Rate My Professor Tomi Huttunen

Tomi Huttunen is Professor of Russian Literature and Culture in the Department of Languages at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Humanities. He earned his Master of Arts in 1997, Licentiate in 1999, and PhD in 2007, all in Russian language and literature from the University of Helsinki, where he was admitted to study in 1992. His doctoral studies from 1997 to 2002 were at the Alexanteri Institute and the University of Helsinki. Huttunen served as editor of the journal Idäntutkimus from 2002 to 2012 and coordinator of an Academy of Finland research project on St. Petersburg/Leningrad from 2003 to 2007. He held positions as postdoctoral researcher from 2008 to 2010, acting lecturer from 2011 to 2012, acting professor of Russian literature from 2012 to 2014, docent in Russian literature and culture from 2010, and full professor since 2014, all at the University of Helsinki. He has supervised doctoral students in the Doctoral Programme in Language Studies and taught at institutions including the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Smolny College at St. Petersburg State University, and Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

Huttunen's research focuses on Russian avant-garde literature, Imaginism including Anatoly Marienhof, montage in Russian culture through cultural semiotics, Russian post-modernism such as Lev Rubinstein, and Russian rock music and poetry. He has led projects like Autogenetic Russian Avantgarde funded by the Kone Foundation from 2013 to 2015 and Mötet mellan den ryska och den finlandssvenska modernismen funded by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland from 2015 to 2017. Key publications include editing Henkinen muuri: Suomalaisvenäläiset kirjallisuussuhteet 1800-1930 in 2024, contributions to it on Finnish-Russian literary relations, and earlier works such as Witnessing Change in Contemporary Russia in 2010. He has edited journals including Idäntutkimus, served on editorial boards for Slovo, Slavica Helsingiensia, and Another Hemisphere, and guest-edited a special issue of Sign Systems Studies. Awards include the University of Helsinki Alumni Association student prize in 1996, Finnis Slavists Society MA Thesis Award in 1997, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters PhD prize for young scholars in 2008, and National Library of Finland Reader of the Year in 2014. Huttunen holds memberships in Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia since 2021, Viipurin Suomalainen Kirjallisuusseura since 2022, chairs the Valtiopäivätoiminnan 150. merkkivuoden juhlarahasto since 2024, and serves on the board of the Finnish National Library since 2007. With 194 research outputs, he promotes Finnish-Russian cultural exchanges through forums, book fairs, and invitations of Russian authors and artists.