Books from Finland - A literary journal of writing from and about Finland.

Suomea rajan takana 1918–1944: Suomenkielisen neuvostokirjallisuuden historia ja bibliografia
[Finnish beyond the border 1918–1944: a history and bibliography of Finnish-language literature in Soviet Union]
Helsinki: BTJ Finland Oy, The Finnish National Library, 2008. 395 p., ill.
ISBN 978-951-692-705-6
€ 49, paperback

The Finnish National Library possesses an impressive collection of Finnish-language literature published in the Soviet Union; the Soviet Karelia Collection contains around 3,800 titles on political and social themes, as well as fiction and poetry. Some of the material was captured from the Soviets during the Continuation War of 1941–1944. The Library has also augmented the collection with material in Finnish, written by Finns or dealing with Finland, which has been published in Russia. Listed in the bibliography are 566 Soviet books published in Finnish and 270 in Karelian, as well as works in private collections – many of these are bibliophilic rarities as a result of the attempt to destroy Finnish identity and the Finnish language in the Soviet Union during Stalin’s purges of 1937–38.