Dagens Nyheter, one of Sweden’s largest dailies, has found itself in hot water after Twitter branded the cover of its weekend supplement as “offensive content".
The cover features a picture of Laura Swaan Wrede - the head of the Swedish Home Guard, who was interviewed by the paper - and it is accompanied by a quotation where she recounts that her grandmother used to say: "A Russian stays a Russian even if you fry him in butter."
This expression sparked outrage on Twitter, where many said that Swaan Wrede would have faced dismal consequences had the quotation been about some other group than Russians. Some pointed out that “roasting humans in a pan” amounted to cannibalism.
"In Toyland, you can be as stupid as you want and still become boss, apparently," one user said.
"I don't think the equivalent would go down well if it were said about a Jew, Roma or Arab," another one suggested.
Screengrab from Twitter
© Photo
"Replace 'Russian' with 'Jew' and see what happens," another one concurred.
Screengrab from Twitter
© Photo
Others urged the newspaper to replace "Russians" with "Somalis" in the phrase to appreciate the effect fully.
"Prejudiced from her mother's milk, apparently. When it comes to Russians, it is okay to spew bile," yet another one fumed.
Screengrab from Twitter
© Photo
"The fact that hatred against Russians was widespread even before Ukraine is known. But no boss should say something like that," yet another one said.
Others, however, appeared to be in total agreement with Swaan Wrede, praising her for her "competence" and "guts".
Russophobia goes back a long way in Sweden, with rulers such as Gustav Vasa - Sweden’s King between 1523 and 1560 - stirring up anti-Russian sentiments to wage wars against the "inherited nemesis". Over the centuries, Sweden has fought more than 30 wars against Russia, often over control of the Gulf of Finland and surrounding territories. Although both sides gained and lost territory initially, Russia has emerged a clear victor from the Great Northern War (1700 to 1721) onwards, putting an end to Sweden’s aspirations to supremacy once and for all. The string of military losses left a deep mark on the Swedish psyche and the language, spawning not one but two words for Russophobia: "rysskräck" (fear of Russians) and "rysshat" (hatred of Russians). Both are part of everyday speech and encapsulate Swedes’ distrust of Russia and fear of the military threat it supposedly poses.
In modern-day Sweden, there is a law against "hatred against ethnic groups", which, in practice, is most often used against critics of the country’s immigration policy.
Although negative stereotypes and unfounded allegations against Russia and Russians have been used in Swedish politics for various purposes, it is nevertheless remarkable to see such blunt remarks from a chief of the Home Guard, a military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces, comprising half its army and constituting the basis of Sweden's territorial defense.