The Finns and the Finland-Swedes distinguish themselves on several measurable variables, e.g. the frequency of certain kinds of crime. The Finnish statistician Veli Verkko who investigated the criminality for the years 1927-1931 found that conviction for assault and battery, scuffle, attack etc., resulting in severe bodily harm was 3.2 times as frequent among the Finns as among the Finland-Swedes (Verkko, Väkivaltarikollisuuden, 42-43). Conviction for murder, on the other hand, was equally frequent among both groups, and theft was only about 40 percent more common among the Finns than among the minority group. As far as crime is concerned, the Finland-Swedes seem to behave just as Swedes in general. Among the Finns, however, the ferocious and bellicose members seem to be more numerous than among Scandinavians. The Finnish writer "A. Kivi" (pen name for Alexis Stenvall) won his recognition primarily from describing such typical Finnish rowdies in his novel Seitsemän veljestä ('Seven brothers'). The reputation of the Finns as valiant soldiers is yet another proof of this aspect of the Finnish national character, brilliantly depicted by Väinö Linna in his Tuntematon sotilas ('Unknown Soldier'). This strain of bravery and violence among the ethnic Finns is certainly kept well under control as long as the individual stays sober. Since, however, another trait rather common among Finns is their poor ability to carry their liquor, they tend to run amok when heavily intoxicated, as Verkko has demonstrated in another work (Verkko, Homicides and suicides).

To draw from the above the conclusion that the Finland-Swedes generally lack military aptitude would lead astray. Very likely, the 1918 Civil War in Finland would have taken a course entirely different from what actually happened, if no Finland-Swedes had taken part in it. About 160,000 persons participated in the War, thereof about 12,000 Finland-Swedes--indeed only 7.5 percent of the combatants. But some 85 or 90 percent of this little group fought in the Government army, while 60 percent of the Finnish participants battled as insurgents. (These numbers are calculated from data supplied in the works by Boström, Hartman and Lappalainen.) Contrary to the civil war in Spain, 1937-39, the Finnish Government stood for the preservation of the Constitution while the rebels strove towards a radical change of the same. Since more than 10,000 Finland-Swedes joined the 60,000 Finns in the constitutional forces, this so-called "White Army", could attain the number of about 70,000 to set against the rebel ("Red") army of about 90,000. Considering the proportion of forces, these 10,000 obviously meant quite a difference.

Anyway, this contribution in itself would not have guaranteed victory to the Government, since the rebels were still superior both in manpower and armament. The determining factor turned out to be the difference in leadership, i.e. the body of officers on both sides. The rebels had practically no qualified officers, only enthusiastic self-taught captains, one Russian colonel and some stray Russian subalterns. The Government troops had as their commander-in-chief a 50-year-old lieutenant general with many years' experience from two wars, Baron Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951), a Finland-Swede. He was assisted by a number of general officers qualified either in the Imperial Russian Army or in the Finnish Guard (that had been liquidated in 1901). Almost all were Finland-Swedes. They served at posts such as Chief of General Staff, Quarter-master-General, Chief of Maintenance and Supply, Communications Officer, etc. Also the command of the main front sectors and the siege troops (at Tampere) was entrusted to members of this group and to qualified officers from the Swedish Army who had volunteered for the Government of their sister nation. Battalions and companies were lead by officers of the newly established Home Guard, the so-called "Protection Corps" (Suojeluskunta and Skyddskår in Finnish and Swedish respectively). These volunteering officers naturally had little or no training. Therefore it meant a valuable reinforcement for the Government ("White") Army to receive the so-called Jägers from Germany a few weeks after the outbreak of war.

A group of 650 Finland-Swedes and 1,250 Finns had been trained in a German Jägerbataillon (light battalion), and most of them joined the Government army. They had already got half a year's battle experience from fighting the Russians on Germany's eastern front and 54 of them had been promoted majors and captains, thereof 48 Finland-Swedes (Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto). Together with thousands of drafted privates these professionally trained soldiers were now to form nine battalions that could be used for specially demanding tasks in the later part of the War.

The very first idea of getting military training abroad for a number of volunteers had come from a certain Pehr Norrmén (1894-1945) and five of his comrades. A former Finnish citizen in Germany, Fritz Wetterhoff (1878-1922), had set out eloquently their idea to the German authorities, who had finally accepted to organise a training camp for young men from Finland. All these initiators were Finland-Swedes, and so were more than 60 percent of the first group of 182 who set out for Germany. (Hornborg, 56, 67.) This group of 182, the so-called Pfadfinders, proved to be the very elite among the Jägers. Eventually they provided the National Defence with 25 out of the 49 general officers who had once served in the Jägerbataillon.

