FINLAND-RUSSIA-MUSEUM-HISTORY

Visitors stand next to a statue of the founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin is seen inside the new museum "Nootti" (Finnish for "diplomatic note"), on February 15, 2025 in Tampere, Finland. Finland has opened a museum called "Nootti" depicting how ties with its eastern neighbour Russia have gone from frosty to friendly and back, revamping what was until now western Europe's last Lenin Museum. The state-funded Finnish Lenin Museum in Tampere, a city 180 kilometres (112 miles) north of Helsinki, was among the very last of a handful of museums dedicated to former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin that were established across Europe in the 20th century. It was also a venue for diplomatic meetings between Finnish and Russian political leaders and several Soviet leaders visited it during during the Cold War. (Photo by Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP) (Photo by ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO/AFP via Getty Images)