Western power from the Eastern neighbour
Keywords:
Fennovoiman ydinvoimalahanke, diskurssianalyysi, ydinvoimalat, ydinvoimaAbstract
This article examines public discourse on Russia and Russian culture presented in connection with the
Fennovoima nuclear power plant project. The data consists of journalists’ stories and opinion articles
published in the national newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the regional Kaleva and the local Raahen Seutu
during 2007–2013. The method used is critical discourse analysis. At the beginning of the project
Fennovoima invested heavily in setting up the NPP in northern Finland, close to its major shareholders and
major energy consumers, i.e. the northern steel companies, Outokumpu and Rautaruukki. The aim was to
build a Western nuclear power plant, while Russian nuclear energy was mainly discussed in terms of energy
dependence and obsolete nuclear technology. When the Russian Rosatom became a shareholder and
supplier of the plant, the discussion partly turned to highlighting Russian experience in the field. Part of the
discussion came to weigh up the cultural and political differences between Russia and Finland in a negative
tone through themes of neighbourhood and the Russian empire. The Finnish nuclear regulatory supervision
was seen as a positive identification point throughout the data. These results are interpreted first in the
light of European conceptions of Russia and secondly by examining technology as a representation of
nationalism.