After the civil war more than 400 of the Jägers formed the cadre of the Finnish Army in ranks from captain to colonel. After a certain dropping off there were still 169 former Jäger-officers in ranks from major to lieutenant general in January 1939. Three out of the five lieutenant generals, Lauri Malmberg (1888-1948), Harald Öhqvist (1891-1971), and Hugo Österman (1892-1975) were descended from Finland-Swedish families; a fourth, Lennart Oesch (1892-1978) although Swedish speaking, was of Swiss descent. They had been regiment or battalion commanders in the Civil War, and after the War they had been indispensable in building up the Finnish National Defence. Other meritorious Finland-Swedes who were instrumental in this urgent work are Erik Heinrichs (1890-1965), Leonard Grandell (1894-1967), Edvard Hanell (1894-1947), Woldemar Hägglund (1893-1963), Jarl Lundqvist (1896-1965) and Unio Sarlin (1893-1981), all among the dozen Jägers who had been promoted major-generals before the Winter War.

Among the one hundred former Jägers who had been promoted colonels and lieutenant colonels a good half were Finland-Swedes. And among the 13 general officers in the Finnish Army in 1938 no less than 10 were Finland-Swedes. So was also Rear-Admiral Gustaf von Schoultz (1871-1946) who commanded the Finnish Navy from 1923 to 1926. (Schoultz is also noted as the author of With the British Battle Fleet, 1925.) It is difficult to imagine what Finland's national defence on the eve of the Winter War would have been like without this substantial contribution from the ethnic minority (then forming about 11 percent of the population). It was the quality of these armed forces that made it possible for Finland to offer such a resistance to the Red Army that Finland escaped the fate of the Baltic States and Poland.

Stalin's attempt to make Finland part of his empire was not, however, the first effort at a Russification of this country. Already Czar Nicholas II and his government had striven in this direction with the so-called February Manifesto of 1899. At that time the people of Finland offered such a resistance that the Czar eventually found it necessary to heed a petition drawn up by the "Constitutionals" under the renowned statesman Leo(pold) Mechelin (1839-1914) and abandon the whole Russification program through the "November Manifesto" of 1905. True, the triggering factor was a socialist insurrection in Helsinki calling for the dictatorship of the proletariat and things like that, but the rebels acquiesced in a promise of universal suffrage and a unicameral parliament that was included in the new manifesto. Naturally, the Czar was influenced also by the example set by the King of Sweden a few weeks before. King Oscar II had then accepted the Norwegians' claim for absolute independence without firing a single shot. But before all, the Czar must have been aware of how much the people of Finland were filled with loathing for the whole idea of Russification, since he had hardly forgotten the "people's address" that he had so flippantly turned away in March, 1899.

This "people's address" was a petition to the Czar requesting him to sustain the Constitution of Finland and to annul the February Manifesto. The address was signed by about half a million Finnish citizens (525,000 out of a total population of 2.7 million). The initiative had come from historian Magnus G. Schybergson (1851-1925) and two other Finland-Swedes. The jurist Wilhelm Chydenius (1863-1926) then worded the address, and students duplicated the text and went out into the various parts of the country to collect signatures. The great majority of these organisers were Finland-Swedes. (Estlander, 31)

Another incident that may have reminded Czar Nicholas of the public opinion about Russification was the killing of Governor-General Bobrikov in Helsinki in June 1904. This deed was also committed by a Finland-Swede, Eugen Schauman (1875-1904), a young jurist who was so scrupulous about the Law that he took his own life even without knowing if his victim was going to die or not. He had carried a polite and humble letter to the Czar on his body written in the spirit of the "people's address". Generally, the so called passive resistance implied strictly following the Finnish Law while disobeying every Czarist decree that did not conform to the Finnish Fundamental Law, i.e. the Constitution of Sweden from 1772 and 1789. This Constitution remained in force throughout the Czarist supremacy in Finland (as sworn by every Czar at his ascending the throne). The passive resistance was very widespread especially among the Finland-Swedes. The "activists" who committed outright treason in joining the enemy army as Jägers were a small (but important) group containing as many as 322 University students (out of 2,523 registered students). About 20 percent of the Swedish and 10 percent of the Finnish students joined the Jäger-bataillon sooner or later. The Finland to which they returned was at that time already an independent state, neutral in the World War, and so they were not traitors any more.

