A Word for Collective Bravery
Sisu • noun • (see-soo)
Definition: a stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience and hardiness
Origin: Finnish
To help sustain and grow The Word with Barrett Holmes Pitner we have introduced a subscription option to the newsletter. Subscribers will allow us to continue producing The Word, and create exciting new content including podcasts and new newsletters.
Subscriptions start at $5 a month, and if you would like to give more you can sign up as a Founding Member and name your price.
We really enjoy bringing you The Word each week and we thank you for supporting our work.
My book THE CRIME WITHOUT A NAME was released on October 12, 2021 and NPR has picked it as one of the top books of the year!
You can order the book—including the audiobook—and watch recordings of my book tour discussions at Eaton and the New York Public Library at thecrimewithoutaname.com.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine not only continues but grows more destructive by the day, it is essential that we understand Putin’s deadly campaign as an ethnocidal war.
Putin has justified his invasion based on the false theory that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people do not have a culture and are merely a derivative or subgroup of Russian culture. He disregards Ukrainian sovereignty because he believes that Ukraine exists as an extension of Russia absent of its own culture. Putin’s insane justification for war amounts to a psychological erasure of Ukrainian culture and he has used deadly force to erase Ukrainian culture so that his ethnocidal worldview becomes reality.
It is imperative that we understand the Ukraine-Russia crisis through the lens of culture and not just statehood and national borders because a strong cultural connection empowers people to fight to preserve their culture.
The United States, NATO, and other European nations have come together to help Ukraine defend itself, but the collective determination of the Ukrainian people to defend their culture and their home has been arguably the biggest factor in withstanding the Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to leave the country and according to The Times of London, he has survived at least three assassination attempts. Ukrainian civilians are joining the resistance movement and have defended their cities against the Russian army. When they’re interviewed about their willingness to fight to the death to protect Ukraine, they speak about their connection to the land and culture that has cultivated Ukraine. The yellow and blue in Ukraine’s national flag represent the country’s abundance of sunflowers and Ukraine’s clear blue sky. The national flag is a symbol of their land and how it shapes and defines their culture and national identity.
Preserving their culture has given Ukrainians the will to fight against Russia’s ethnocidal war. These are culturally defining moments, and I would not be surprised if a new Ukrainian word soon emerges to define and preserve their collective will to fight Russia and preserve their culture.
This week’s word is not Ukrainian, but it is a word that a European culture has used to both describe their collective strength in the face of a Russian invasion and their capacity to defeat the Russians. It is a word that all of us need right now.
Finland’s National Identity
Geographically, Finland is about the size of New Mexico with a population of roughly 5.5 million people, which is a little larger than the population of South Carolina. Finland would be the United States’ fifth-largest state with the 23rd largest population and probably 10 congressmen (two senators and eight members of the house of Representatives).
This relatively small country also shares an 800-mile border with Russia. The size of this border far exceeds Finland’s borders with Norway and Sweden. Finland’s geographical connection to Russia and the ever-present threat posed by Russia has also shaped the culture and character of the Finnish people, and this is where the word sisu comes into play.
Sisu is a uniquely Finnish word without a clear translation in other languages. It is obvious how the harshness of Finland’s cold climate has helped to cultivate the word, but the threat of Russian invasion has also shaped it.
To survive in a cold climate you need determination, resilience, grit, and hardiness. When the weather is cold and unforgiving, you must venture into it in order to survive, inevitably leading you to become resilient, determined, and tough.
The fact that Fins could not change their weather cultivated a stoic relationship with their environment where they needed to accept and live with its harshness. Everyone must venture into the tough climate to live their lives, so there is no point in complaining about the weather. The environment and their attachment to place cultivated this disposition. If everyone commits themselves to collectively surviving in the specific place that is Finland, then it is imperative that the Finnish people create a word to articulate this way of life. Sisu is the word that Fins use to articulate this uniquely Finnish culture and philosophy.
