Who is Always Stalking at the Window?

You're calmly walking on the yard, but something seems strange. It's like... someone is staring at you! Who is it? The yard is empty. Suddenly, a curtain moves in the neighbor's window. Is it the neighbor's grandmother who is watching you? No, it's not your neighbor's grandma, but something much hairier... The Cat! (￣ー￣)

I found these hairy little "stalkers" from the Finnish humor site, and I want to share them with my friends around the world. I hope these funny pictures makes you laugh. I wrote the captions myself.

Happy New Year to everyone! According to Chinese zodiac, 2014 is the Year of the Horse. Woohoo! （＾—＾）

Teisuka

The black spy next door.

Just a curious little kitten.

If you are lazy, a chair makes it easier.

Tiny little stalkers.

"Aww, how lovely little bird. We all would like to eat you."

Now who is watching who?

A cute and shy little stalker.

A case-hardened old stalker.

A little accident at work.

"See, I can sit like a man."

Some stalkers wants to be seen.

OMG, this one is a murderer too!

A long-term stalker with his stalking chair.
Tools facilitate the work.

"Damn window blinds! I'm too fat for this shit!"

"Whoops... I got caught."

Ouch!

A Famous Russian War Historian Visited the Museum

A Russian war historian Artem Drabkin and his interpreter Svetlana

in the museum. In the background, the blue and white Finnish

swastika. Photo by Teisuka.

Last Sunday, a Russian war historian Artem Drabkin (Артём Драбкин) from Moscow visited the museum, my current workplace. I had the privilege to be his guide. In addition to Artem, there were two other people: Artem's interpreter, a Russian woman called Svetlana (Светла́на), and their Finnish host and organizer, Matti. We walked around the museum about 90 minutes, and I told about the objects in the exhibition and the Finnish war history, especially about the Lotta Svärd organisation and the Finnish women at war.

"Very interestings place. Spasibo" (thank you), Artem said when the tour was over. Then we shook hands and said "dosvidaniya" (until we meet again) to each other. Both Artem and Svetlana were nice and kind people, as Russians used to be. For me, this was a wonderful opportunity to meet a famous Russian war historian. I'm just reading his book called The Continuation War from the perspective of the Red Army (Finnish: Jatkosota puna-armeijan silmin). Excellent book, including a lot of rare photographs.

In Finland, Artem Drabkin also interviewed the Finnish veterans and Lottas of World War II. In my opinion, this kind of intercultural and international cooperation is remarkable and ground-breaking. Seventy years ago we (Finns and Russians) were enemies but now we are friends.

Artem Drabkin is the creator of a website devoted to the oral history of World War II on the Eastern Front. Like my Russian friend Victor says, Drabkin's project I remember is very interesting and important as it helps to keep our memory of WWII. Drabkin is recording interviews of war veterans in Russia, Germany, and Finland. At the moment, there are more than 2000 interviews in his collection. Artem's website is available in English and Russian at http://english.iremember.ru/

You can find the Russian Wikipedia article by clicking here.

Lotta Svärd and the Finnish Swastika

Finally, I want to tell something about the Finnish swastika, because it appears in my photos. The Finnish swastika has nothing to do with Nazism, just like a wholesome Finnish patriotism has nothing to do with that sick ideology. (All of my friends know that I hate Nazism more than any other "ism".)

In Finland, the swastika was often used in traditional folk art products, as a decoration or magical symbol on textiles and wood. It is thousands of years old symbol of luck. The swastika was also used by the Finnish Air Force until 1945, and is still used in air force flags.

The Finnish Air Force uses the swastika as an emblem, introduced in 1918 (the Nazi swastika came at a later date, in 1920). The type of swastika adopted by the air-force was the symbol of luck for the Swedish count Eric von Rosen, who donated one of its earliest aircraft.

Also a design by the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela from 1918, the Cross of Liberty has a swastika pattern in its arms. Gallen-Kallela used the Finnish swastika in his early works, for example the painting called The Aino triptych (Finnish: Aino-triptyykki) from year 1889.

 The Aino triptych, an old Finnish painting by Akseli

Gallen-Kallela, 1889. Click the image to see it bigger.

