Frans Myyryläinen
Encyclopedia
Frans Johan ”Janne” Myyryläinen (b.1881 Viipuri —d. 1938 Petrozavodsk
) was a Finnish Red Guard
during the civil war. He was also a Red Guardian in Kainuu
and an officer Guardian in Soviet Russia.
Myyryläinen worked as forest guardian and as a shop cheaper in Kainuu and as an inspector in the early 1900s. He became member in the Kainuu red guards. The opposition White Guard
said that Myyryläinen was a dangerous man.
During the Finnish civil war
in 1918 Myyryläinen was arrested and tried. His punishment was 2 years in prison and he lost his civic confidence for 12 years but he was able to escape. He was captured later.
On his way to prison camp
in Lahti
Myyryläinen was able to escape second time and this time to Soviet Union
. In Russia he was in a red guard officer school. Later he organized underground movement in Kainuu.
Myyryläinen is known as the leader of the Pork mutiny
in 1922 in Salla
and in Savukoski
.
Myyryläinen, using the name of Jahvetti Moilanen, stood on a crate that had formerly contained pork when he delivered his speech called the 'Declaration of Battle of the Red Guerrilla Battalion of the North'. After the speech, some 300 workers joined the battalion and were armed and given money. The Battalion then made its way back to the border. On its way, it robbed a group of border guards and other workplaces. On February 7, the battalion, by that time about 240 men, crossed the border back to the Soviet Union. Information of the incident was only received at Rovaniemi
on February 5 and the battalion managed to slip away before a group of the White Guard arrived. In Soviet Union Myyryläinen continued as a Red Army
teacher in the Russian part of Karelia
.
Later he worked as journalist in Petrozavodsk
using the name Juuso Matero.
During the Great Purges Myyryläinen was arrested in and judged for some unclear case. He was arrested on May 5 and was executed on May 8 in 1938 perhaps in somewhere in Petrozavodsk.
During the Khrushchev thaw
, a military tribune overturned the verdict against Myyryläinen on 21 May 1957.
Myyryläinen was married two twice and had three children from his second marriage.
The location of his grave is unknown.
Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some . The city is served by Petrozavodsk Airport. Municipally, it is incorporated as Petrozavodsky Urban Okrug . Population:...
) was a Finnish Red Guard
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....
during the civil war. He was also a Red Guardian in Kainuu
Kainuu
Kainuu is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Northern Savonia. In the east it also borders Russia. Kainuu is known in the ancient Norse sagas as Kvenland....
and an officer Guardian in Soviet Russia.
Myyryläinen worked as forest guardian and as a shop cheaper in Kainuu and as an inspector in the early 1900s. He became member in the Kainuu red guards. The opposition White Guard
White Guard (Finland)
The White Guard was a voluntary militia that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guard as part of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918...
said that Myyryläinen was a dangerous man.
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 1918 Myyryläinen was arrested and tried. His punishment was 2 years in prison and he lost his civic confidence for 12 years but he was able to escape. He was captured later.
On his way to prison camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in Lahti
Lahti
Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
Myyryläinen was able to escape second time and this time to 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....
. In Russia he was in a red guard officer school. Later he organized underground movement in Kainuu.
Myyryläinen is known as the leader of the Pork mutiny
Pork mutiny
The Pork mutiny was an incident in Northern Finland in 1922. On February 2 a group of armed Red Guard members crossed the Finnish-Soviet border near Kuolajärvi and Savukoski. They advanced to a logging yard owned by Kemijoki Oy...
in 1922 in Salla
Salla
Salla is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
and in Savukoski
Savukoski
Savukoski is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish....
.
Myyryläinen, using the name of Jahvetti Moilanen, stood on a crate that had formerly contained pork when he delivered his speech called the 'Declaration of Battle of the Red Guerrilla Battalion of the North'. After the speech, some 300 workers joined the battalion and were armed and given money. The Battalion then made its way back to the border. On its way, it robbed a group of border guards and other workplaces. On February 7, the battalion, by that time about 240 men, crossed the border back to the Soviet Union. Information of the incident was only received at Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
on February 5 and the battalion managed to slip away before a group of the White Guard arrived. In Soviet Union Myyryläinen continued as a Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
teacher in the Russian part of Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
.
Later he worked as journalist in Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some . The city is served by Petrozavodsk Airport. Municipally, it is incorporated as Petrozavodsky Urban Okrug . Population:...
using the name Juuso Matero.
During the Great Purges Myyryläinen was arrested in and judged for some unclear case. He was arrested on May 5 and was executed on May 8 in 1938 perhaps in somewhere in Petrozavodsk.
During the Khrushchev thaw
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
, a military tribune overturned the verdict against Myyryläinen on 21 May 1957.
Myyryläinen was married two twice and had three children from his second marriage.
The location of his grave is unknown.