''Fyren'' ( sv, The Lighthouse) was a satirical magazine focusing on politics which was published in Helsinki, Finland, between 1898 and 1922. It described itself as a social satire publication which supported free visual and written expressions.

History and profile

''Fyren'' was started in Helsinki in 1898. Rafael Lindqvist was the editor-in-chief of the magazine which targeted educated classes. The magazine declared that it was not interested in party politics. However, it adopted an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and anti-Bolshevik political stance and supported Swedish nationalism and conservatism. Major contributors of ''Fyren'' included the cartoonists Alex Federley, Emil Cedercreutz, Signe Hammarsten-Jansson and Antti Favén. It was subject to strict censorship by the Russian authorities until the independence of Finland in 1917. In addition, a cartoonist of the magazine, Eric Vasström, was imprisoned for three months due to a caricature depicting a Russian noblewoman dancing with a Finnish commoner. The caricature was published after the visit of the

Russian royal family Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

to Finland and was regarded as an insult to the Russian royals. ''Fyren'' published a special issue in 1915 to celebrate the 50th birthday of Jean Sibelius which covered cartoons featuring Sibelius. ''

Tuulispää ''Tuulispää'' was a satirical magazine which existed between 1903 and 1957. It was the media outlet of conservative nationalism in Finland. However, the magazine described itself as a representative of genuine satire and humor without any party ...

'', another satirical magazine, was the rival of ''Fyren'' in regard to the conflict about the use of the Finnish and Swedish languages. The former supported the Finnish language, whereas ''Fyren'' was a supporter of the use of the Swedish language. However, the same writers contributed to both titles. ''Fyren'' and ''Tuulispää'' sold only 3,000–4,000, but another satirical magazine of the period, ''

Kurikka Kurikka is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kurikka is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water () ...

'', managed to sell 20,000 copies. ''Fyren'' ceased publication in 1922 and was replaced by another satirical magazine entitled ''Blinkfyren'' which was also edited by Rafael Lindqvist.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fyren 1898 establishments in Finland 1922 disestablishments in Finland Defunct political magazines published in Finland Swedish-language magazines Finnish political satire Swedish political satire Magazines established in 1898 Magazines disestablished in 1922 Magazines published in Helsinki Satirical magazines published in Finland Censorship in Finland Antisemitism in Finland Antisemitic publications Conservatism in Finland Swedish nationalism Conservative magazines