Ruovesi Harbour, Finland. View from Haapasaari. Photo: Tiia Monto / Wikipedia Commons
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Dozens of individuals connected to neo-Nazi groups were inadvertently identified after signing political support cards for the Sinimusta liike party during a secretive far-right event in Ruovesi in June 2024.
The White Boy Summer Fest, reported by Bellingcat in 2023, took place between 14–15 June at a campsite owned by Ruovesi municipality. At the same time, activists from Sinimusta liike collected support signatures in the area for the party’s registration effort. The dates and locations of these signatures coincide with the event, strongly suggesting that attendees of the festival signed the forms.
Several names on the cards match individuals previously convicted for neo-Nazi activities. This includes the central members of the Kankaanpää group, who received conditional prison sentences of one year and four months in December. The verdicts are not final.
Among the signatories are also known members of international neo-Nazi organisations Blood & Honour and Hammerskins, as well as former affiliates of the banned Nordic Resistance Movement. The presence of these individuals on the support forms suggests continued overlap between Sinimusta liike and extremist circles.
The party gathered approximately 5,800 signatures during this round of registration. While a large portion of the support base appears to come from individuals with less radical backgrounds—including former members of the Finns Party and some with ties to other mainstream parties—a significant share of the signatures from Ruovesi originate from identifiable far-right extremists.
One of the support cards, dated 15 June and signed in Ruovesi, has been independently verified by journalists. The form does not state the location of the event directly but aligns with the timing and venue of the White Boy Summer Fest.
Sinimusta liike was first registered as a political party in Finland several years ago but was removed from the register after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that it had added discriminatory and illegal content to its programme after approval. In May 2024, the party managed to re-enter the registry following a revised application.
Tuukka Kuru, chair of Sinimusta liike, confirmed to Yle in May that the party adjusted its programme in response to the court’s decision. Kuru acknowledged changes in wording but insisted that the party maintained its stance against immigration.
According to investigators and civil society observers, the data collected through the support campaign has inadvertently revealed links between the party’s re-registration efforts and the wider far-right movement in Finland and abroad.
The use of Ruovesi’s municipal campsite for the White Boy Summer Fest event had previously gone unpublicised. Bellingcat’s report last year placed the gathering at Tuuhonen campsite, a green wooden complex located by a lake. No public announcements or permits for the event were issued at the time.
Municipal authorities in Ruovesi have not commented on the matter. There is no indication that local officials were aware of the festival’s contents or participants prior to the exposure.
The combination of political campaigning and the parallel gathering of known extremists has raised further questions about the operational tactics of the Sinimusta liike and the extent of its connections to banned or foreign neo-Nazi organisations.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
