Short for “ei voisi vähempää kiinnostaa” (written Finnish) “ei vois vähempää kiinnostaa” (spoken Finnish)
English equivalent: “I couldn’t care less”
Example of usage:
Tarja: “Deep Purple soittaa tänään Helsingissä.” (“Deep Purple are playing in Helsinki today.”)
Sanna: “EVVK.”

A versatile weapon in the linguistic armoury of every Finnish teenager, “EVVK” is among the most ubiquitous phrases in urban slang. While even more feared is the slightly longer equivalent (of which the meaning of the additional “v” can probably be guessed), the shorter form can still be used to devastating effect, in much the same way as “whatever” in American English.

The origin of the phrase has been attributed to Finnish peacekeepers stationed in the Middle East, who used it as a catch-all response to orders, a notably similar usage as that of Finnish teenagers today. It has also appeared as a song title by the delightfully named rock band Klamydia and as the name of a music video show on MTV3.

But the painful defeat and the loss of Finland initiated events that lead to the end of royal absolutism, gave Sweden a modern constitution and re-created the nation state and culture, something that to a large degree remains the same today.

King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden had entered the Napoleonic Wars in 1805 by attacking France. He hated Napoleon personally, who he believed to be Antichrist incarnated. Sweden was at first in coalition with Russia, but when they switched sides and formed an alliance with France Sweden refused to follow. The Russian Army thereby pointed their guns at Sweden and attacked in February 1808.

The Swedish army containing Finnish soldiers retreated as the war planned intended. The amount of Russian soldiers was overestimated and except a few successful clashes nothing was really done in order to stop the attacker.  In March the same year Denmark declared war and Sweden was now in a two front war with three armies, the Russian, the Danish and the French. The future of Sweden as a nation state was now at stake.

When the Swedish soldiers at fortress Sveaborg, for disputed reasons, surrendered, the possibility to defend the Finnish soil in practice disappeared.

The Finnish War however continued with Finnish farmers engaged in guerrilla warfare assisting the Swedish Army who gained some minor victories. But the war was in fact already over. Sweden was not able to send enough support troops and the Russian Army was superior both in numbers and experience.

On 17 September 1809 the peace agreement was signed where Sweden ceded Finland, Åland and parts of Västerbotten County. These territories then became Grand Duchy of Finland, what just about came to be the Republic of Finland of today.

One third of the kingdom was lost, public finances was in a havoc and the left over pride from Sweden’s old days as a northern superpower had finally vanished.
But Sweden as a nation state had survived, despite a three front war against the superpowers of those days. Sweden could just as well have been split between France and Russia.

This is the time when Sweden really becomes Sweden, a ‘modern’ nation state with a single majority language and ethnicity. The political and intellectual establishment becomes interested in the Swedish history and culture. Old Scandinavian myths, Vikings and peasant culture are picked up into the mainstream culture. A new form of political creed, nationalism, comes to light.

In the early 20th century design actively referred to the motifs and metaphors of nature.  During the 1950s and 1960s a reputation was established that is still valued and appreciated internationally and the beginning of the 21st century has introduced new currents in Finnish design.

Rapid technological progress has made possible things that could not even be dreamed about ten years ago.  Finland has become an international leader in technology, while the wilderness regions of Finland fascinate and attract growing numbers of tourists.

Design Forum Finland’s exhibition Re-interpreting Nature studies how Finnish design of the 2000s addresses interpretations of nature.  It presents the ways in which designers perceive the ever-changing world around them.  The dialogue of design and nature is changing.

The exhibition features one-off works of applied art along with products manufactured in series, technological innovations and new applications of traditional methods and materials.

The band´s latest album “Blooddrunk” skyrocketed to #22 on Billboard´s Top 200 chart, shifting nearly 20,000 units in its first week of sales. The Top 25 Billboard debut capped a string of exceptional worldwide charting positions for the band, highlighted by a #1 debut in its native Finland.

The Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that three patients were recovering from destroying angel poisoning at the Helsinki Surgical Hospital.

The crew said the hijackers, dressed in black clothes bearing the word “POLICIA,” boarded the Maltese-flagged freighter Arctic Sea after approaching in an inflatable speedboat, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office. Their statements corroborated a Swedish police report issued last month.

