200 years since the outbreak of the Finnish War - international conference on the European upheaval

Thursday, 21 February 2008 will mark the 200-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Finnish War. The Finnish War fought between Sweden and Russia made part of the wider upheaval in Europe, launched by the Napoleonic Wars.

On 21-23 February, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finnish Historical Society will hold an international scientific conference entitled Europe in Upheaval – the Era of the Napoleonic Wars at the Hanasaari Cultural Centre. Leading international scholars will examine the Finnish War in the European context of the Napoleonic Wars. The conference will present ongoing research under three themes: 1) military history, 2) the cultural history of the war and 3) states, nations and empires.

The Hanasaari conference will be the second in a series of events organised by the Government to mark the year 1809. The conference will be opened by the Chairman of the Delegation for the Year 1809, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

The main speakers represent the highest international expertise: Professor Dominic Lieven (London School of Economics, United Kingdom), Professor Karen Hagemann (UNC Chapel Hill, USA), Professor Wadim Roginskij (Russian Science Academy ), Professor Marie-Pierre Rey (Université de Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, France), Doctor of Philosophy Martin Hårdstedt (University of Umeå, Sweden), Professor Max Engman (Åbo Akademi, Finland), Professor Jens E. Olesen (Universität Greifswald, Germany) and Professor Bo Stråth (University of Helsinki, Finland).

 

Further information: Raimo Savolainen, General Secretary, tel. +358 9 160 22355, Prime Minister’s Office and Eero Kytömaa, Information Officer, tel. +358 9 160 22014, Government Communications Unit or Julia Burman, Executive Director, tel. +358 9 228 69351, Finnish Historical Society