''Flamman'' () 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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

weekly magazine based in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. The magazine was founded in 1906 as a daily newspaper aligned with the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, and was based in the northern

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), sometimes called North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...

region until 1987. Since the 1990s, Flamman is a weekly independent magazine without attachment to any political parties. The original name of the magazine was ''Norrskensflamman'' (), which was shortened in 1998.

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. Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB mines iron ore at Malmberget. See also *LKAB *Bergslagen * Boliden *Iron Range The Iron R ...

and was the regional newspaper of the

Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressive ...

. 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 Form ...

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

Swedish Social Democratic Left Party The Left Party ( , V) is a socialist political party in Sweden. On economic issues, the party opposes privatisations and advocates for increased public expenditures. In foreign policy, the party is Eurosceptic, being critical of the European Uni ...

(SSV) in

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) 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 borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...

, 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. Since 1987, Flamman is based in

. 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 ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

. 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 is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

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 ...

, 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 1900s establishments in Stockholm