Jukka Mallinen

Jukka Mallinen (born 3 June 1950 Lahti) is a Finnish author, poet, translator and interpreter.

Mallinen studied literature at the Moscow State University during 1972–78. He wrote his master's thesis on Mikhail Bulgakov’s work The Master and Margarita. During 1979–1989 he worked for Finnish businesses involved in trade with the Soviet Union, e.g. for Kone. During 1993–1995 he was the head of The Finnish Institute in St. Petersburg. Since 1998 he has worked as an independent translator, translating Russian literature, both prose and poetry. During 2006–2009 he acted as the president of the Finnish branch of PEN International.

Mallinen has written on his views on Russia in his first book entitled Varastettua ilmaa (‘stolen air’, 2008). He is worried about the current state of affairs in Russia. He compares Vladimir Putin to Ivan the Terrible, and he sees parallels between Russia and Nazi Germany. The Russian regime wants to squash the civil rights. The regime represents "neo-barbarism", with a cult of power, hierarchical organization and the lack of rule of law. The nationalism promoted by the dominant culture wants to stifle multiculturalism, and it leads to stagnation and fossilization of culture. The Eastern Orthodox Church has allied itself with militarism and the current regime, and the nationalism is mixed with patriotism, racism and xenophobia.

According to Mallinen, racist views are the mainstream in Russia. He says that the Russian mainstream represents Huntingtonian cultural racism, which does not classify people according to their colour of skin, but according to their values. The Finnish critics of Islam, such as represented by Timo Vihavainen and Jussi Halla-aho, have imported their ideas from Russia.

According to Mallinen, in Russian history, Finno-Ugric peoples have been silenced.

Mallinen as the head of Finnish PEN During 2006–2009 Mallinen served as the president of the Finnish PEN. He raised the profile of PEN by his active engagement in cultural discussion, and he commented e. g. on Russian affairs and on the Commonwealth of Independent States.

During Mallinen's presidency, there were some controversies concerning Russia within the Finnish PEN. He was criticized by vice president Rita Dahl, and also the board of trustees were divided. Dahl said Mallinen was a publicity seeker, and she accused him of curbing free speech and of "neo-Finlandization.

Mallinen said he was being persecuted by the newspaper Tiedonantaja, that he was the spitting bowl of Putinists and that authoritarian and dictatorial elements were trying to infiltrate the Finnish PEN.

Works