Erkki Aleksanteri Räikkönen (13 August 1900 – 30 March 1961) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

leader. Born in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

, he attended the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

before taking part in the ill-fated mission to secure independence for Karelia in 1921.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 312 Like most of those who took part in this event he joined the Academic Karelia Society (AKS), helping to found the movement along with

Elias Simojoki Lauri Elias Simojoki (28 January 1899 – 25 January 1940) was a Finnish clergyman who became a leading figure in the country's far right movement. The son of a clergyman, Simojoki was born on 28 January 1899 in Rautio. Philip Rees, '' Biographic ...

and

Reino Vähäkallio Reino is the Portuguese, Galician and Spanish word for ''kingdom'' and may refer to: * Reino, Campania, a town in the province of Benevento, Italy People Surname Reino is a Spanish surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Fernando Góm ...

. He quit in 1928 to join ''Itsenäisyyden Liitto'' (Independence League), a group that had been formed by

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

, Räikkönen's most admired political figure. Räikkönen took this decision in response to the banning of the Lapua Movement, a move that had left the far right in Finland without a wide organisational basis (groups like AKS having small, elite memberships). Along with Herman Gummerus and

Vilho Annala Vilho Annala (17 January 1888 – 28 July 1960) was a Finnish civil servant, economist and far right politician. Early years Annala was born in Lapua, and first came to prominence as a student at the University of Helsinki, where he edited the s ...

Räikkönen was the founder of the

Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1 ...

in 1932. He would not stay a member long however as the group soon became purely Finnish (isolating the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-speaking Räikkönen) and he moved closer to

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. Having left the movement he contented himself with editing the journal ''Suomen Vapaussota'', whilst also becoming involved in

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

movement, a Nazi organization for Finland's Swedish-speaking population and Blue Cross, another Nazi group. He ultimately emigrated to Sweden in 1945 and lived out his life there in retirement.Lindstedt, Risto: Ukko-Pekka ja maisetri. Suomen Kuvalehti, 2020, nro 28, s. 28-33. Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet Oy. Suomen Kuvalehti Arkist
(vain tilaajille)

References

1900 births 1961 deaths Politicians from Saint Petersburg Patriotic People's Movement (Finland) politicians Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish nationalists Finnish writers Finnish emigrants to Sweden Finnish Nazis {{Finland-politician-stub