The Lotta Svärd emblem was designed by Eric Wasström

in 1921. It includes four heraldic roses and a swastika.

In Finland, the swastika is an ancient symbol of luck.

On Japanese maps, a swastika is used to mark the location of a Buddhist
temple. 日本では、卍は、寺院などの地図記号として使用されている。

The swastika was used by Lotta Svärd, a Finnish voluntary national defence organisation for women between 1921 and 1944. The organisation was religious-patriotic, unarmed and non-political. In 1944, there were more than 240 000 Lottas in Finland. About 90 000 Lottas served their country at the front during the wartime 1939-1945. They worked in hospitals, at air-raid warning posts and other auxiliary tasks in conjunction with the armed forces. The motto of the organisation was "religion, home and fatherland" (specifically in that order; the mentioned religion was the Lutheran Christianity).

In addition, the swastika is a good symbol in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Originally, it's a symbol of the Sun. The Buddhist sign has been standardized as a Chinese character 卍 (wàn) and as such entered various other East Asian languages such as Japanese where the symbol is called 卍 (manji) or 卍字 (manji). The swastika is included as part of the Chinese script in the form of the character 萬 (wàn). In East Asian countries, the left-facing and horizontal swastika often marks the location of a Buddhist temple on maps.

P.S. I also add here some other new photos from my workplace, taken this week.

Teisuka
museum assistant

Me in the work. Last Wednesday, there was a Christmas event in the museum.
All workers were dressed in the old costumes. I used the Finnish military
uniform from the time of World War II (reconstruction, not original).

Me and Marshal Mannerheim (a lifelike wax figure, 194 cm

in length) in the headquarters, a railway carriage. This is my
favorite room in the museum. Click the photo to see it bigger.

Gustaf Mannerheim – the Greatest Finn of All Time?

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951) was a legendary Finnish

military leader and statesman.

Every nation needs its heroes and myths, the great men and women of the history. We Finns have one great person above all. In 2004, Gustaf Mannerheim was voted the greatest Finnish person of all time in the Great Finns ("Suuret suomalaiset") contest. Who was this man and what did he do? I want to introduce Mr. Mannerheim to my friends around the world. Welcome to the journey to the Finnish history!

Baron Gustaf Mannerheim is a fascinating, even mythical, figure. He served as the military leader of the "Whites" in the Finnish Civil War, the Regent of Finland (1918-1919), the Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, the Marshal of Finland, and the sixth President of Finland (1944-1946). Besides his mother tongue, Swedish, Mannerheim learned to speak Finnish, Russian, French, German and English. He also spoke Polish and Portuguese and understood some Mandarin Chinese.

Mannerheim was an officer and a gentleman, a soldier and a war hero, a skillful politician and a diplomatic statesman, a patriot, but never a nationalist. In addition to that, he was an adventurous explorer, a warm-hearted supporter of humanitarian causes, a big-game hunter, a well-travelled cosmopolitan and a generous host in his own home. He possessed one quality common to all great men, an immense will-power that carried him through all the difficult times.

I have to say, the more I learn about Mannerheim, the more I respect him. It is fair to say that Mannerheim saved Finland three times: in 1918, in 1940 and in 1944 – always during wartime. Even Stalin respected and admired Marshal Mannerheim. Stalin told a Finnish delegation in Moscow in 1947 that the Finns owe much to their old Marshal. Thanks to Mannerheim, Finland was not occupied.

Mannerheim is a controversial but mostly loved person. Some people (for example communists) hate him and say that he was a fascist and a friend of Adolf Hitler's. That is a treacherous lie. In fact, Mannerheim was a monarchist and he hated Nazism and "the German barbarism". However, during World War II, Finland needed Germany's assistance against the Soviet Union. Germany was Finland's only "ally" or brother-in-arms in that situation, and the Germans also needed Finland when they started their Operation Barbarossa in 1941. It was a "relationship of mutual exploitation".

 
Anastasia Arapova, a Russian wife of Mannerheim.

Anastasie and Sophie, daughters of Anastasia and Mannerheim.

