Bilden av den ryska björnen

During the 70´s the Soviet Union had a strong political influence on its neighbouring country Finland. Finland was cautious not to upset the Soviet which could be seen in Finland´s politics and their efforts not to side with either east or west. Leaders in Finland could not sentence newspaper publishers for writing things that could damage the Soviet-Finnish relatons, but they could exercise influence in other ways – talking to the publisher informally, and urging them not to write about sensitive topics for example. The effect that the Soviet Union had on Finland during this time has later been formed as a theory, and it describes how strong countries can coerce weaker countries to do as they want.