Matti Kurikka (January 24, 1863 Maloye Karlino,

Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Tsarskoselsky Uyezd (''Царскосельский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Tsarskoye Se ...

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...

, historical

Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Est ...

– October 4, 1915

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

, United States) was a Finnish journalist,

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

, and

utopian socialist Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...

. Kurikka was the editor of the newspaper ''

Työmies ''Työmies'' (The Worker) was a politically radical Finnish-language newspaper published primarily out of Hancock, Michigan, and Superior, Wisconsin. Launched as a weekly in July 1903, the paper later went to daily frequency and was issued und ...

'' from 1897 to 1899. In 1908 Kurikka purchased the newspaper '' Wiipurin Sanomat''. As editor of ''Wiipurin Sanomat'', Kurikka was initially influenced by the

Young Finns Young Finns ( fi, Nuorsuomalaiset) was a liberal political party 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 t ...

' political movement, later moving towards

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...

. Kurikka moved to North America in 1900 and founded the newspaper '' Aika'', the first Finnish-Canadian newspaper. In 1901 Kurikka helped establish

Sointula Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present ...

, a utopian island colony on

Malcolm Island Malcolm Island is an island in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located north of Haddington Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait near Vancouver Island. It has ferry access from the Vancouver Island community of Port McNeill. The island ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, based on cooperative principles. Sointula dissolved as a utopian colony in 1905 after financial difficulties and a devastating fire, but continued as a fishing and logging-based community. Kurikka had attempted to found utopian communities in

Chillagoe, Queensland Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 251 people. It was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but is now reduced to a small z ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and in Canada prior to Sointula. Kurikka died in

in 1915. Shortly before his own death, Matti Kurikka delivered the eulogy at

Johan Kock Captain Johan Kock (4 June 1861 – 13 April 1915) was a Finland, Finnish soldier who had been decommissioned from the Finnish Defence Forces, Finnish army in Viipuri in 1897. Kock was a revolutionary who was the leader of the Red Guards (Finland) ...

's funeral.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*

1863 births 1915 deaths People from Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Finnish Christian socialists Utopian socialists Finnish Theosophists Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917) Finnish emigrants to Canada Finnish emigrants to Australia Canadian Theosophists Canadian Christian socialists {{Finland-bio-stub