''Flamman'' (meaning ''The Flame'' in English), also known as ''Norrskensflamman'' (meaning ''The Flame of the Aurora Borealis'' in English), is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

weekly newspaper.

History and profile

''Flamman'' was founded in 1906 by the workers in

Malmfälten Malmfälten () is a major mining district in Sweden, centred on the northern towns of Kiruna and Malmberget. See also

*LKAB *Bergslagen *Boliden *Iron Range in Minnesota Geography of Norrbotten County Industry in the Arctic {{Norrbotten-g ...

and was the regional newspaper of the

Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( sv, Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti ; S/SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( sv, link=no, Socialdemokraterna ), is a social-de ...

. The circulation of the paper reached its peak in the 1920s, with 11,000 daily copies. After the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

was divided in 1917, the newspaper became a regional organ of the

Swedish Social Democratic Left Party The Left Party ( sv, Vänsterpartiet ; V) is a socialist political party in Sweden. On economic issues, the party opposes privatizations and advocates increased public expenditure. In foreign policy, the party is Eurosceptic, being opposed to th ...

(SSV) in

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

, and later the Swedish Communist Party (SKP). When the Communist Party split in 1977, the newspaper became the voice for the Workers Party - The Communists (APK). In 1989, it changed from being a daily to a weekly newspaper. In 1990, the newspaper broke with APK and became an independent socialist weekly. The paper was originally named ''Norrskensflamman'' (''The Flame of Northern Lights''), before a change of name in 1998. ''Flamman'' is based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and Emil Persson is among its editors. The current editor Leonidas Aretakis was appointed in 2021.

The 1940 arson attack

On the night of 3 March 1940, an arson attack was made against the offices of ''Norrskensflamman'' in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

. The attack was the biggest political attack during the 1900s and considered a terrorist attack. Five persons were killed, including two children, and another five persons were injured. The newspaper's offices were completely destroyed. It was carried out by Ebbe Hallberg, Uno Svanbom, a military captain, three other officers, as well as Gunnar Hedenström, a journalist from the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

newspaper, ''

Norrbottens-Kuriren ''Norrbottens-Kuriren'' (simply ''NK'') is a daily regional conservative newspaper published in Norrbotten County, Sweden, and has its main office in Luleå. History and profile ''Norrbottens-Kuriren'' was founded in 1861, and therefore is the o ...

''. The attack was planned in the offices of ''Norrbottens-Kuriren''. The arson attack had financial support from Andreas Lindblom, manager of

Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of S ...

, and Paul Wretlind, chairman of the Stockholm section of the Liberal People's Party.

References

External links

''Flammans'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flamman 1906 establishments in Sweden Arson in Sweden Communist newspapers published in Sweden Newspapers established in 1906 Newspapers published in Stockholm Socialist newspapers Swedish-language newspapers Weekly newspapers published in Sweden