Tuulispää Explained

Category:Satirical magazine
Founded:1903
Finaldate:1957
Country:Finland
Based:Helsinki
Language:Finnish

Tuulispää was a satirical magazine which existed between 1903 and 1957. It was the media outlet of conservative nationalism in Finland. However, the magazine described itself as a representative of genuine satire and humor without any party affiliation.[1]

History and profile

Tuulispää was started in 1903 as a successor of Matti Meikäläinen, another satirical magazine which was closed by Governor General Bobrikov in Summer 1899.[2] Although the magazine claimed that it had a political stance, it also declared that it had no political party affiliation.[1] Tuulispää was close to the Finnish-speaking Fennoman groups consisting of small landowners and independent farmers.[3] This group was one of the active factions involving in the discussions about the Finnishness, Finnish culture and Finnish identity.[3] The magazine adopted a conservative nationalist political stance criticising the Finnish labour movement and the Swedish-speaking elite in the country.[2] It also attempted to create a balance between the National Coalition Party and the National Progressive Party.[1] Some of the contributors included Topi Vikstedt, Oscar Furuhjelm and Eric Vasström.[2]

Tuulispää used the Old Helsinki slang during the initial period of its publication.[4] Its rival was Fyren, another satirical magazine which was printed in Swedish.[2] However, the same writers contributed to both titles.[2]

In the 1920s and 1930s Tuulispää had a steady circulation selling 3,000-4,000 copies.[1] The magazine folded in 1957.

Notes and References

  1. Anni Kangas. The Knight, the Beast and the Treasure: A semeiotic inquiry into the Finnish political imaginary on Russia, 1918-1930s. University of Tampere. 62–64. PhD. 2007. 10024/67797.
  2. Ainur Elmgren. Visual Stereotypes of Tatars in the Finnish Press from the 1890s to the 1910s. Studia Orientalia Electronica. 2020. 8. 2. 27. 10.23993/store.82942. 10138/333286. 219422535. free.
  3. Book: Johanna Valenius. 2004. Undressing the Maid. Gender, Sexuality and the Body in the Construction of the Finnish Nation. 18. Hakapaino Oy. Helsinki. 978-951-746-593-9.
  4. Vesa Jarva. Old Helsinki Slang and language mixing. Journal of Language Contact. 2008. 1. 2. 61. 10.1163/000000008792512547. free.