Academic Karelia Society
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The Academic Karelia Society (''Akateeminen Karjala-Seura'', AKS) was a Finnish nationalist and Finno-Ugric activist organization aiming at the growth and improvement of newly independent
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 ...
, founded by academics and students of the University of Finland in 1922. Its members retained influential positions in the academic life of the era as well as within the officer corps of the Army. The AKS controlled the student union of 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 ...
from the mid-1920s right up to 1944, when the Society was disbanded in the aftermath of the Continuation War.


Ideological roots

The political and philosophical ideology of the AKS had its main roots in the philosophy of the 19th century Fennophile statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman who emphasized a strong national state and the need of bringing the Finnish language into the forefront of the Finnish cultural life, which was dominated almost exclusively by the Swedish language. The nationalistic ideology of the AKS also stemmed from the common European discussion of national rights based on the 14 points of President Wilson. Also the experience of 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 ...
bolstered a deep anti-socialist sentiment in the Finnish nationalist circles of that time. One of the slogans the AKS used was "''Pirua ja ryssää vastaan!''" (Against the devil and the Ruskies!) where the devil is referring to the Society's main domestic enemies, the socialists and communists. Despite holding views close to the Fascist movement of Italy, there was no influence from abroad - the AKS was founded in February 1922 before the
March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...
and its origins were purely domestic. The group was founded by Elias Simojoki,
Erkki Räikkönen Erkki Aleksanteri Räikkönen (13 August 1900 – 30 March 1961) was a Finnish nationalist leader. Born in St. Petersburg to a cantor, he attended the University of Helsinki before taking part in the ill-fated mission to secure independence for Ka ...
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 ...
.


Symbols

A bullet was sewn in the black AKS flag, which was the same one that had killed
Repola Reboly (russian: Реболы, fi, Repola, krl, Rebol´ä) is a settlement in the Republic of Karelia of the Russian Federation by the Finnish border, located southeast of Kuhmo and northeast of Lieksa. In 1926 the settlement had a population ...
's
Lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...
Bobi Sivén (See: Aunus expedition). Sivén became a martyr of the AKS and had a cult of personality similar to that of Horst Wessel in Germany later on. Sivén was an example to the people of AKS of how the issue of Karelia is more important than one's own life, as Sivén himself had said. Members of the AKS were sworn in before the black flag. From 1923, oaths were held twice a year, on Day of the Finnish Identity and Independence Day. In the spring of 1924, an oath was also introduced, which, in addition to the flag, became the AKS' second main rite. The oath taken in front of the AKS black flag was as follows:
Under and to our flag I swear by all that is sacred and dear to me, to sacrifice my work and life to my Fatherland, to Finnish national awakening, for Karelia and Ingria, for Greater Finland. For as surely as I believe in one great God, I believe in Greater Finland and its great future.


Karelia

Many of the founders of the AKS were veterans of the Karelian wars and thus had knowledge of the plight of the Karelian-speaking population in Soviet Karelia. The Karelians were considered to be a part of the Finnish ''heimo'' (
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
) and their fate was of utmost importance for the AKS. The Academic Karelia Society's program was centered around their main demand: the acquisition of
East Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...
from Soviet
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and the liberation of the Karelian kinfolk. The work towards this goal was mainly done by propagandist efforts to keep the matter in the public eye. AKS also organized aid to Finnic minorities in Soviet Russia and refugees from there and promoted cultural efforts to help the Finnish-speaking minorities of northern Sweden and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. They also tried to cultivate friendship between the newly independent states of Finland and Estonia (and, to a lesser degree, Hungary).


Domestic policies of the AKS

Domestically the AKS was an emphatic proponent for a strengthened army and for strict restrictions against
Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
, although it at the same time stressed the need of improving the lot of the working classes in the interest of the national community. It also promoted the rights of the Finnish language to become the first language in the country, especially in the Universities and in the bureaucracy of the state. Initially the group was ambiguous to
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
but under the chairmanship of
Vilho Helanen Vilho Veikko Päiviö Helanen (24 November 1899 – 8 June 1952) was a Finnish civil servant and politician. Helanen was born in Oulu, and was a student as the University of Helsinki, where he gained an MA in 1923 and completed his doctorate in ...
it came to oppose the concept. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 176 In the 1930s, the AKS was an ally of the
ultra-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
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 ...
party. AKS also maintained close ties with a militant
secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
called Vihan Veljet. Some authors claim that Vihan Veljet was actually a group inside the AKS, not a separate organization, but there is not much evidence either way.


Legacy of the AKS

After the end of World War II, the organization was labeled "fascistic" and officially disbanded in September 1944 on the order of the
Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern ...
. The archives of AKS, which were originally located in the New Student House in the heart of
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, were hidden or destroyed by its members because they were considered insignificant at the time. They contained current correspondence, publicized materials, handwritten essays, writings related to the early stage of AKS's activity. Prominent former members include quite a few academics, bishops, business leaders, generals and politicians (e.g. president Urho Kekkonen). Many officers of the Finnish army during the wars of 1939–1940 and 1941–1944 were members of the Society. "By 1966, 41 former members of AKS had the rank of a senior officer in the Finnish army." In 1968 seven of the nine bishops of Lutheran Church of Finland were former members of AKS. Up to the 1970's AKS influenced primarily on the cultural life of Finland according to Risto Alapuro.


References


Further reading

*Eskelinen, Heikki. (2004), "Me tahdoimme suureksi Suomenmaan". Akateemisen Karjala-Seuran historia I, English summary p. 382-385. WS Bookwell Oy. {{Finnish far right Finnish nationalism Political history of Finland 1922 establishments in Finland 1944 disestablishments in Finland Anti-communist organisations in Finland