Now, let us look out for Finland-Swedes in earlier historical epochs. Long before Finland became a country of its own under the Russian Czar, some Finland-Swedes served as members of the Swedish Government or the Swedish Army. We note e.g. the following:

Magnus Tavast (d. 1452) was summoned to be Chancellor to King Ericus XIV in 1406. He went to Rome in 1412 where he was ordained Bishop of Turku (Magnus II). He managed to suppress an insurrection among the peasants in the province of Satakunta. He also went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Magnus Stiernkors (c. 1435-1500) studied in Paris and was ordained Bishop of Turku in 1489 (Magnus III). As a deputy he concluded a peace treaty for Sweden in 1488. He was appointed Lateran Count Palatine by Emperor Frederick III.

The monk Jöns Andersson Budde (<1437-1491<) translated a great number of documents from Latin into Swedish. Among these are parts of the Bible, the first to be translated into Swedish. Through his works he had a considerable influence on the Swedish written language.

The brothers Erik (1487-1548) and Ivar Fleming (c. 1490-1548) were knighted in 1528. Both were promoted Admirals and Councillors. Erik was one of Gustavus Wasa's chief advisers. Ivar commanded a naval expedition to Pomerania.

Baron Claes Horn (1518-66), Councillor, Admiral and Field Marshal, fought in several wars and laid the ground for the Swedish dominion in the Baltic provinces. He is regarded as one of Sweden's most outstanding naval officers.

Claes Fleming (1533-97) commanded the Army of Ericus XIV, who promoted him Baron of Vik and Councillor. Under John III he became State Admiral and State Marshal. In 1591 he was appointed Governor of Finland and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in the Russian war. He remained loyal to King John's son, King Sigismund and supported him effectively in the struggle against the claimant, Duke Karl (later Charles IX). He also crushed the peasants' revolt against Sigismund and the Nobility, the so-called War of Clubs 1596-97.

Vice-Admiral Henrik Fleming (1584-1650) conquered Norwegian Jämtland and made it part of Sweden. He was also appointed Military Councillor and Speaker of the Nobility.

General Torsten Stålhandske (1594-1644) commanded the Finnish Cavalry, an important detachment of the Swedish Army in the Thirty Years' War. His cavalrymen were called "Hackapells" (after their battle cry "hakkaa päälle" ('hack on') in somewhat faulty Finnish. Incidentally, a majority of these Hackapells were recruited from the parts of Finland that were populated by Finland-Swedes--but they seem to have preferred a Finnish war cry as sounding more "savage". Stålhandske became widely renowned for his decisive contributions to the Swedish victories at Breitenfeld 1631 and Wittstock 1636.

The soldier Arvid Wittenberg (1606-57) was knighted at age 28 and became Councillor, Count, and eventually Field Marshal before the age of 50, whereupon he conquered Kraków and other parts of Poland.

Herman Fleming (1619-73) was raised to the Barony and promoted Councillor and Admiral. In 1655 he was appointed President of the commission that carried out a partial confiscation of certain estates of the Nobility. Later he became Governor General of Finland (1664-69).

Baron Fabian Wrede Sr. (1641-1712), an official, was appointed Royal Councillor and Chamberlain, later also President of the National Board of Mining, among other high offices. (Wrede is commonly regarded as a Finland-Swede, but his father was of German Nobility.)

Count Johan Lillienstedt (1655-1732), a jurist (by the name of Paulinus before entering the Nobility), became Royal Councillor and served in the Code of Laws Commission. He accompanied King Charles XII in the field as an official for the management of foreign affairs. He was also noted for his ode to Finland written in Greek hexameter.

Count Arvid Horn (1664-1742), became Royal Councillor and President of the Government Offices. He was in charge of Sweden's foreign policy while King Charles XII was abroad, and he ruled the Realm as President of the Chancellery from the death of the King in 1718 till his own retirement in 1734.

Thomas von Rajalin (1673-1741), a naval officer and warship Commander in the Great Nordic War 1700-21, rose to Vice-Admiral and was raised to the Nobility. When a new war broke out in 1741 he was appointed Commander of the fleet operating in the Gulf of Finland, but he died before the fleet could open battle.

