Iisakki Vihtori Kosola (10 July 1884 – 14 December 1936) was the leader of the Finnish right-wing radical Lapua Movement. Kosola was born in Ylihärmä,

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

. His family's farmhouse burnt down the next year, and the family moved to Lapua. His formative years were spent in farming and cattle-breeding. Kosola was an active recruiter of

Finnish Jäger troops Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

to Germany from Autumn 1915, and was incarcerated in 1916. He was imprisoned in Helsinki, then at the Shpalernaya prison in St. Petersburg among other Finnish activists. He was released after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and eagerly took part in 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 ...

against the Red Guards and the Russians. After the war Kosola led the Lapua White Guard. He also joined the Agrarian League. In the 1920s he organized Vientirauha, a strikebreakers' organisation, in Southern Ostrobothnia. He made a speech at the first meeting of the anti-communist Lapua Movement as it was organized in 1929, and was chosen as its leader as the movement radicalized in the following year. He took part of the abortive

Mäntsälä Rebellion The Mäntsälä rebellion ( fi, Mäntsälän kapina, ) was a failed coup attempt by the Lapua Movement to overthrow the Finnish government. On 27 February 1932 some 400 armed members of the '' Suojeluskunta'' militia interrupted a meeting o ...

of 1932 that ended with the dissolution and banning of the Lapua Movement and the brief imprisonment of Kosola. Kosola was chosen as president of the Lapua Movement's successor, the

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 ...

(IKL), but as the Movement became more political, Kosola had less time to participate in its affairs in Helsinki. Kosola's political career ended in 1936, when he was deposed from IKL's leadership; he was considered more of a liability than an asset by IKL. Contemporary accounts describe Kosola after being freed from jail as a tired and sick man who drank alcohol to deal with the stress. He was also in excessive debt and his farm was subject to foreclosure and auction. He died of pneumonia in December 1936. Kosola's first son, Niilo, bought the farm and was eventually elected as an MP and briefly as a government minister. Kosola's second son, Pentti, was imprisoned for shooting a political opponent. Pentti fought in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

(1939–40) as a fighter pilot, but was killed in action. Kosola's radical right-wing politics caused a common saying in the 1930s: "Heil Hitler, meil Kosola," accented Finnish for "They've got Hitler, we've got Kosola". Sometimes also a third stanza, "muil Mussolini" (the others have Mussolini) was added. Kosola had a sobriquet ''Kosolini'' after his charismatic and vivid style of speech similar to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

. According to some contemporaries, he was always conceived of as a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

of Finland. His descendant, Jaakko Kosola, continues the legacy of his family in municipal politics, proudly admiring his great-great-grandfather and the Lapua Movement. He is deputy commissioner and chairman of the Lapua Conservative Youth.

Works

* ''Viimeistä Piirtoa Myöten'', Lapua, 1935 (Memoirs)

References

*''European Right: A Historical Profile'' edited by Hans Rogger and Eugen Weber, the "Finland" chapter by Marvin Rintala and *''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' edited by Philip Rees, 1991, *A biography from ''Eteläpohjalaisia elämänkertoja'', 196

(Finnish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosola, Vihtori 1884 births 1936 deaths People from Ylihärmä People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Centre Party (Finland) politicians Finnish fascists Patriotic People's Movement (Finland) politicians People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Deaths from pneumonia in Finland