Finns ban poetry reading in Russia

TALLINN - The Finnishconsulate-general in St. Petersburg has said no tothe attendance of Sofi Oksanen, a Finnish writer of Estonian background, to a poetry evening in St. Petersburg.

The consulate-general's reasoning was that her new novel iscritical of the Soviet Union, the Finnishdaily paper Helsingin Sanomatreported.

Jukka Mallinen, chairman of the Finnish PEN poetry club,said the consulate-general in St. Petersburginformed him on Monday that they did not want to see Oksanen at the evening asher presence could irritate Russia.

Oksanen should have taken part in the Finnish-Russianpoetry evening in Russiaclaims PEN.

The biggest supporter of the event is the Finnishconsulate-general in St. Petersburg.Mallinen said that Oksanen was crossed out from the list of participants at therequest of the financier.

Leena Liski, a consul at the Finnish consulate-general in St. Petersburg, told Helsingin Sanomat that Sofi Oksanenwas not a poet and the St. Petersburgpoetry evening was intended for poets.

Liski said the consulate had not yet received an officiallist of the performers, and talks over the participants were still underway.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry didn't wish to comment on theissue.

In Oksanen's opinion she was crossed out from the list ofperformers because of poor relations between Estonia and Russia, as she had been publicly outspoken aboutlife in Estoniaduring the Soviet period.

Oksanen pointed out that in Mallinen's opinion she wassuited to present poetry in prose at the poetry evening in St. Petersburg.

The writer said she had never had met similar obstaclesbefore.

"Does this mean that this is the new Finnish foreignpolicy line?" Oksanen asked.

Sofi Oksanen's new novel, Purification, treats life in Estonia critically during the Soviet period.