Kagaali

In the history of Finland, the Kagal was a resistance movement, founded under the period of Russian oppression, in resistance to the oppressive government of Governor-General Nikolai Bobrikov. The name (Finnish Kagaali, Swedish Kagal) comes via Russian (hence the -g- for an original -h-) from the Hebrew word qahal.

The central character of the Kagal is thought to have been Leo Mechelin, an independent liberal, but notable lead characters also included Carl Mannerheim (older brother of Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim), Adolf von Bonsdorff, Ernst Estlander, J. N. Reuter, Adolf Törngren and Wilhelm Zilliacus from the Swedish People's Party, and the Young Finns Eero Erkko, Th. Homén, Heikki Renvall and P. E. Svinhufvud.

The Kagal was founded in the Turholma mansion in Laajasalo. The lord of the mansion, General Jacob Julius af Lindfors, had inherited his fortune from his father-in-law Henrik Borgström (1799–1883), who had risen from nothing to owning a house of commerce, and had been present in founding the Liberal Party and acted as a notable patron of the arts.

In a secret meeting, Leo Mechelin wrote a people's address to the Tsar, which gathered 500 000 signatures (the country's population at the time was about 2.6 million). The signatures probably also included Svinhufvud, Erkko and Zilliacus, among others. The Tsar rejected the address and threatened conscientious objectors with loss of study places and offices, but strikes organised by the Kagal had the effect that virtually no one arrived at the army enlistment, and finally the Tsar gave up implementing a mandatory draft.

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