Fair enough, Finns are known for being melancholic and depressed. We all know what the suicide rates look like, we are aware of the infamous school shootings as well as the incredibly high level of domestic violence. The promised land of metal music and people, who wander around the woods silently, and alone.
However, the standard of living in Finland is exceptionally high. Most people trust in the motherly care of the Nordic welfare state, and do not worry about the future. After all, as we say, being born in Finland is like winning the lottery. Politically, economically and socially we live in a better society than 99% of the world's population. In fact, our well-being is not threatened by anything.
Personally, I believe I belong to the minority of Finns who can claim to be truly happy.
However, an unexpected battle of minds more likely to be depressed, I definitely beat my Russian friend, who, let's face it, has a lot more reason to be depressed that myself.
This is how it happened.
Feel the cold hand of melancholy take over my poor soul.
First, we were talking about how we'd spent the holidays.
I told my friend that I had a lovely time in Helsinki, adding, that there were lots of Russian tourists around.
My friend told be he'd just read somewhere that the Russian tourists' holiday spending in Finland amounts to 40% of the state's budget.
Then, we were talking about our future plans.
I said I might want to work for the European Union.
My friend was confused why I would like to work in an institution that's about to collapse.
I explained to him the euro zone crisis doesn't necessarily mean a crisis for the Union's existence.
I told him I had faith in the European co-operation.
He was impressed by this and said, that in Russia the state is too busy giving out money to other regions in the world, neglecting its own citizens.
He said this to be a reminisce of the Soviet era.
Yes, I agreed, in Finland most people disapprove financing Greece after the series of economic blows.
After that we were talking a bit about the euro zone crisis.
I, determined to return to the original topic, asked my friend about his future plans.
He said he would perhaps like to work for the city administration, but that he had no chance of being employed without connections. Which he did not have.
We talked about the elections, but my friend said he does not really believe in political change because corruption would nevertheless remain the country's biggest issue.
He came to the conclusion that Russians are so thoroughly corrupted they are inevitably born that way.
He said as a child he was told they were the strongest and kindest nation in the world, but he could not understand how could such a great nation treat its subjects as slaves.
He said no-one foreign could understand their mentality.
He said he almost envied me for all the opportunities I had in life, not being chained to a pseudo-world superpower that did nothing for its people.
After that we talked about films and listened to some very melancholic music.
In my mind I didn't feel only incredibly heavy and hopeless, but also unbelievably ashamed of my own well-being. I felt sick thinking about my own mission to come as a young idealist to study Russia and understand its people. We were inevitably different, I concluded. Apart from the upcoming end of the world, the images of the third world war, various environmental catastrophes, the last judgement and the next big terrorist attack I was thinking about the poor Russian pensioners, students, the normal workers who had to slave away day after day, watching their country becoming worse every day, having to face the endless disappointments, betrayed by their leaders,
I was thinking about my friend and the hell he had to live in and I was so struck by melancholy I couldn't say anything for a long while.
I told my friend I was feeling a bit low.
He was surprised.
He did not realise I was upset, nor did he understand why I was upset.
He wanted to cheer me up and reminded me of all the good things in Finland: the social security network, the living standards, the free speech.
He said I should follow the Russians' example and, simply, not think about sad things.
He did not understand when I said I found talking about the problems of the Russian society highly enjoyable.
He apologised for having made me sad.
I said it was OK.
Having carefully studied the course of the conversation described above, I have come to the following conclusion:
1. Both Finns and Russians have a tendency for melancholy, worrying and depression.
2. Russians have far more reasons to be melancholic, worried and depressed.
3. However, the Russian melancholy can be overcome by irony, collectivisation or "just-like-that".
4. The Finnish melancholy is an extremely destructive force, impossible to control and can easily take over the individual's life completely.
5. Joking about Russian melancholy is possible and diminishes its power; joking about Finnish melancholy is impossible and it is the melancholy-born agony that drives people to horrible deeds (such as ending one's own or someone else's life)
+ For Russians, the lack of material well-being and the country's élite is blamed for the citizens melancholy
+ For Finns, melancholy appears as an invincible destructive force despite the material well-being and the wonderful democratic welfare state
