Arvo Tuominen
Encyclopedia
Arvo "Poika" Tuominen was a Finnish
Communist revolutionary and later a social democratic journalist and politician. Tuominen was given his nickname Poika in 1920 because of his boyish looks—poika means "boy" in Finnish.
Tuominen was born in 1894 in Kuotila (part of Hämeenkyrö
) to the family of a rural carpenter. In 1912 he moved to Tampere
to become a carpenter's apprentice and soon joined the Social Democratic Party of Finland
. During the Finnish Civil War
in early 1918, Tuominen sided with the Finnish Red Guards
and edited Kansan lehti, a radical social democratic newspaper in Tampere. After the Red Guards were defeated in May 1918, Tuominen and several other radical social democratic leaders fled to Russia
, where they split from the mainstream of Finnish Social Democratic Party and founded the Communist Party of Finland
in Petrograd in August-September 1918.
Tuominen returned to Finland and became a supporter of Otto Wille Kuusinen's faction within the party. In 1921 he traveled to Petrograd, where Kuusinen's adherents, supported by the Comintern
leadership, successfully challenged Kullervo Manner
's supporters at the next party congress. Tuominen was elected to the party's Central Committee and was put in charge of its Finnish bureau. He returned to Finland, where he was arrested on January 26, 1922 and subsequently imprisoned for publishing a proclamation urging Finnish workers to fight on the Soviet side during the Soviet-Finnish conflict over Karelia
. He was released in the spring of 1926 and was elected secretary of the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions. He was again arrested in April 1928 for maintaining contacts with the Soviet Union
and the banned Communist Party.
In late 1932 Tuominen was paroled and received a letter from Kuusinen, who was then one of the Comintern's secretaries, urging him to move to the Soviet Union. Tuominen secretly went to Sweden
and then, in April 1933, to the Soviet Union, where he moved into Kuusinen's apartment. He was given a crash course at the Lenin Party School and was appointed General Secretary of the Finnish Communist Party, also becoming a member of the Comintern Executive Committee Presidium
.
Tuominen witnessed the Great Purge
firsthand until he was able to leave Moscow for Stockholm
in early 1938. On November 13, 1939, he was ordered to return to Moscow
. Tuominen later claimed that he was being recalled in order to become the head of the Communist government of the Finnish Democratic Republic
which Stalin planned to install
in Finland. However, according to Tuominen, he refused to obey the order, broke with the Soviet Union and ordered the Communist Party of Finland not to assist the Red Army during the Winter War
and to fight on the Finnish side instead. Research by Finnish historian Kimmo Rentola has exposed a somewhat different story. When the Winter War
started, Tuominen was initially enthusiastic of the war in expectation of a quick Soviet victory. But as the Soviet advance halted and international opinion rallied to Finland's support, Tuominen's doubts started. He began to avoid contacting Moscow, and sent feelers to Finnish Social Democrats. It wasn't until after the end of the Winter War when Tuominen took the step of severing his ties with the Soviet Union
and started writing anti-communist pamphlets which were given widespread publicity in Finland. Tuominen had gone underground in Sweden, and it took some time for Moscow to find out what had happened.
Tuominen remained in Sweden until 1956, when he returned to Finland. He joined the Social Democratic Party and edited its newspaper in Tampere, becoming a member of parliament and publishing five volumes of bestselling memoirs.
Tuominen died in Tampere in 1981.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Communist revolutionary and later a social democratic journalist and politician. Tuominen was given his nickname Poika in 1920 because of his boyish looks—poika means "boy" in Finnish.
Tuominen was born in 1894 in Kuotila (part of Hämeenkyrö
Hämeenkyrö
Hämeenkyrö is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
) to the family of a rural carpenter. In 1912 he moved to Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
to become a carpenter's apprentice and soon joined the Social Democratic Party of Finland
Social Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...
. During the Finnish Civil War
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...
in early 1918, Tuominen sided with the Finnish Red Guards
Red Guards (Finland)
The Red Guards formed the army of Red Finland during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The combined strength of the Red Guard was about 30,000 at the beginning of the Civil War, and peaked at 90,000-120,000 during the course of the conflict....
and edited Kansan lehti, a radical social democratic newspaper in Tampere. After the Red Guards were defeated in May 1918, Tuominen and several other radical social democratic leaders fled to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where they split from the mainstream of Finnish Social Democratic Party and founded the Communist Party of Finland
Communist Party of Finland
The Communist Party of Finland was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944.SKP did not participate in any elections with its own name. Instead, front organisations were used...
in Petrograd in August-September 1918.
Tuominen returned to Finland and became a supporter of Otto Wille Kuusinen's faction within the party. In 1921 he traveled to Petrograd, where Kuusinen's adherents, supported by the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
leadership, successfully challenged Kullervo Manner
Kullervo Manner
Kullervo Achilles Manner was a Finnish journalist and politician. He was a member of the Finnish parliament, serving as its Speaker in 1917. He was also chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland between 1917–1918. During the Finnish Civil War, he led the Finnish People's Delegation...
's supporters at the next party congress. Tuominen was elected to the party's Central Committee and was put in charge of its Finnish bureau. He returned to Finland, where he was arrested on January 26, 1922 and subsequently imprisoned for publishing a proclamation urging Finnish workers to fight on the Soviet side during the Soviet-Finnish conflict over Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
. He was released in the spring of 1926 and was elected secretary of the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions. He was again arrested in April 1928 for maintaining contacts with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the banned Communist Party.
In late 1932 Tuominen was paroled and received a letter from Kuusinen, who was then one of the Comintern's secretaries, urging him to move to the Soviet Union. Tuominen secretly went to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and then, in April 1933, to the Soviet Union, where he moved into Kuusinen's apartment. He was given a crash course at the Lenin Party School and was appointed General Secretary of the Finnish Communist Party, also becoming a member of the Comintern Executive Committee Presidium
Presidium
The presidium or praesidium is the name for the heading organ of various legislative and organizational bodies.-Historical usage:...
.
Tuominen witnessed the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
firsthand until he was able to leave Moscow for Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in early 1938. On November 13, 1939, he was ordered to return to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Tuominen later claimed that he was being recalled in order to become the head of the Communist government of the Finnish Democratic Republic
Finnish Democratic Republic
The Finnish Democratic Republic was a short-lived government dependent on and recognised only by the Soviet Union. It nominally operated in those parts of Finnish Karelia that were occupied by the Soviet Union during the Winter War....
which Stalin planned to install
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
in Finland. However, according to Tuominen, he refused to obey the order, broke with the Soviet Union and ordered the Communist Party of Finland not to assist the Red Army during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
and to fight on the Finnish side instead. Research by Finnish historian Kimmo Rentola has exposed a somewhat different story. When the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
started, Tuominen was initially enthusiastic of the war in expectation of a quick Soviet victory. But as the Soviet advance halted and international opinion rallied to Finland's support, Tuominen's doubts started. He began to avoid contacting Moscow, and sent feelers to Finnish Social Democrats. It wasn't until after the end of the Winter War when Tuominen took the step of severing his ties with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and started writing anti-communist pamphlets which were given widespread publicity in Finland. Tuominen had gone underground in Sweden, and it took some time for Moscow to find out what had happened.
Tuominen remained in Sweden until 1956, when he returned to Finland. He joined the Social Democratic Party and edited its newspaper in Tampere, becoming a member of parliament and publishing five volumes of bestselling memoirs.
Tuominen died in Tampere in 1981.