ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the symbolic meanings and images of the Saimaa canal produced by Soviet media. It is based on the materials of Soviet periodicals, articles published by officials and journalists in central and local newspapers, as well as films devoted to the canal to illustrate ways of representation and meaning attributed to the canal in the USSR. The essay argues that in the 1960s, the canal gained a specific meaning in the Cold War and was used to explain the post-war foreign policy of the Soviet Union.