Edvard Otto Vilhelm Gylling (30 November 1881 – 14 June 1938) was a prominent Social Democratic and later Communist politician in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, later leader of Soviet Karelia. He was born in Kuopio. He was a member of

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

for the Social Democratic Party of Finland 1908–1917 and active during the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

as ''Commissar of Finance'' for the Revolutionary "Red" Finnish government. On 1 March 1918, a Treaty between the socialist governments of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

was signed in St Petersburg. The Treaty was signed by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

from the Russian side and by Council of Peoples Representatives of Finland Edvard Gylling and

Oskari Tokoi Antti Oskari Tokoi (15 April 1873 – 4 April 1963) was a Finnish people, Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1917 Tokoi acted as a Chairman of the Senate of Finland and thus he was the world’s ...

.''Vying Foreign Services'' (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)
/ref> After the Reds lost the war, Gylling fled to Sweden but later moved to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. He became one of the main leaders of the Karelo-Finnish ASSR as Chairman of Council of People's Commissars of the Karelo-Finnish SSR 1920–1935. He was accused of nationalism, removed in 1935 and arrested in 1937 as a part of the

Finnish Operation of the NKVD The Finnish Operation of the NKVD was a mass arrest, execution and deportations of persons of Finnish origin in the Soviet Union by the NKVD during the period of Great Purge (1937–1938). It was a part of the larger mass operations of the NKVD wh ...

. There are some contradictions concerning Gyllings death. According to earlier Soviet sources, Gylling died in August 1944, but according to other sources he was actually executed earlier, 1940 or 1938. According to the most recent information, the most likely date of his execution was 14 June 1938. Gylling was posthumously rehabilitated by the Soviet authorities on 16 July 1955.

References

Related Reading

*Cotter, Arthur ''The Finns'' (New York: The National Council, Department of Missions and Church Extension, 1923

*Ylarakkola, Arvo ''Edvard Gylling: Ita-Karjalan rakentaja'' (Finn-kirja (1976)) Finnish *Hodgson, John H ''Edvard Gylling ja Otto W. Kuusinen asiakirjojen valossa 1918–1920'' (Tammi. 1974) Finnish {{DEFAULTSORT:Gylling, Edvard 1881 births 1938 deaths People from Kuopio People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Communist Party of Finland politicians Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Members of the Parliament of Finland (1908–09) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1909–10) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1911–13) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1913–16) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1916–17) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1917–19) Finnish People's Delegation members University of Helsinki alumni Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki Great Purge victims from Finland Soviet rehabilitations People from the Republic of Karelia Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Finnish amputees Finnish Marxists Finnish statisticians Finnish communists