Times of Hermeneutical Injustice: Memory Struggle in the Public Discussion around the Attack on the Elias Lönnrot Monument

The chapter analyzes the media discussion following the attack on Elias Lönnrot’s (1802–1884) statue in Helsinki in 2024 by Karelian activists as an example of memory activism. By exploring the negotiations surrounding temporality in the media discussion, the aim is to provide perspectives on the dynamics between the collective memorability of minorities, their histories, and social justice. The chapter conceptualizes these dynamics through the notion of hermeneutical injustice. It suggests that rather than being a matter of contemporary debate about the legacies of the past, national memory culture, or minority rights in the present, in media discussion the activists’ critique was primarily framed as a matter of historical fact. When approached as a contemporary issue, the critique was in many cases associated to current Russian memory politics and related hybrid operations. In other words, there was a tendency to perceive the critique as a tool for unsettling national unity in Finland and as an external threat to national security. Consequently, discussions about historical injustices or mnemonic biases related to Karelians in Finnish society were avoided. The chapter suggests that this reaction reflects a tendency toward mnemonic conformity within Finnish society regarding certain nationally significant historical events. Moreover, it is suggested that such mnemonic conformity can enforce hermeneutical injustice and negatively affect transnational minorities and democracy more broadly.