The cornerstone of unity

33 FINNISH NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE
At the end of the 19th century Russian nationalists began to call for a more systematic Russification of the 
country’s borderlands, including Finland, which had been an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Empire since 
1809. When N.I. Bobrikov arrived in Helsinki in October 1898 to assume the office of governor-general, he came 
with a firm conviction that the Finns 
had been allowed to cultivate the false doctrine of Finland’s statehood for 
too long; constitutionalism and separatism must now be uprooted, and to this end he drew up a detailed agenda 
for the administrative and cultural assimilation of Finland into autocratic Russia. For many Finns the 
implementation of Bobrikov’s programme was seen not only as a violation of Finland’s constitution, but also as a 
coup d’état, “the instigation of military law,” and the “murder of Finland.” The Finnish resistance tradition was 
redefined and radicalised during the ensuing Finno-Russian conflict, incorporating a sophisticated variety of 
strikingly effective means of systematic non-
cooperation. This “new way of waging warfare” was not understood 
simply as defence, but also as a kind of non-military warfare and nation-wide organisation with discerning 
offensive tactics. It was also conceived as a special Tolstoyan form of struggle. 
Non-violent resistance was carried out through the constitutionalist front of the liberal Young Finn and 
Swedish parties, who were, in spite of ideological tension, joined by socialist labour groups. The 
constitutionalists’ resistance organisation Kagal contributed financial aid to all worker-run, anti-government 
activity. Alongside students, workers we
re mainly responsible for stirring up agitation on a local level. A women’s 
resistance organisation was also formed. 
The basis of Finnish resistance was a refusal to cooperate with, obey, or recognise any unjust, illegal or 
violent acts committed against the Finnish people or their laws. Through this type of resistance the people were 
to wield a non-violent social power which would ultimately force the ruler into capitulating to their demands. To 
illustrate this, the resisters quoted Tolstoy’s concept of voluntary servitude, which expressed the idea that if 
people do not make their sense of justice known in a firm and vigorous manner, and if they do not refuse to 
submit, then they have only themselves to blame for the oppression they suffer. 
The Finnish resisters had a broad concept of the scope of the methodology of non-violent resistance. Popular 
education was seen as fundamental to societal defence, and another basic component of resistance was protest. 
At an early stage of their struggle, however, resisters emphasised that they had to go beyond protests, appeals, 
petitions and speeches to civil disobedience and non-cooperation, which they saw as the most important 
weapon in their non-violent repertoire. Furthermore, social and economic non-cooperation and social boycotts 
were advocated for use against both Russians and compliant Finns. 
One early form of protest was to encourage prominent Europeans to protest en masse. Their success was 
impressive: twelve Pro Finlandia petitions to the tsar were signed by 1,
050 of Europe’s most outstanding 
representatives of literature, science, politics and art. The Pro Finlandia movement was seen internationally as a 

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historically unique “activation of the public opinion of the civilised world.” 
On the domestic front an elaborate resistance organisation was established with departments throughout 
Finland. An underground press was created which succeeded in eluding official censorship with a wide variety of 
resistance literature 
– leaflets, booklets and newssheets – smuggled in from abroad. 
Perhaps the most vigorous resistance campaign was against Russian efforts to abolish Finland’s separate 
military and to conscript Finnish youths into the imperial armed forces. The conscription boycott succeeded to a 
remarkable degree between 1901 and 1904; no Finnish troops were incorporated into the Russian army and no 
Finns were obliged to fight in the Russo-Japanese war. The draft was suspended in 1905. A large part of the 
Finnish population participated in the unprecedented general strike that brought the empire to its knees in the 
Russian Revolution of 1905. Finns created one of the earliest and most sophisticated varieties of 20th century 
non-violent struggle, and M.K. Gandhi was watching. 
Steve Huxley 
– Ph.D.