re not subject-matter experts, overruled their female subordinates—women who had organized the conference, were experts in their field and knew exactly who they were inviting and why. These men also thought it appropriate to censor a female speaker whose expertise had earned her an international reputation. The fact that three out of the four women affected were Jewish, and all were of Eastern European background, only worsened the optics.
The article's worth reading also for shedding light on the unique situation of Finland – of the West, yet so close to the USSR. Compromises were made, not least on the promotion of the Soviet position that equated Zionism with Nazism. As Tabarovsky notes, "One of my Finnish contacts may have been right when she told me that Finland has yet to fully come to terms with that past."
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