Russian studies scholar recalls late news anchor Arvi Lind as childhood neighbor and mentor

Finnish broadcaster Yle’s longtime news anchor Arvi Lind left a lasting impression on Rinna Kullaa, now an associate professor of global history at Tampere University, who grew up as his neighbor in 1980s Helsinki.

Kullaa, then aged four to fourteen, lived beside Lind in eastern Helsinki’s Vuosaari district for nearly a decade, recalling how the already well-known television figure would occasionally signal to her during broadcasts. “Sometimes he’d say, ‘I’ll wink at you on TV today,’” she told Yle.

Beyond the playful gestures, Kullaa credits Lind with shaping her early exposure to culture and social grace. “Through him, I encountered the world of refinement,” she said, describing his manner as an embodiment of “the intelligence of closeness”—a blend of civility and warmth she later struggled to explain to younger generations. His influence extended to her academic path; Lind’s interest in Russian language and culture aligned with her eventual specialization in Russian and Eastern European studies.

After moving to the U.S. at 18 to study, Kullaa crossed paths with Lind just once more—years later in a grocery store. “He joked, ‘Long time no see,’” she recalled. “I think he was proud I’d gone abroad so young.”

News of Lind’s death on Sunday prompted Kullaa to adjust her schedule, arriving early to Yle’s morning broadcast in Pasila to process the loss. “I came twenty minutes ahead—maybe to meet these thoughts gradually, not all at once,” she said.

Kullaa, who frequently comments on Russia’s war in Ukraine for Yle and serves as a visiting professor at Kyiv University, called Lind’s passing “profoundly sad.” Yle Radio Suomi will air a two-hour tribute to Lind on Monday from 16:00 to 18:00, hosted by Paavo Häikiö with contributions from Eva Polttila, Matti Rönkä, and Petri Jauhiainen.