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Red Guard (Finland)

Red Guards
Finnish: Punakaarti
Swedish: Röda gardet
Participant in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and Finnish Civil War
Red soldier.jpg
A Red Guard fighter and a nurse in 1918
Active 1905–1907
1917–1920
Ideology Socialism,
Communism,
Left-wing nationalism
Leaders Johan Kock
Ali Aaltonen
Eero Haapalainen
Eino Rahja
Kullervo Manner
Otto Wille Kuusinen
Area of operations Finland, East Karelia
Allies Russian Red Guards
 Russian SFSR
Opponents

 Russian Empire (1905–1907)

Finland (1918)

 German Empire (1918)
Battles and wars Russian Revolution of 1905, Finnish Civil War, Kinship Wars

 Russian Empire (1905–1907)

Finland (1918)

The Red Guards (Finnish: Punakaarti, Swedish: Röda gardet) were a paramilitary units of the Finnish labour movement in the early 1900s. The first Red Guards were established during the 1905 general strike, but disbanded a year later. After the Russian 1917 February revolution the Red Guards were re-established and in the 1918 Finnish Civil War they formed the army of Red Finland. The combined strength of the Red Guard was about 30,000 at the beginning of the Civil War, peaking at 90,000-120,000 during the course of the conflict. The number included more than 2,000 members of the Women's Guards. In May 1918, up to 80,000 Reds were captured by the victorious Whites, 12,000–14,000 of them died in the prison camps of executions, disease and malnutrition. Majority of the Reds were finally pardoned in late 1918.


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Wikipedia

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