Youth in Russia

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was born on June 4th 1867 at Askainen in Finland. He served 30 years in the Imperial Russian Army (1887-1917). At the time, from 1809 to 1917, Finland was a nominally autonomous part of the Russian Empire. It was called The Grand Duchy of Finland. Mannerheim received his military training at the Nikolaevski Cavalry School in St. Petersburg.

During the Russian years of Mannerheim, many remarkable things happened to him, including service in various regiments of the Imperial Guards, marriage with a noble Russian lady called Anastasia Arapova (Анастасия Николаевна Арапова) in 1892, participation in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, an extended reconnaissance journey across Asia and China on horseback in 1906-1908, and the First World War.

Mannerheim and Anastasia had two daughters, Anastasie and Sophie. Both were born in St. Petersburg, Russia. The third child, a son, was stillborn. This tragedy probably destroyed the marriage once and for all. Mannerheim separated from Anastasia Arapova in 1902, and they divorced in 1919. Mannerheim never married again. Anastasia died in Paris in 1936.

Mannerheim loved Russia but he hated Bolshevism (communism). He said, "the Bolsheviks destroyed the Russia I loved". After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, General Mannerheim returned to Finland.

Mannerheim himself summed up his Russian period in the following words in his memoirs: "...and when I looked back on that time that I had spent in the uniform of the Tsar I had to admit with gratitude that my expectations had been totally fulfilled. I had entered higher circles and enjoyed broader perspectives than I could ever have done in Finland in those last decades of the 19th century. Each stage in my military career had been extremely rewarding, and to cap it all I had had the good fortune to belong to, and even to command, an elite force that had good officers and an excellent esprit de corps [the morale of a group]. The act of leading such troops, in peace and war, had given me the utmost satisfaction. I had seen much that was of interest on two continents." (Otava 1951. Part I, pp. 236-237.)

After the October Revolution in Russia, the Finnish government declared independence on December 6th 1917. The next year, a horrible Civil War broke out in Finland.

Mannerheim at Aksu in China in 1907. He was also an adventurous explorer. His Chinese
name was 马达汉 (Ma Dahan, 'The Horse that Leaps Through Clouds').

 

Mannerheim, the "White General" and the Commander-in-Chief (fourth from the left),

and other officers in Seinäjoki in spring 1918. During the Finnish Civil War, the headquarters

of the White Army operated in Seinäjoki longer than in any other location, for almost two

months. The headquarters were located in a train at Seinäjoki railway station.

 

 Mannerheim in his headquarters (a railway carriage). A lifelike wax figure in the museum.

This is my favorite room in my current workplace. By the way, Mannerheim was a

 tall man, about 194 cm. Photo by Teisuka (November 24, 2013).

White Knight of Finland

The Finnish Civil War was fought between the forces of the Social Democrats led by the People's Deputation of Finland, commonly called the "Reds", and the forces of the non-socialist, conservative-led Senate, commonly called the "Whites". In January 1918, General Mannerheim was appointed supreme commander of the White Guards. The Red Guards refused to recognise the title, and decided to establish a military authority of their own.

General Mannerheim located his headquarters in Vaasa. From Vaasa, the headquarters moved to Seinäjoki, and later further south. It was an ugly and bloody war, as only civil war can be. During the war, the White Army and the Red Guards both perpetrated acts of terror. 37 000 people died. It was a terrible national tragedy for the young nation. Finally, the White Army (the legitimate government forces) won the war in May 1918.

After the Civil War, Mannerheim was the chairman of the National Defence Committee from 1931 until the outbreak of the war, and he was the Regent of Finland in 1919 and the President of Finland from 1944 to 1946. The 1920s was the only era when he was without any public office. In 1920, he founded General Mannerheim's Child Welfare Association, with the aim of improving the health of the nation's children over the social boundaries that had emerged more prominently than ever as a result of the Civil War.

In 1921, Mannerheim also became the chairman of the Finnish Red Cross, a position which he held for the next 30 years. The operations of the organisation that similarly spanned all social boundaries was very close to his heart and he devoted all his energy to it. He was still destined to serve as the supreme commander of the Finnish Armed Forces in two wars with the Soviet Union, the Winter War of 1939-1940, and the Continuation War of 1941-1944.

