Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1870-1956) was elected president of Finland in 1946 after serving as the country’s second Prime Minister and as Chairman of the Senate of Finland. He was the seventh President and served until his passing in 1956. According to articles, he is remembered as a main architect of Finland’s foreign policy after the Second World War.
I found the monument just outside the Kampin metroasema in the large plaza.
The monument comprises two black granite stones and a pedestal in which Paasikivi’s famous utterance “Acknowledging the truth is the beginning of wisdom” (“Tosiasioiden tunnustaminen on viisauden alku”) has been inscribed. The sculpture’s height is 5.5 metres and it weighs 40,000 kilos. “East and West” derives its aesthetic force from the massive stones which have been polished and shaped to give an appearance of lightness.
[Review 10056 overall, 1641 of 2018.]
Link: Juho Kusti Paasikivi Monument, Helsinki, FI (11-22-2018)
