Yrjö Ilmari Keinonen (31 August 1912, in

Ruskeala Ruskeala (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a settlement) under the subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions, administrative jurisdiction of the city of federal subject significance, town of republic sign ...

– 29 October 1977, in

Nurmijärvi Nurmijärvi () is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Nurmijärvi is situated in the Uusimaa region. The population of Nurmijärvi is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, mun ...

) was a Finnish General of the Infantry and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross. He was the

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

between 1965 and 1969. In 1945, Keinonen was arrested for his involvement in the Weapons Cache Case. He was later sentenced to 14 months in prison. General Keinonen was the only Chief of Defence to be forced to resign in-term. When he was selected for the position, his formal qualifications were excellent, and he was unambiguously supported by President Kekkonen. A contemporary, Lieutenant Colonel Tiilikainen, devotes an entire chapter to the reasons why he resigned in his book about the Cold War in Finland. Officially, the explanation was neglect of duties, working only an estimated 90 days annually. However, there was widespread resentment against him, both in the forces and later revealed in other memoirs from other generals. This hints towards a more serious accusation,

defeatism Defeatism is the acceptance of defeat without struggle, often with negative connotations. It can be linked to pessimism in psychology, and may sometimes be used synonymously with fatalism or determinism. In politics, defeatism is used for one's p ...

. Namely, Tiilikainen speculates that due to the

Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 The Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance of 1948, also known as the YYA Treaty from the Finnish () ( Swedish: was the basis for Finno–Soviet relations from 1948 to 1992. It was the main instrument in implementing ...

, Keinonen believed that a Soviet occupation was eventually inevitable. Thus, the remaining task of the Chief of Defence was to be some sort of a Finnish General

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

, doing only damage control, and thus active defence planning was unnecessary.Tiilikainen, Heikki. ''Kylmän sodan kujanjuoksu.'' Ajatus Kirjat, 2003. .

References

1912 births 1977 deaths People from Sortavalsky District Military personnel from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Chiefs of staff (Finnish Defence Forces) Finnish anti-communists Finnish generals Finnish military personnel of World War II Finnish prisoners and detainees Knights of the Mannerheim Cross {{Finland-bio-stub Prisoners and detainees of Finland