The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic during the country's transition from a grand duchy ruled by the Russian Empire to a fully independent state. The clashes took place in the context of the national, political, and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The war was fought between the Red Guards, led by a section of the Social Democratic Party, and the White Guards, conducted by the senate and those who opposed socialism with assistance late in the war by the German Imperial Army at the request of the Finnish civil government. The paramilitary Red Guards, which were composed of industrial and agrarian workers, controlled the cities and industrial centres of southern Finland. The paramilitary White Guards, which consisted of land owners and those in the middle and upper classes, controlled rural central and northern Finland, and were led by General C. G. E. Mannerheim.
Kyösti Kallio was a Finnish politician who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937 to 1940. His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War; while he relinquished the post of commander-in-chief to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, he played a role as a spiritual leader. After the war, he became both the first President of Finland to resign and the only one to die in office, dying of a heart attack while returning home after submitting his resignation.
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which was at that time an autonomous state under the Russian Empire’s rule, Svinhufvud played a major role in the movement for Finnish independence. He was the one who presented the Declaration of Independence to the Parliament.
Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov was a Russian general and politician. He was the Governor-General of Finland and the Finnish Military District from 29 August [O.S. 17] 1898 until his death, during the early reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and was responsible for the Russification attempt of Finland. After appointment as the governor-general, he quickly became very unpopular and was assassinated by Eugen Schauman, a Finnish nationalist born in Kharkiv.
Alavieska is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 2,440 and covers an area of 253.02 square kilometres (97.69 sq mi) of which 1.66 km2 (0.64 sq mi) is water. The population density is 9.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (25/sq mi).
The Diet of Porvoo, was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. The session of the Diet lasted from March to July 1809.
The policy of Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness in 1899–1905 and in 1908–1917, fully integrating Finland to the Russian Empire. It was a part of a larger policy of Russification pursued by late 19th–early 20th century Russian governments which tried to abolish cultural and administrative autonomy of non-Russian minorities within the empire.
Vimpeli is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, 79 kilometres (49 mi) northeast of Seinäjoki and 166 kilometres (103 mi) northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of 2,633 and covers an area of 328.79 square kilometres (126.95 sq mi) of which 41.52 km2 (16.03 sq mi) is water. The population density is 9.16 inhabitants per square kilometre (23.7/sq mi). The most significant road connection in the municipality is the main road 68 between towns of Virrat and Jakobstad.
Finland declared its independence on 6 December 1917. The formal Declaration of Independence was only part of the long process leading to the independence of Finland.
Santeri Alkio was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of the Finnish Centre Party.
Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin, known as Leo Mechelin, was a Finnish politician, professor, liberal reformer and businessman. A leading defender of the autonomy of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and of the rights of women and minorities, Mechelin's 1905–1908 government ("Mechelin's Senate") made Finland the first nation in the world with the universal right to vote and to be elected. During his period in office the freedom of expression, the press, and of assembly were introduced. Mechelin was born and died in Helsinki, Finland.
Finland competed at the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The Grand Duchy of Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire at the time, which allowed it to send a separate team to the Games.
Stora Journalistpriset is an annual Swedish award, founded in 1966 by Bonnier AB, given to "recognize achievement in journalism".
The governorates of the Grand Principality of Finland were the administrative division of the Grand Principality of Finland as part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917.
Benno Alexander "Santeri" Levas was a Finnish writer and photographer, best known for his books on the composer Jean Sibelius.
Bruno Wilhelm Zilliacus was an athlete, who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Santeri Väänänen is a Finnish professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Eliteserien club Rosenborg, and captains the Finland under-21 national team.
In Finland, the far right was strongest in 1920–1940 when the Academic Karelia Society, Lapua Movement, Patriotic People's Movement (IKL) and Vientirauha operated in the country and had hundreds of thousands of members. In addition to these dominant far-right and fascist organizations, smaller Nazi parties operated as well.
Lennart Reidar Armas Hedman was a Finnish educator, eugenicist and far-right politician. He had a master's degree in philosophy. He had studied genetics at the University of Helsinki under Harry Federley.
In Finland, "laukkuryssä" were travelling salesmen who went around Finland and northern Sweden from the middle 19th century to the early 20th century. Despite the name, "laukkuryssäs" were not ethnically Russian, but instead Karelian peasants. Their trade was called a "bag trade", after the large leathern backpacks they carried.
