Irina Gorkun-Silén was less than happy to hear about her 11-year-old daughter Nicole's day at school, which included singing the famous Russian folk-style song "Kalinka".
"During a music lesson, the children were introduced to Russian music and instructed to sing 'Kalinka'. Nicole refused, explaining that she was Ukrainian and did not want to use Russian. The teacher told her 'war is not discussed at school'."
Gorkun-Silén, herself a musician and flutist, has lived in Finland for many years. Her husband is Finnish, and Nicole was born in Finland.
Nicole understood that refusing to participate would impact her grade, so she sang along, according to her mother.
"What if there had been a Ukrainian child in the class whose parents had been killed by Russians?" Gorkun-Silén asked, wondering why the introduction to world music started with Russia.
She said the incident, in her opinion, suggests the normalisation of Russian aggression.
'War evokes emotions'
"Kalinka" is a Russian song made famous by performances of the Red Army Choir. The ensemble, which has toured widely around the world, has long served as a national symbol, first of the Soviet Union and later of modern-day Russia.
The song is familiar to many people in Finland, as both Finnish- and Swedish-language versions of Kalinka have been sung by schoolchildren for decades — often with a small part of the chorus sung in Russian.
According to Yle's information, the school in Espoo uses a Swedish-language music textbook called Da capo, which provides the lyrics to Kalinka in both Swedish and Russian.
The school declined to comment to Yle on which language was used during Nicole's lesson.
Ellinor Hellman, the principal of Nicole's school, Espoo's Storängen, told Yle she can't comment on individual cases. She said children from all backgrounds are welcome at the school, which abides by the national curriculum.
"In subjects such as music, pupils may encounter a variety of cultural expressions that are carefully selected for their educational merit," Hellman told Yle via email.
The Finnish National Agency for Education acknowledged that because of the war in Ukraine, certain cultural themes may evoke strong emotions, which should be addressed and discussed with pupils.
A lawyer with the agency, Heidi Ruonala, said teachers can always be flexible, offering an alternative assignment if pupils are uncomfortable with certain music.
Nicole's experience has shaken many in Finland's Ukrainian community, who say culture cannot be divorced from politics.
"We are deeply saddened by this situation. It raises the question of whether promoting Russian culture in schools is appropriate," said Vassili Goutsoul, who chairs the Ukrainian Association in Finland.
For Ukrainians, Russian is not a neutral language, according to Eilina Gusatinsky, an integration specialist.
"From their perspective, it is a language of violence, war and coercion," she explained. "It is a symbol of Russification and the suppression of Ukrainian identity."
This article is based on a story published by Yle's Ukrainian-language news unit.
Edited on 6 November 15:32 to reflect that Eilina Gusatinsky is an integration specialist.
Edited on 13 November at 13:27 to note that a section was added to the article about the versions of the song Kalinka sung in Finnish schools and regarding the music textbook used in the Espoo school.