Nils Ehrenskiöld (1674-1728), a naval officer who rose to Rear Admiral before he was appointed Commander of a large squadron in 1714. With this he managed to stop the Russian navy (under Czar Peter himself) from advancing to Åland, from where it could have threatened the Swedish coast off Stockholm. This battle, in the Bay of Rilax near Hangö, is regarded as one of the most glorious ones in the naval history of Sweden. Ehrenskiöld was wounded and taken prisoner, but was promoted Admiral after his release in 1721.

Karl Fredrik Mennander (1712-86), a naturalist, lectured in philosophy, became Professor of Physics at Turku, Bishop of Turku, and was eventually chosen Archbishop of Sweden.

Baron Jakob Magnus Sprengtporten (1727-86), an officer, laid down the broad outlines for the coup d'état that King Gustavus III staged in 1772.

Count Gustaf Philip Creutz (1731-1785), known also as a poet, became President of the Government Offices.

Mathias Calonius (1738-1817), a jurist and civil servant, served as rector of the Turku Academy (Sweden's third university, founded in 1640) in three turns and was later chosen Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden. After Finland becoming a Grand Duchy under the Czar in 1809, Calonius was appointed Chancellor of Justice in the Finnish Cabinet. His proposal for the form of government, based on the former Swedish institutions, was accepted with minor adjustments.

Georg ("Göran") Magnus Sprengtporten (1740-1819), an officer and politician, initiated various improvements of the defence of Finland, above all the founding of a military college in eastern Finland. After a breach in his relations with King Gustavus, he enlarged upon a plan of his to separate Finland from Sweden and make it a federal republic. His plan met with approval from a few landlords only, and he defected to Russia where he was promoted Major General and Chamberlain. Under Czar Alexander I he drew up the campaign plan for the conquest of Finland and served as an adviser to the commander-in-chief when the plan was put into execution in 1808-09. At the same time he became the first Russian Governor-General of Finland, in which position he strove towards an autonomous form of government for Finland. Since the Finlanders regarded him as a renegade, he had to step down and let others elaborate the constitutional subtleties of the autonomy that realised.

Baron Otto Henrik Nordenskjöld (1747-1832) contributed to the Swedish victory at the battle of Hogland in 1788 and was promoted Admiral.

The nobleman Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (1757-1814) was in high favour with King Gustavus III, who made him director of the Royal Theaters, member of the Swedish Academy and finally his chief counsellor. From 1811 Armfelt served as a statesman under Czar Alexander I who made him Governor-General of Finland and raised him to Countship.

Last but not least we note Carl Johan Adlercreutz (1757-1815), who was raised to the Barony after his victories in the Finnish War in 1808 and also promoted General. He arrested King Gustavus IV Adolphus in 1809, became Councillor under King Charles XIII in 1810, Chief of the General Staff in 1813 and was raised to Countship in 1814.

When Finland became a Grand Duchy under the Czar in 1809 many Finland-Swedes made a corresponding career on superior posts within the Russian Empire. The case of Mathias Calonius is mentioned above. Already in 1833 twelve Finland-Swedes had risen to the ranks of general officer. Out of those who started their career in the Finnish Cadet Corps 20 ended up as generals, 55 as lieutenant generals, 106 as major-generals and 153 as colonels in the Imperial Russian Army. An unknown number of Finland-Swedes started military careers in naval or cavalry colleges in St. Petersburg. In the lists of 1876 no less than 42 so called "Finns" (i.e. Finnish citizens or "Finlanders"), served as general officers in the Imperial Army. Except for a few ethnic Germans and Russians they were all Finland-Swedes (Screen, 1983). It should be noted that the total number of general officers was probably below 300 at the time. In the 1830's a great deal of the Finland-Swede officers who attained these ranks came from noble families (29 percent) or were sons of officers (28 percent), but the recruitment successively spread among the social classes. Out of those who entered service in the late 1880's only 7 percent were nobles while 15 percent were sons of officers (Screen 1976).

The Finland-Swede officers were highly esteemed by their Russian peers and superiors. Said historian A.L. Zisserman about General Bernhard Indrenius (1812-84) that he "belonged to the category of officers of whom they said among us: 'honourable as a Swede'". Zisserman added that all the officers from Finland "were distinguished by their puritanical honour, their conscientious attitude toward their obligations", which won them advancement (Curtiss 207).

