Finnish Islamic Party and the three-member Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee led by him, opposing the publication of a new book about the Soviet occupation of Estonia. The book is named "Behind Everything Was Fear" (Finnish: Kaiken takana oli pelko), edited[36] by Sofi Oksanen and Imbi Paju. Bäckman denounced the book as anti-Soviet.[35] Bäckman claimed that the Soviet Union did not occupy Estonia and belittled the significance of the Soviet deportations from Estonia[35].

Works

  • Bäckman, Johan (1996). Venäjän organisoitu rikollisuus. Helsinki: Oikeuspoliittinen tutkimuslaitos. ISBN 951-704-191-8.
  • Bäckman, Johan (1997). Liikkeenjohto Venäjän muutoksessa. Helsinki: WSOY. ISBN 951-0-21672-0.
  • Bäckman, Johan (1998). The inflation of crime in Russia: The social danger of the emerging markets. Helsinki: National Research Institute of Legal Policy. ISBN 951-704-211-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Kieli= ignored (help)
  • Bäckman, Johan (1999). ”Sudella on sata tietä...”: Pietarin organisoitu rikollisuus Venäjän rikosoikeuskulttuurin kehyksessä. Helsinki: Oikeuspoliittinen tutkimuslaitos. ISBN 951-704-240-X.
  • Bäckman, Johan (2001). Entäs kun tulee se yhdestoista? Suomettumisen uusi historia. Helsinki: WSOY. ISBN 951-0-25654-4.
  • Bäckman, Johan (2006). Itämafia: Uhkakuvapolitiikka, rikosilmiöt ja kulttuuriset merkitykset. Espoo: Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu. ISBN 951-815-112. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  • Bäckman, Johan (2007). Saatana saapuu Helsinkiin: Anna Politkovskajan murha ja Suomi. Helsinki: Russia Advisory Group. ISBN 978-952-99785-1-9.
  • Bäckman, Johan (2008). Pronssisoturi: Viron patsaskiistan tausta ja sisältö. Tallinn: Tarbeinfo. ISBN 978-9985-9721-7-5.

References

  1. ^ Helsingin yliopisto: Oikeussosiologia 2008-2009 (in Finnish)
  2. ^ Turun yliopisto: Dosentti Johan Bäckman, VTT (in Finnish)
  3. ^ http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/val/sosio/vk/backman/abstract.html
  4. ^ http://www.helsinki.fi/rpol/esittely/henkilosto.htm
  5. ^ http://notes.utu.fi/ty/webexper.nsf/031b9e8464cecb05c22564dd003abe2e/9b3aa972eae3fe4ec22573b700208d2b?OpenDocument
  6. ^ Eesti Ekspress 23 February 2009 12:43: Räige Eesti-vastane kampaania käib kolmes riigis korraga, edited by Askur Alas
  7. ^ http://www.politika-karelia.ru/cgi-bin/articles_print.cgi?id=32
  8. ^ http://www.rep.ru/20Mar2002/society/01.html
  9. ^ http://www.politika-karelia.ru/cgi-bin/articles_print.cgi?id=32
  10. ^ http://www.rep.ru/10Apr2002/society/02.html
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ http://www.politika-karelia.ru/shtml/article.shtml?id=28
  13. ^ http://www.gov.karelia.ru/Karelia/990/39.html
  14. ^ http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=9118
  15. ^ a b c d Десять лет, которые потрясут Эстонию Den' za Dnyom Template:Ru icon
  16. ^ Helsingin Sanomat: Book accuses media and Green MP of inciting anti-Russian sentiment (2007-03-01)
  17. ^ a b c d http://www.apn-spb.ru/publications/article2329.htm
  18. ^ http://www.apn-spb.ru/publications/article2316.htm
  19. ^ Template:De icon "Estland in zehn Jahren Teil der Russischen Föderation". Der Standard. 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  20. ^ Bäckman: Eesti on teel otse põrgusse Eesti Päevaleht 11 August 2008 Template:Et icon
  21. ^ Finnish writer: Estonia to lose independence in 10 years Baltic Business News 11 August 2008
  22. ^ Эстония прямиком движется в ад Molodezh Estonii 15 August 2008
  23. ^ http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/artikkeli/1135239739349
  24. ^ [2]
  25. ^ http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/artikkeli/1135239710765
  26. ^ [[3]]
  27. ^ http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/artikkeli/1135239739349
  28. ^ Helsingi ülikool distantseerus Bäckmani seisukohtadest Postimees 27 March 2008 Template:Et icon
  29. ^ [4]
  30. ^ Eesti Ekspress 18 March 2009 16:45: Üheskoos Eesti vastu: antifašist Bäckman ja natsimeelne Teinonen, edited by Askur Alas
  31. ^ Bruun, Staffan (2009-03-22). "Han bjöd in 30 Putinunga". Hufvudstadsbladet. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  32. ^ ves.lv 6 March 2009 13:02: "Эстония? Нет такого государства!", interview by Yelena Slyusareva
  33. ^ Misanthropist of the Year 2009
  34. ^ Eesti Päevaleht 17 March 2009 13:44: Johan Bäckman: natsism on Eesti ametlik ideoloogia, edited by Kalev Kask
  35. ^ a b c Helsingin Sanomat: Hundreds of listeners and a handful of protesters attend publication of book on Estonia (2007-03-24)
  36. ^ The book is collection of articles from over 30 different writers from Estonia, Finland, Russia, United States and the United Kingdom.
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