Citizenship and nationality in changing Europe: a comparative study of the aims of citizenship education in Russian and Finnish national education policy texts

The paper analyses how the formal aims of citizenship education, as declared in legislation and policy documents, have changed since the end of the 1980s in response to the transformation of the political scenery in Finland and the Russian Federation. One central question framing the analysis of Finnish citizenship education is whether nationally‐based citizenship is becoming obsolete because of Finland's latest involvement in the European integration process. In the Russian case, the aim is to investigate whether nationality has become more strongly linked to the Russian state since the breakdown of the Soviet empire. The study also examines whether nationality has acquired new meanings because of the political transformations of the last two decades in Finland and Russia. The study's findings illustrate that Finland is both forsaking the strong link between the state and the nation, and returning to the pre‐independence cultural concept of the nation. These changes allow Finland to move in the direction of a multi‐level conception of citizenship. Nevertheless, for Finland national citizenship remains the nucleus of other citizenship and identity layers. In contrast to the recent developments in Finland, the discourses of state integrity and national unity have become more prominent in Russia. Russia seeks to attach citizenship to the state‐wide national space by encouraging state patriotism and strengthening the position of the Russian language. Keywords: citizenship educationFinlandnationalitynation‐stateRussiasocial education Notes 1. I thank anonymous reviewers for drawing my attention to the fact that tension between the forces of nation‐building and globalization undoubtedly exists within every state. Thus, it is empirically impossible to divide states into two categories. However, states that have recently undergone considerable transformations of borders, national composition, and political regime are arguably keener to revive and hold on to the traditional role of the nation‐state than the so‐called stable or old states. New states can hardly escape the effects of globalization, but they often prioritize nation‐building. On the tension between nation‐building and globalization in Ukrainian and Russian citizenship education, see Janmaat and Piattoeva (Citation2007). 2. See e.g. Anderson (Citation2003) and Breully (Citation1993). 3. The Finnish word kansa could be translated as nation, people, or rabble. Citizenship is translated as kansalaisuus, nationality as kansallisuus, and nationhood as kansakunta. 4. Snellman drew from the writings of Hegel on Geist. However, he deviated from the original in linking the Spirit to the national being (Oittinen Citation2006: 14–15). Snellman emphasized the cultural aspect of nationhood as he argued that the history and essence of nations are culturally determined (Pulkkinen Citation1999: 128, Oittinen Citation2006: 17fn5). In this respect, Snellman's ideas come close to the philosophy of Herder. Interpreting the notion of Geist, Snellman argued that every nation, including Finns, has its own spirit or mentality, which is manifested in common values, beliefs, and traditions. The spirit of the nation could only be rightfully expressed in the national language. 5. That is, the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, the territorial predecessor of the modern Russian Federation. 6. The documents were collected through library and on‐line searches in 2003–2006. The time span for the Russian documents is 1990–2005 and the Finnish documents 1983–2006. In the Finnish case, the Basic School Act (1983) and the National Curriculum Guidelines (1985) were taken into consideration because they determined educational objectives into the 1990s. All documents analysed were adopted and disseminated by state authorities and thus reflect the intentions of the state regarding education and citizenship. Documents in Finnish and Russian have been translated by the author. 7. The same idea is expressed in the guide for international education published in 1988 (FNBE Citation1988). 8. The Russian adjectives russkii and rossiskii can only be rendered with the English word 'Russian'. This translation overlooks an important difference in connotation: russkii refers exclusively to Russian ethnicity, whereas rossiskii is a civic term related to the state‐wide level. I bore this important nuance in mind while examining and interpreting Russian educational documents. 9. A comprehensive analysis of the post‐Soviet educational reforms is offered by Webber (Citation2000). 10. These circulars are entitled 'On official rituals related to the use of the state symbols in comprehensive schools' (RME Citation2001) and 'About the organization of upbringing activities aimed at familiarization with and popularization of the history and meaning of official state symbols of the Russian Federation' (RME Citation2002b). 11. An earlier programme was valid during 2002–2005. 12. This confusion also proves that Russia is uncertain about its place in the world. See also Maier (Citation2005).