Very few of the 35 to 40 Finland-Swede general officers of 1876 could have attained this rank if they had been reduced to competing with the Swedes for the 16 appointments of general officer in the Swedish Army of 1877. A quota-based admission would have given the Finland-Swedes one post in the Swedish Army and barely one post in the Imperial Army. Actually the chances for a random Finland-Swede were over 40 times better than for a random Russian to reach the rank of general officer.

Of all the Finland-Swede officers in the Russian Army, Anders Ramsay (1799-1877) was the most distinguished. He became the first commander of the Finnish Guard and later commander of all the Russian troops in Poland. He was a member of the Russian War Cabinet, was promoted General of the Infantry and raised to the Barony. He was awarded the Order of St. Andrew, the finest Russian order.

Another Finland-Swede came very near to being regent of a Russian satellite state. This was Lieutenat General Casimir Ehrnrooth (1833-1913), whom Czar Alexander II promoted Minister of War in the new Bulgarian state in 1880. Later he became the Premier of Bulgaria, but his planned exaltation to Regent eventually failed owing to Austria's opposition.

Naturally, The Finland-Swedes made not only for the Army but also for the Navy. We note that more than a dozen of them actually served as flag officers in the Imperial Navy. Among them were the following.

Admiral Johan von Kraemer (1829-1904) commanded a Black Sea Squadron and served several times as Russian Minister of the Admiralty.

Rear Admiral I. Boström commanded the entire Black Sea Fleet after 1908. (Klinge, 1997, p. 71.)

Arvid Adolf Etholén (1794-1876) joined the Imperial Navy and participated in a number of exploring and trade expeditions along the coast of North America. He became Governor of Russian Alaska residing in Sitka and he honoured his British precursor George Vancouver (1758-98) by naming the large Vancouver Island after him. He was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1847 and was raised to the Nobility in 1856.

Johan von Schantz (1802-80) participated in a circumnavigation of the globe, had a group of islands named after him, worked as a designer of ships, became Commander of the Baltic Squadron, member of the Admiralty Staff and was finally promoted full Admiral.

Fredrik (1805-81) and Bernhard ("Boris") Nordmann (1808-77), two brothers of whom the latter served as Director General of the Pilotage and Lighthouse Service in Finland. Both were raised to the Nobility and promoted Admirals.

Teodor Avellan (1839-1916) rose to Rear Admiral, became Commander of the Russian Mediterranean Squadron and later Minister of the Admiralty.

The nobleman Hampus Furuhjelm (1821-1909) was Governor of Russian Alaska, Military Governor of the Siberian Maritime Province and was eventually promoted Admiral.

After Finland had become independent in 1917 it needed a Head of State. Since the country was still legally a Monarchy, the provisional title became "Principal of the Realm" (Riksföreståndare in Swedish). The first and only holder of that title was Baron General Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951), who stayed in office from December 1918 till July 1919.

Carl Johan Ståhlberg (1865-1952), a jurist and politician, became the first President of the Republic of Finland (1919-25). He had been at a Finnish school in his youth, posed as a Finn and used the Finnish form (Kaarlo Juho) of his Swedish Christian names (though he probably spoke Swedish at home with both his Swedish wives). Later he participated in the Law-drafting Board and made contributions of great value. Finland's post-prohibition laws relating to alcohol are of his design.

Lars Kristian Relander (1883-1942), a civil servant, became the second President (1925-31). He also posed as a Finn and signed himself Lauri instead of the Swedish Lars.

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (1861-1944), a jurist and statesman, was Deputy Judge at the Turku Court of Appeal and member of the Law-drafting Board. In the 1890s he became one of the leaders of the passive resistance. Because of this, Governor-General Bobrikov dismissed him in 1903. Later he served as District Judge, but was dismissed once more and deported to Siberia. He was released after the "February Revolution" in 1917 and became Head of the very government that proclaimed Finland independent. He was chosen President (the third one) in 1931, and in this position managed to subdue in the bud the so-called "Mäntsälä rebellion" (1932), an armed rising in the spirit of Mussolini's famous "March on Rome". He posed as a Finn but never tampered with his Christian names. (Actually there was no need, because this very folksy man was widely known by his pet name Ukko Pekka ['Old Peter'], anyway.)

1) These numbers are calculated from data supplied in the works by Boström, Hartman and Lappalainen.