Sisu is often expressed as the word that describes Finnish character, and it manifests in every aspect of Finnish life. As with any cultural trait, it is neither good nor bad in a moral sense but it is good in a sustainable sense because it helps the Finnish people survive and live peacefully.
However, Finnish life is not defined solely by the weather but also the threat posed by their largest neighbor. Finland and Russia have fought each other numerous times, but the Winter War of 1939-40 is the most analogous to today’s Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Finland’s ability to withstand and prevail against persistent threats and invasions by Russia has also been attributed to sisu.
Sisu, the Winter War, and Ukraine
On November 30, 1939, three months after the start of World War II, the USSR invaded Finland. At the time, the USSR attempted to justify the invasion after Finland refused to cede substantial border territories that the USSR claimed that it needed in order to protect Saint Petersburg (then called Leningrad), which is 20 miles from the Finnish border. After Finland refused to give their land to the USSR in exchange for other lands, the Russians invaded Finland.
Following the USSR’s invasion of Finland, the League of Nations expelled the USSR from the organization.
Additionally, despite the USSR’s claims to only want the land it deemed necessary to protect Leningrad, it is understood that the USSR’s true intentions were to conquer the entire country and establish a puppet Finnish Communist government.
Thus far, the parallels to today’s crisis and the Winter War are alarmingly similar.
Ukraine’s largest border is shared with Russia, and the impetus of this war was Russia’s claim to Ukrainian land, specifically Crimea and the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Since 2014, Russia has annexed Crimea and engaged in a war over the Donbas. Ukraine’s refusal to submit to Russia and allow it to take Ukrainian land is what Russia has used as a justification for invading Ukraine.
From the onset, Russia claimed to only want these eastern regions and Crimea, but once the invasion started, it became apparent that Russia wanted to conquer the entire nation. Not only does Russia want to conquer the entire country, but rumors have begun circulating that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to install a puppet government in Ukraine led by Viktor Yanukovych.
Honestly, I could talk about Yanukovych for days, and I even have a chapter in my book largely dedicated to this vulgar, poshlyi man who is despised by Ukrainians. To make a long story short, in the span of 10 years, Yanukovych has caused two nationwide protests (the Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014) in Ukraine against him, with the latter resulting in him fleeing the country in 2014 for Russia. Since 2014, he’s lived an anonymous life in Russia amongst Putin’s oligarchs and he is legally barred from returning to Ukraine. Returning as Putin’s puppet would certainly provoke a third revolution.
Logistically, conquering Ukraine should be much harder than conquering Finland since the country is the size of Texas and with a population greater than California, but as Finland demonstrates, the spirit, Geist, and culture of the people may be the defining factor in ensuring victory.
The Winter War ended on March 13, 1940, so the entire war lasted three and a half months. During that time, the strength of the Finnish people decimated Soviet morale and made the USSR look weak in the world’s eyes. The war ended when Finland and the USSR agreed to the Moscow Peace Treaty that resulted in Finland giving some of its land to Russia.
Who knows how the present Ukraine-Russia crisis will end, but a peace treaty where parts of Crimea and/or the Donbas region become a part of Russia is not far-fetched.
Intriguingly, the Winter War took place during World War II and the weakness of the Soviet Army also encouraged Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers to attack the USSR. Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa aspired to not only conquer Soviet land, but also implement Lebensraum: Hitler’s genocidal campaign to exterminate Slavic people and Jews so that German people could have more “room to live” in eastern Europe.
The Nazis felt empowered to invade the USSR due to the USSR’s invasion of Finland, and now Putin is attempting to justify his invasion of Ukraine by claiming to denazify Ukraine.
Last week’s word, propaganda, described how Putin is utilizing soulless words to justify destroying a country, and sisu makes it abundantly clear that soulful, communal, and cultural words can withstand and defeat an ethnocidal war.
I do not know the uniquely Ukrainian word that can both describe their culture and their capacity to defeat the Russians, but sisu lets us know that this word can exist and can help cultivate peace.
Excellent commentary. Sisu