Ecofascism in Finland: Sinimusta Liike (Blue and Black Movement)
Hello, Insight Monitor subscribers, and welcome to another edition of our series on ecofascism movements. Today, we’re looking at the Blue and Black Movement in Finland (Sinimusta Liike). This is youth-oriented group and de-registered political party. They propose white nationalism as a solution to environmental preservation - likening immigrant populations to invasive species harmful to Finland’s natural ecosystem - and plan to protect Finland’s natural resources through fascist state governance.1 They have been described by academics as employing Ecofascism in their political platform and are considered an Ecofascist group by environmentalists.2 We hope you find this article insightful, and please share it with a friend to help us grow our community!
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Origins and Operations
The Blue and Black Movement was formed from young members of the far-right Finns Party, some of whom were disillusioned with the Party’s lack of open support of white nationalism.3 The party took its name from the youth wing of the fascist federal party Isänmaallinen kansanliike (Patriotic People's Movement), which operated in the 1930s.
The Blue and Black Movement’s first two applications to become a registered federal political party were rejected by Finland’s Ministry of Justice over concerns that the group’s programme did not respect constitutional law and universal human rights. This rejection led them them to tone down their official programme.
In April 2021, Finland’s national chapter of Extinction Rebellion published an English-language essay warning environmentalists about the Blue and Black Movement, calling the group “explicitly ecofascist” and saying that:
“it would be too easy to fool ourselves believing that their (Blue and Black’s) ecology is sincere and not merely a fig leaf or vehicle for more sinister aims.”
After adjusting their platform, the Blue and Black Movement was accepted as a political party in 2022 and ran in Finland’s 2023 parliamentary election, garnering approximately 0.1% of votes. They were subsequently de-registered in 2023 after it was determined they reverted back to their original party programme after registration, and remain de-registered due a lack of sufficient support. Chairperson Tuukka Kuru was convicted of incitement of hatred and fined €1,280 ($1,400) over antisemitic social media comments in June of 2023. The party has attempted to register again as a federal party and remains active under Kuru’s leadership.
Raising Funds
The Blue and Black Movement requires membership fees for all official members, which must be submitted along with membership applications. The initial cost to join is €30 ($32.26), but the group’s membership application form does not specify how frequently members must pay after their initial application.
The Blue and Black Movement sells official merchandise on their website, with items ranging in price from €5.90 ($6.34) to €29.90 ($31.18). Their only merchandise store uses Woocommerce, an open-source Ecommerce plugin for the Wordpress platform. Woocommerce is commonly used by far-right groups to sell merchandise.
The Blue and Black Movement reported €5 497,24 ($6,006.42) in official party donations during the 2023 parliamentary election cycle. As a minor political party, the Blue and Black Movement was not subjected to strict public financial disclosures during their time as a registered political party.4
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Using Funds
According to the National Audit Office of Finland, the Blue and Black Movement spent €964,919 ($1,037,669) in the 2023 parliamentary election. Since the party has been deregistered as an official political party, their recent spending activities are not the subject of public reporting.