Mannerheim was the General of the Cavalry, and he

loved horses throughout his life.

 

Mannerheim – the Marshal of Finland.

"With Pure Arms"

Of course, Mannerheim wasn't perfect human and he also made some mistakes. We must still realize that during World War II, he was an old guy already: over 70 years old. At that time, Mannerheim's "right hand" was the Lieutenant General Aksel Airo (1898-1985), a main strategic planner during the Winter War and the Continuation War. Airo was the virtual second-in-command of the Finnish Army under Field Marshal Mannerheim.

One more thing about World War II: The Finnish Army didn't take part in the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). It never shot artillery fire at Leningrad nor did it bomb the city. Mannerheim refused the offers of the Germans. Finland didn't even cut supply lines of the city. I think Mannerheim didn't want to participate in the destruction of his former hometown.

Mannerheim's Latin motto was: "Candida pro causa ense candido" (With pure arms for a pure cause). This sums up the ideal towards which he strove in everything that he did.

After leaving Presidency in 1946, Mannerheim spent his last years in quiet retirement, the summers in Finland and the winters in Switzerland. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on January 28th 1951, at the age of 83. He was buried with full honors in Helsinki, Finland, on February 4th.

Innumerable books have been written about Mannerheim. If you want to read one good book, I recommend the book called Mannerheim by  J. E. O. Screen (2000). Screen was a British historian who had an objective attitude towards Mannerheim.

Teisuka
museum assistant


References

• Mannerheim, Muistelmat [Memoirs] (1951)
• Pekka Nieminen, Päämaja Seinäjoella 1918 [The Headquarters in Seinäjoki in 1918] (2013)
• J. E. O. Screen, Mannerheim (2000)
• Paavo Suoninen, Mannerheim – suurin suomalainen [Mannerheim – the Greatest Finn] (2007)
• The Mannerheim Museum Website, The Marshal of Finland
• Леонид Власов, «Маннергейм в Санкт-Петербург 1887-1904» [Leonid Vlasov, Mannerheim in Saint Petersburg 1887-1904] (1994)
• Wikipedia articles (Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, The Finnish Civil War, The Continuation War, The Winter War, etc.)

The Soviet propaganda poster from 1940. This poster claims

that Mannerheim is a murderer, an executioner of the working
class, a minion of the "Bloody Nicholas" (Russian Tsar)  and
so on. Not so nice nicknames, but the communists hated

Mannerheim – and he hated communism.

The White General covered in snow. The world's first "not-abstract"
Mannerheim statue is in Seinäjoki. The statue is designed by Lauri
Leppänen, unveiled in 1955. Photo by Teisuka (November 24, 2013).

The Movie Was Filmed at My Workplace

The actors are preparing for a movie scene at the musem.

On the right side, is a famous Finnish film star Kalevi
Haapoja. Photo by Teisuka.

A partial enlargement: in the background, you can see the

painting of Marshal Mannerheim, The Suomi KP/-31 (a

submachine gun of Finnish design that was in service during

World War II) and the Jäger statue (after the outbreak of

the Civil War in Finland the Jägers were engaged on the

"White" side in the war). Photo by Teisuka.

A great Finnish actor Kalevi Haapoja is drinking coffee on a filming

break. He is 81 years old but still working. Photo by Teisuka.

Since I got only one comment on my last update, I'm posting a new article already. I think this could be more interesting... （＾—＾）

As I told before, my job is cool and each day is different. A few days ago they were making a war film in the museum. Yes, really! Last Wednesday, the Finnish crew filmed some scenes in the museum. They were making a war film called Kaukopartio (English: Long-range Patrol, Russian: Дальний патруль), directed by Harri J. Rantala. During the filming of the movie (12 hours), the museum was partly closed to the public. One of the actors was Kalevi Haapoja. He is a famous film star in Finland. Since 1968 he has played more than 30 movie or TV roles (click the actor's name if you want to find out more information).

I took some photos from the film crew. (Click the pictures to see them bigger.) I have to say, working in the war museum can be really exciting and not boring at all. I really love my new job.