Four crewmembers remained on the Arctic Sea, owned by Helsinki-based Oy Solchart Management AB, while it was being towed to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone today, according to Natalya Timakova, Medvedev’s spokeswoman.

The Finnish vessel’s ordeal ended on Aug. 17, when a Russian navy ship intercepted the freighter about 300 nautical miles from the Cape Verde islands off west Africa. Its 25-day odyssey sparked a wave of international speculation about its fate, including a reported sighting at the Spanish port of San Sebastian and a possible second attack off Portugal. The freighter had been en route from Finland to Algeria.

The story is “day by day becoming clearer” and Russia is in the best position to make progress on the case since it has the suspects in custody, Superintendent Rabbe von Hertzen of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation said by telephone from Vantaa, Finland.

Many day care centers around the country are sending parents information about what to do if they suspect an A/H1N1 flu infection, while similar guidelines will be issued to school pupils and their parents when schools start in mid-August.

Parents and guardians are being told to look out for fever over 38 degrees, possibly accompanied by cough, runny nose, aches and vomiting. A child with such symptoms must be kept home and a parent should call a health center.

According to Helsinki City Epidemiologist Hannele Kotilainen, this is the first time these instructions being issued so widely for at least 10 years.

Guidelines on preventing the spread of the A/H1N1 virus are also available at other city agencies. It is also convenient for people to get similar materials through the internet in Finland.

Besides that, an outdoor campaign named “Stop Influenza”, which is organized by the Finnish Ministry for Social Affairs and Health and the National Institute for Health and Welfare, will be held in all major cities in Finland next Monday, introducing necessary information about A/H1N1 flu.

Despite being Finland’s prime holiday months, June and July nevertheless see a number of heated political debates.

According to the survey male MPs were more likely to neglect their webpages than their female colleagues. The most active updaters were to be found in the Greens and the Christian Democrats.

Blogs have also become increasingly common among Finnish MPs, around half of whom already have one.

The rock samples brought to Finland took lunar research a decisive step forward. Before the moon landings, very little was known about the lunar surface, and what was known was based on meteorites and photographs.   The world’s top experts were drafted into NASA’s research projects. In the Nordic countries, Professor Birger Wiik was the only scientist given access to samples brought back from the moon. His work was to determine the chemical composition of the rocks.

The arrival of the samples was a major media event. Wiik was originally promised 9 grammes of lunar rock for his research, but when he stepped off the plane after returning from the U.S., his briefcase contained no less than 26.6 grammes of the precious material.

Altogether, just under 400 kilos of geological samples were brought back to earth from the moon landings. Over the past 40 years, this material has provided a wealth of information. According to Research Director Keijo Nenonen of the Geological Survey of Finland, the most crucial has been about the birth of both the moon and the earth.

International study of the lunar rocks still continues. A research question of particular focus now is the possibility of life in space. The rocks are being carefully examined for signs of water and amino acids, the building blocks of life.  The conditions essential for life are also the focus of other research projects with Finnish participants.

The Geological Survey of Finland is working with NASA on studies of life under extreme conditions. The “Deep Life” project has taken the search for micro-organisms down to a depth of nearly three kilometres in core drillings at Outokumpu, as well as under the permafrost of the Canadian arctic.

Finns are currently engaged in drilling beneath Greenland’s continental ice sheet. There are some estimates that there may be more biomass within the earth’s bedrock than on its surface. The research is giving further impetus to the search for extraterrestrial life.

In Finland there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the joys of ice fishing on one of the thousands of lakes or along the frozen coastline.

Angling for pike and perch is common throughout the country, but whitefish and burbot are also popular catches – although the simple act of ice fishing can be an enjoyable activity for its own sake on a sunny afternoon between February and April.

Dress warm, pack enough supplies and get yourself an ice drill, an ice-angling rod-and-reel and a stool. If this is your first winter fishing outing, ask the veterans for advice on drilling the fishing hole and angling. And even if you don’t come home with enough ingredients for an evening stew, relaxation and a nice ice tan may still be your reward.