White Guard (Finland)

Common card · No. 267012

The White Guard, officially known as the Civil Guard (Finnish: Suojeluskunta, IPA: [ˈsuo̯jelusˌkuntɑ]; Swedish: Skyddskår, Finland Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɕydːsˌkoːr]; lit. 'Protection Corps'), was a voluntary militia, part of the Finnish Whites movement, that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guards in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. They were generally known as the "White Guard" in the West due to their opposition to the "communist" Red Guards. In the White Army of Finland, many participants were recruits, draftees and German-trained Jägers – rather than part of the paramilitary. The central organization was named the White Guard Organization, and the organization consisted of local chapters in municipalities. The Russian Revolution of 1905 led to social and political unrest and a breakdown of security in Finland, which was then a Grand Duchy under the rule of the Russian Tsar. Citizen militias formed as a response, but soon these would be transformed along political (left-right...

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