Vietti Brynolf Nykänen (15 June 1884,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

– 6 October 1951) was a Finnish architect, writer and politician. Nykänen's parents were a goldsmith who owned a workshop in St. Petersburg from 1880 to 1917 and Fabergé's foreman, Gabriel Nykänen (1854–1921), and Henrika (Hinni) Juhanantytär Tuomala Öhberg (1858–1934), who owned a sewing shop in St. Petersburg. Of the nine children, four died young. During the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

, Vietti Nykänen's younger brother, Sulo Nykänen, became known as the "Hangman of Jaala." In 1940, Sulo Nykänen was detained by the Soviets in Estonia. He was convicted of terrorism and counter-revolutionary activities and executed in 1941.Aleksi Mainio : Eteläisen alueen tiedusteluosasto ja Viron vapaussota, Sotahistoriallinen aikakauskirja 30, Suomen Sotahistoriallinen Seura – Sotamuseo, Helsinki 2010, s.104–130
/ref> He graduated from the Vyborg Real Lyceum in 1903 and graduated as an architect in 1907. Nykänen worked as an architect and independent builder in Finland, Germany and Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, Nykänen brought theoretical know-how in reinforced concrete technology to Finland with architect GE Asp and engineer Otto Weyerstall. Nykänen took part in founding the Vyborg White Guard in January 1918 and served as its chief of staff in the

. Vietti Nykänen also participated among Finnish volunteers in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

, he was also later politically active. In the early 1930s, Nykänen belonged to the National Socialist Union of Finland until he quarreled with the organization and in March 1933, founded a new "

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

" party. In the autumn of 1933, Chairman Nykänen got into disputes with his party colleagues. The opposition accused Nykänen of autocracy, and disappointed supporters left the party, setting up their organization "Stormtroopers." In 1934, Nykänen joined the ranks of the

Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Movement (, IKL, ) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1932 to 1944 and had an ideology similar to its predecessor, exce ...

. During the Continuation War, he was active in the

National Socialists of Finland The National Socialists of Finland (Finnish language, Finnish: , SKS) was a Finnish Nazi party operating in 1941–1944, led by Yrjö Raikas. The party's newspaper was the daily ''Kansallissosialisti'' (National Socialist) that was funded by Pette ...

. s. 114–115, 246, 250. In 1948, Nykänen was elected vice-chairman of the Radical People's Party. Mikko Uola: Suomalaisen populismin juurilla. Ernesti Hentunen – tasavallan hovinarri, s. 122–127. Turun Yliopiston poliittisen historian tutkimuksia 7. Turun yliopiston poliittisen historian laitos, 1997. / . In 1938, Nykänen, with Vihtori Herttua and journalist Arvo Kokko, planned a far-right coup, which was to take place on 16 May 1938 in connection with the 20th anniversary parade of the Finnish Civil War. The coup aimed at ousting Cajander's Social Democrat-Agrarian government was to be led by the civil war veteran organisation Front Soldier League, after Carl Lindh, president of the union, had been ousted and "foreign-language and pro-Masonic" forces had been removed from the organisation's board. The planners of the coup project planned for

Antti Isotalo Antti Isotalo, also known as Isoo-Antti, Isoon talo(o)n Antti or Isontalon Antti (born 30 August 1831 in Hanhimäki, Alahärmä - died 8 August 1911 in Alahärmä) was a Finnish farmer and puukkojunkkari, who led the criminal gang ''Isoo-joukk ...

to be the new chairman of the union. However, the coup was aborted due to a lack of support from the union.

Buildings designed by Nykänen

* ''As. Oy Kaarinankatu 2'', Turku 1926–1927 * ''Lönnrotinkatu 26'', Helsinki 1929

Writings

*''Huonerakennusalalla esiintyvistä tukirakenteista: rakennusteknillinen tutkielma''. Helsinki: Rakentajain kustannus oy, 1930. *''Lyhyt rautabetoniopas''. Helsinki: Otava, 1913. *''Nykyaikaisia uimahalleja''. Helsinki:

Akateeminen kirjakauppa The Academic Bookstore ( Finnish: , Swedish: ) is a Finnish chain of bookstores. It has both physical outlets as well as an online presence. Stockmann sold the chain in 2015 to Bonnier Group. Originally founded as an independent chain, it was b ...

, 1926. *''Rautabetoni: pääpiirteinen esitys sen synnystä, ominaisuuksista, teoriiasta ja käytäntötavoista''. Helsinki: Otava, 1911. *''Suomen uusi tie''. Helsinki: Kustannustoimisto Rivi, 1942. Under the pseudonym U. Olavi Keso: *''Laukolain juttu. Suomen sotilas'', Helsinki, 1928 *''Luomme nyt mahtavan, suuren Suomen'', Helsinki, 1943

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nykanen, Vietti 1884 births 1951 deaths Architects from Saint Petersburg Finnish architects Finnish Nazis Finnish writers People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Nazi politicians 1930s coups d'état and coup attempts