Visitors to Mariehamn, the capital of the Finnish archipelago of Åland in the Baltic Sea, will find a rather unusual sight when they walk down Storagatan, the arguably widest street in town. A white information board, centred on the verdant avenue, catches the attention of passers-by. Titled Ukrainaplatsen (Ukrainian Square), the board invites in Swedish, Finnish and English to join the daily demonstration in front of the Russian consulate at 5 pm.
Daily demonstrations against a war that has been going on for three and a half years? It seems like a relic of a distant past, set up by activists back in 2022, when Europe and the rest of the world were still in shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that many did not see coming.
Since then, things have changed: People have become resigned to the ongoing attacks on the civilians in Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin parties and politicians all across Europe manage to gather voters with anti-Ukrainian stances, and the number of expressions of solidarity calmed down – apparently there are hotter topics to worry about. Giving the information board a closer look, the surrounding decoration is fresh. Sunflowers have been tied to the tree right next to the sign, just above them hangs a blue and yellow coloured hand-knitted scarf. To the right is a flag pole displaying the Ukrainian flag, which faces the much higher placed Russian flag on the consulate’s soil.
The daily protests on Åland
Credits: Mandi Fast
Those with the time and curiosity to attend, will find out that the invitation keeps its promise of the ongoing demonstrations. Between 25 and 50 people meet in front of the Russian consulate in Mariehamn on a daily basis. Even more people attend on certain dates, like the yearning of the invasion or the Ukrainian National Day on 24 August, said organizer Mosse Wallen. The retired journalist is part of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland and an inhabitant of Åland for most of his life. Åland is officially a part of Finland, but gained autonomous rights in 1920 including its own parliament and its own flag. With its red and yellow Nordic cross on a blue background, the Åland flag can easily be mistaken for the similar-looking Icelandic flag. The archipelago is located in the Baltic Sea between Turku/Åbo (Finland) and Stockholm, and is home to around 30,000 people.
During his career, Wallen worked for Hufvudstadsbladet, the largest Swedish-speaking newspaper in Finland and for the financial paper Dagens Industri, based in Stockholm. As now a pensioner, he organizes his day around the demonstrations at 5pm at Ukrainaplatsen. Although Ukrainaplatsen is not the official name of the place of demonstration, Wallen and his allies managed to have the nearby bus stop renamed. “We at Ukrainaplatsen are probably the only group in the world to have demonstrated against the war every day since it began. Every day means every day; come rain or come shine, come Easter or Christmas,” Wallen proclaimed. “Today, the 22 July, was day 1.245 of the demonstrations.” The group at Ukrainaplatsen also counts the dogs, he said, and added that the four-legged group has its own name “Dogs against Putin”.
Credits: Mandi Fast
A decision felt by emotions
When asked what made him and his companions start the movement that lasts for far over 1,000 days now, Mosse Wallen answered, “anger. We were angry. I was angry that morning, when we heard that the occupation had started. I could not believe that this was happening in Europe today.”
The Russian consulate has not yet released an official statement concerning the protests. But Wallen met the consul alongside his wife on a bike ride back in 2022. He introduced himself as “Mosse Wallen, the one who is screaming every day outside your consulate” and demanded a justification. However, the matter was not resolved that day, but things also did not heat up. “They were polite, and I was polite”, described Wallen the interaction and added that he had not felt any anger at that moment.
But what if war comes to Åland?
With the start of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, Finland changed its foreign policies and joined the military North Atlantic Alliance NATO in 2023. Therefore, Åland is also part of the defensive pact. What looks like a sound accession at last, is in depth a complicated situation, as Åland holds his status as a demilitarized and neutralized region for centuries. In an actual Russian attack on NATO allies such as Finland, the archipelago would stay neutral. “We are demilitarized, and we are also neutral since 1921. That means if you bomb on Åland it is weighed like bombing a hospital”, said Wallen, aware of the repeated war crimes committed by the Russian army. Despite all this, the retired journalist views NATO as a protective shelter for Åland.
The future of the demonstrations
“We are not that organized. We don’t have a chairman of the board, we don’t even have a board”, explained Wallen the structure of the group. A problem concerning the activist is the lack of young people at the demonstrations – a phenomenon he himself has only little explanation for. However, just a small fraction of the Åland population is considered part of the young generation, with just 10.7% of the inhabitants being between 18 and 29 years old.
Yet, he and his allies do not lose motivation by the everyday news. “We are the only group in the world that has demonstrated every day since the war started. We have been noticed by the media all over the world, so we make a difference.”
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