Objective The last five years of Soviet rule marked by perestroika and glasnost enabled Estonians not only to communicate their dissent but also to build relationships with people on the other side of the Iron curtain. One of the first types of contacts to start popping up were those with neighboring Finns. Spontaneous unofficial person-to-person networks sprung into action delivering clothes, medicine, technology, toys and food to Estonia. This gave Estonians a “taste of freedom”: It not only helped to kindle the fire of pro-independence movements but also provided a great starting position for the budding country and might account for some of the surprising success it has had during subsequent decades, especially when compared with other post-Soviet states.Finnish humanitarian aid to Estonians during the re-independence era is among some of the most basic narratives in Estonia, but there is hardly anything researched or written about it. More than thirty years have passed since the first contact was made and some of the women and men in the front lines of this “diplomacy of the people” have begun to fade away, leaving this gap in historiography in a very perilous position, which requires urgent attention.My mixed-methods research will encompass oral history, anthropological fieldwork, archival research and quantitative analysis to unearth this untold story in order to understand the role of spontaneous humanitarian aid from Finns to Estonians had in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The results of this international and multidisciplinary project will have the discursive power to create a reinterpretation of European Cold War history by bringing out hidden, silenced or under-researched networks and relationships between citizens on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The results may have a wider societal impact by providing good practices and learned lessons relevant for meeting the EU goals of cohesive development within the EU and its neighbouring regions in peace and war. Fields of science natural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistryquantitative analysishumanitiesother humanitieslibrary sciencesnatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysishumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorycontemporary history Keywords Cold War Soviet post-Soviet Finland Estonia Baltic Sea Region social networks humanitarian aid personal relationships oral history anthropological fieldwork gender Programme(s) HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme Topic(s) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 Call for proposal HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships Coordinator JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO Net EU contribution € 215 534,40 Address Seminaarinkatu 15 40100 Jyvaskyla Finland See on map Region Manner-Suomi Länsi-Suomi Keski-Suomi Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window EU contribution No data Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Finnish Literature Society FILI Finland Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Ritarikatu 1 00171 Helsinki See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Manner-Suomi Helsinki-Uusimaa Helsinki-Uusimaa Activity type Other Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding No data
