Communications in times of crisis in the Winter War and the 21st century knowledge society

The Winter War was one of the first information wars, and the Finns' struggle was keenly followed in the world media during the months of war. This is how Secretary of State Pertti Torstila described the events that took place 70 years ago in his opening speech at the seminar titled “Communications in extraordinary circumstances – from Winter War to information war” at the University of Helsinki on Thursday, 26 November. The seminar speeches dealt with communications in the extraordinary circumstances of the Winter War and the new challenges of modern information warfare.

The seminar at the University of Helsinki was organised by the Ministry for Foreign affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Command, MTV3 and TK-tiedotuskilta. Invited speakers, among others, were professor Laura Kolbe and Lt.Col. Jari Rantapelkonen. The seminar attracted a large audience and the invited guests included Minister Max Jakobson, General Jaakko Valtanen and Ph.D. Jukka Tarkka.

Finland in the spotlight of international media

The Soviet assault against Finland 70 years ago quickly brought Finland into the focus of international attention, and many foreign war correspondents arrived to cover the events. As the other war operations were at halt, the Winter War soon became the centre of attention. Another guest speaker, Gordon F. Sander from the U.S.A. spoke about the experiences of international reporters who came to Finland to cover the Winter War. Sander's book on the history of the Winter War will be published in Finland in February.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs press department hosted the foreign reporters, and the press room at hotel Kämp became an important meeting place during the Winter War.

“The press scented the blood”, said Lasse Lehtinen in his speech discussing war propaganda and mental upkeep. According to Lehtinen, the need for images and news was great at the time of war and the international interest was also of political importance to Finland. Finland had gradually prepared for the possibility of a propaganda war in the course of the 1930's, and according to Lehtinen, the Winter War propaganda was as successful as the actual war operations, if not more.

Guiding reporters in the front

Hugo L. Mäkinen, an American of Finnish origin, operated as a liaison officer for the foreign correspondents in Finland. His feature interview on video was screened at the seminar. In Mäkinen's experience, the journalists' attitudes toward Finland were favourable, even though their awareness of the local conditions was not perfect at times. An image of an English war correspondent wearing a raincoat and flimsy shoes in the extreme cold of Lapland outside Rovaniemi's train station is still vivid in Mäkinen's mind.

The war as a national myth and brand

According to Laura Kolbe, the Finnish defensive action against dictatorship unified the western world, which was also manifested in the international news coverage of the Winter War. The idea of a justified war is highly characteristic of how the Winter War has been understood. However, the Winter War has had different meanings in the Finnish historical culture over the decades, and in her speech Kolbe discussed the myth of the Winter War and the war's moral repercussions from today's perspective. To enhance Finland's brand today, she would welcome the strong will for voluntary work that was in its peak during the Winter War.

From the Winter War to information society

The fast technical developments of the recent decades and the shift to knowledge society have created new kinds of threats and as a result, modern information warfare is far different from that of the Winter War 70 years ago.

According to Lt.Col. Jari Rantapelkonen, whose speech dealt with the above issues, the new kinds of threats have forced states to re-evaluate their relationship with war. War is no longer something that can be pinpointed to a single location, and the abstract threats of information society are challenging national defence forces.

As an example of modern information war, Rantapelkonen discussed the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict in the Middle East, where the media was fed specific propaganda material in order to influence on the political situation. In this kind of conflicts the parties must, in addition to military force, consider the growing importance of processes such as the social media.