Viipuri massacre

Viipuri, Swedish Viborg, was both the second largest city in Finland with 49,000 inhabitants and one of the most diverse. In 1910, Viipuri had minorities of Finland Swedes (5,000) and Russians (3,200–4,000), During the Finnish Civil War, the identification of Finnish Reds as ethnic Russians among the Whites became widespread, and anti-Russian sentiment may have been the most prevalent in western Finland, especially in the White stronghold of Ostrobothnia, leading to the manifestation of ethnic hatred that escalated into violence. Historian Teemu Keskisarja considers a spark that set off the killings was the news that a gang of drunk Red Guards led by Hjalmar Kaipiainen (Kaipiainen was himself captured and executed on 23 May 1918) had entered Viborg County Gaol during the Battle of Viipuri and murdered 30 White Guard prisoners. == Killings ==

The massacre started on April 28 during the Battle of Viipuri, escalating on the next, final day of the battle. Westerlund notes descriptions by jaegers Nurmio and Grandell of difficulty of identifying the Reds, as they hid amongst the population. Street combat and sniper skirmishes colored the final day of the battle. Orders for conducting the executions were mainly given by the officers of the Jäger Movement. For example, the Jäger Major Harald Öhquist admitted that his company had shot some 150 "Red Ruskies", but did not mention who had given the order. After the war, General Karl Fredrik Wilkama was considered to be responsible for the massacre, but neither he nor anyone else was ever convicted or even charged in a court of law. Wilkama himself described the massacre as a "little accident". == Victims ==

Different estimations of the total number slain have taken place over the years. Soikkanen approximated the number at about 200, Tanskanen at 100, Upton at 50+, Russian newspapers noted by Vihavainen at 500-600, Rustanius and Jouni Eerola at 200, and lastly Jaru and Jouni Eerola at 350-550. Westerlund estimates the number at 360-420. Teemu Keskisarja estimates it at about 400. 37 of the slain were members of other ethnic groups living in Viipuri, including 23 Polish soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army, several Ukrainians, Estonians, Jews and Tatars, two Italians and one Baltic German. At least half of the murdered Russians were affiliated with the army. It is notable that they did not fight with the Reds, but were mostly unarmed. Only few of the victims had any connections with the Red Guards, most of them even supported the Whites and greeted them as liberators. Not all caught Russian were slain, as there are numerous mentions of spared Russians in the committee records. ==Citations==