Criticism of Google

Finally, I want to touch on another issue. Many users don't like the new style of YouTube, how they force everyone to use Google+. The new commenting system is very complicated and frustrating. On these days, Google+ is nothing more than a mere "ghost town". I want to quote from the Wikipedia article called Criticism of Google:

"On November 6, 2013, Google implemented a new comment system that requires all YouTube users to use a Google+ account to comment on videos, thereby making the comment system Google+-orientated. The corporation stated that the change is necessary to personalize comment sections for viewers, in response to an overwhelmingly negative public response – even YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim expressed disdain by writing on his channel: "why the f**k do I need a google+ account to comment on a video?". The official YouTube announcement ("Meet the new YouTube comments") received 20,097 “thumbs down” votes and generated more than 32,000 comments over a two-day period."

Check out the video that is mentioned above. Perhaps you also want to express your opinion...

You can find my new Google+ page by clicking here.

Have a blessed weekend to all my friends.

Teisuka

The "White General" and Marshal of Finland. Carl Gustaf

Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951) was a Finnish military
leader and statesman. In the future, I'm going to tell more
about this interesting person in my blog. Until then, please
read my long comment to Nika in this article. (￣ー￣)

Me and the original, full-size Jäger statue from the year 1958 (compare
the image above). This photo is taken in Vaasa, on October 16, 2013.
My military rank is also jäger (an ordinary soldier). Photo by Gilmore.

Ronnie James Dio – The King of Heavy Rock

The great heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio
(July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010).

Already for thirty years, Ronnie James Dio has been my favorite male singer. I was thirteen years old when I heard the debut album of his new band, Dio. The year was 1983 and the album was Holy Diver. Nowadays it is considered a classic of heavy rock. This album includes one of my favorite songs from Dio, titled Don't Talk to Strangers (you can listen it here).

Throughout the years, Dio's music has brought me strength and energy – always, but especially during difficult times. His music is full of some kind of "dark power". I mean, it is fierce and aggressive but still melodic. Very powerful stuff! （＾—＾）

Ronnie James Dio was born on July 10, 1942 to Italian parents in Endicott, New York. His musical career began in 1957 when several Cortland, New York musicians formed the band The Vegas Kings. Later he had a band called Elf (1967-1975), and then he joined Rainbow, his first popular band. Dio was the lead vocalist in 1975-1979. During that time, Rainbow released three great studio albums.

After Rainbow, Dio was the vocalist of Black Sabbath, the legendary heavy metal group. Again, he made many wonderful albums with the band, for example Heaven and Hell (1980). Finally, in 1982, Dio formed his own band Dio (by the way, name Dio means God in Italian). For me, it represents the best era of Dio. The band released ten studio albums such as Holy Diver (1983), Angry Machines (1996), and Master of the Moon (2004).

Angry Machines (1996), one of my favorite albums by Dio.

Dio wrote all his songs by himself, at least the lyrics. He said, "Lyrically I like to use themes that make the listener use his or her imagination, and to give a little of the lessons I've learned in my own life."

Dio's full discography is quite long, and you can find it here.

I saw Dio live once in 1998. His band played at the Tavastia Club, in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. During the last song (titled We Rock) I shook his hand! That was the best gig I have ever seen, and I will never forget that "meeting".

Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010, in Los Angeles. He was 67 years old (a year later, my mother died at the age of 67). When I heard the sad news, I cried like a baby because I had grown up with Dio's music. On the next day, I made the memorial video and uploaded it to YouTube. Please check it out, it's a beautiful song called This is Your Life.

Finally, I put here one of my favorite song from Dio, As Long as It's Not About Love (click the title to listen). Such a strong love song with great lyrics. The power of music is amazing. The singers we love, even though they are dead – like Elvis Presley, Teresa Teng, or Ronnie James Dio – their music is still among us and will never die. The soul has gone (to Heaven) , but the voice remains. Or actually, their soul is in the music. So at its best, the music brings something from Heaven down to earth.

Dio was a real "Mr. Nice Guy" – always friendly and kind

to his fans. He shook my hand in 1998 in Helsinki.

Some of my Dio albums, singles and EPs. Photo by Teisuka.

