Soviet prisoners of war in Finland

Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet-Finnish conflicts of that period: the Winter War and the Continuation War. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.

The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Winter War (1939–1940) was 5,700, of whom 135 died. Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets (motti) north of Lake Ladoga. The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick. Some of the POWs, at least 152 men, enlisted in the so-called Russian Liberation Army in Finland. They were not allowed to take part in combat. After the war, some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country.

The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Continuation War (1941–1944) was about 64,000. Most of them were captured in 1941 (56,000 persons). The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia, Köyliö, Huittinen and Pelso (a village in modern-day municipality of Vaala). Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated, and established 32 new prison camps in 1941–1944. However, all of them were not used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country.

The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war, as the war was expected to be of short duration. The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low, as the more qualified men were at the front. It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved. There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work, as well as the construction of fortification lines. Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war.

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