Migrant Tales will begin to publish Finnish tabloid ads* (lööppi in Finnish) from the 1990s. Taking into account that Finland’s immigrant population started to grow during that decade, it is easy at least through the main stories of tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti to see how some of them reflected our xenophobic and racist views.
The billboard below shows Finland’s surprise at the new brave world that emerged after the demise of the former Soviet Union. In an exclusive scoop, Ilta-Sanomat reveals to its readers how a Russian millionaire lives in Finland.
Seventeen years later in Finland such a story would probably not receive such attention by the tabloids.
A warning to those that push urban tales and stereotypes of immigrants and minorities today: You may end up looking as ridiculous as some of these ads.
*Migration Institute archive.
Category: Enrique
To be honest, I think this would still interest people. We all know a lot of the Russian tourists that come here are rich, and those who live here (or have a holiday residence) include some _very_ rich people (as in rich in a way you can’t normally even get in Finland). People are curious enough to want to know how a foreign millionare lives, actually any millionare would spark interest. Especially since foreign millionares probably dare to show off their wealth in ways Finns would not due to old cultural reasons.
I don’t see the xenophobia in the headline. The article would be interesting to read, though, since I guess it might express some astonishment at a phenomenon that nowadays isn’t new or surprising.