Photos From Last Week

The St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Vaasa. October 16, 2013.
Photo by Teisuka. – Православная церковь Св. Николая
Чудотворца, Вааса. 16 октября 2013. Фото: Теисука.

Last Wednesday, I visited Vaasa again. It was a nice, sunny day. I had a catechumenate session, and after that I attended the evening service (Russian: вечерня) in the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church. I also met my dear friend and we hung around the city. I took many pictures. See, I guess "I like to walk with my camera" too (oops, I stole someone's slogan... Sorry, Nika. Xa-xa). (￣ー￣)

On Thursday, it snowed for the first time in Finland this autumn. Well, the snow has melted away already in my area, but a few days ago the landscape was beautiful for a while. I hope we will get more snow soon.

A few words about my new job. I really love my job at the museum. It is very versatile and inspiring. Each day is different. History has been one of my passions since I was a teenager. During the last two weeks, I have read a lot of Finnish history (tons of history! haha). I thought I knew it all already, but nope... I really do not! It would be arrogant and foolish of me to think so. The more I read, the more humble I feel. I understand how little I know. There are so many stories, so many people, so many unknown details... We can never learn everything. History is an endless source of information.

"Say it briefly." This is a good principle. So I'll stop here. See the photos with captions. (Click them to see them bigger.) A picture is worth a thousand words. Blessings to all.
（＾—＾）

Teisuka

The first snow in Vaasa, October 17, 2013. The St. Nicholas
Orthodox Church. Photo by Gilmore.

The first snow in my hometown, October 17, 2013. In this
picture you can see one of the buildings from my current
workplace, the museum. It is build in 1924, designed by
Alvar Aalto. Photo by Teisuka.

 Suomen Vapaudenpatsas (English: Finland's Statue of Liberty) in
Vaasa, designed by Yrjö Liipola, unveiled in 1938. Fourteen meters
high statue related to the Finnish Civil War in 1918. Photo by Teisuka.

 A close-up of the statue: a victorious White soldier and a dying
White soldier. In Finland, "the Reds" (communists) lost the civil
war. During the war, the White Army and the Red Guards both
perpetrated acts of terror. Photo by Teisuka.

 Yesterday one man brought this object to the museum and asked what
it was. No one knew. It is old (probably from the 19th century) and quite
heavy (7,3 kg). Is it a clapper? A plummet? A part of an old cannon...
or something else? If anybody knows, please tell me. Thank you. ^^
(The matchbox in the picture is used for scale.) Photo by Teisuka.

Beautiful Sky, Good People and the Longed-for Person

(Click the pictures to see them bigger.)

The evenings here are quiet. Yesterday evening, I took some pictures from my balcony, because the setting Sun and the clouds were so dramatic and beautiful. It brought to my mind a certain person, someone I'm missing...

Temperature in my area is 10 °C (50 ºF) right now. The local news reported, "Today might be the last warm day". Possibly, we'll get the first snow next weekend. Good for me, since I love snow and winter.

One more thing I want to tell. I was surprised and glad when I coincidentally found my YouTube comment from Komsomolskaya Pravda website, translated into Russian language! Komsomolskaya Pravda (Комсомольская правда) is the biggest daily newspaper in Russia, founded in 1925. You see the article here (I wrote my comment with the nickname teiska123).

This article tells about the very popular Russian video titled Good people / Мир не без добрых людей... The video got thousands and thousands of comments from all over the world. Pravda published "the brightest comments" («самые яркие комментарии») in their newspaper, a total of eleven comments.

Here is my original comment and the Russian translation by Pravda (Александра Лябина / Alexandra Lyabina):

"Very beautiful and touching video. Glad to see there are good people in this world. Thank you, Russia! From Finland with love."

«Очень красивое и трогательное видео. Рада видеть, что есть и хорошие люди в этом мире. Спасибо, Россия! Из Финляндии с любовью.»

I also add here the above-mentioned video. I hope you have time to check it out. It is very touching and positive video that proves not everyone is a bad person in this world. Let's all try to be good people, right? （＾—＾） A wonderful week to all my friends!

Blessings,

Teisuka