Risto Ryti and War-responsibility trial Interview with Prof Dr Marja Jalava
In the 16th episode of the interviews with „The Aggressor Project“ senior scholars, Prof Jalava talks about differing attitudes towards the former President of the Republic of Finland Risto Ryt, both i in Finland and abroad. Having led the country during the war against the Soviet Union on the side of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, Ryti and some members of his government were sentenced to prison in the very first war-responsibility trial after the Second World War. Jalava explains why the trial ushered in the notion of Ryti‘s martyrdom among Finns and how the collapse of the Soviet Union influenced memories of him on both sides of the border. She pleads for a nuanced view of small states‘s geopolitical situation and their leaders‘ decisions vis-à-vis hegemons, acknowledging the responsibility of all actors involved.