Taavetti Lukkarinen (8 November 1884 in

Nilsiä Nilsiä is a former small town and a municipality of Finland. It joined the city of Kuopio at the beginning of year 2013. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The town has a population of (31 December 2012) and covers an area of of whic ...

– 2 October 1916 in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

) was a former Kemi Oy's foreman from

Keminmaa Keminmaa (; until 1979 ''Kemin maalaiskunta''; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located near the towns of Kemi and Tornio in the Lapland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popu ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, who was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

after helping

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prisoners of war who had fled the

Kirov Railway Railway between Murmansk on the Arctic Ocean and Saint Petersburg on the broad gauge Russia">Baltic Sea The Kirov Railway (; until 1935 ''Murman Railway'') is a Russian gauge">broad gauge Russian railway network that links the Murman Coast ...

construction site via

Finnish Lapland Lapland is the largest and northernmost Regions of Finland, region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gul ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He was not an actual recruiter of the

Jäger Movement The Jäger Movement () consisted of volunteers from Finland who trained in Germany as Jägers during World War I. Supported by Germany to enable the creation of a Finnish sovereign state, the movement was one of many means by which Germany int ...

. Lukkarinen was caught helping German prisoners of war on 26 December 1915 at Koivu railway station. He had hidden three of his German sledges that had been lifted on a train in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

. Lukkarinen and three Germans were arrested. Lukkarinen managed to escape to Sweden, but returned to Finland with a forged passport due to being homesick. Fearing a train inspection at

Oulu railway station The Oulu Railway Station is located in the centre of Oulu, Finland, in the city district of Vaara. All trains are operated by VR. Nearby is the Oulu bus station for long-distance buses. The railway station was built in 1886 when the Ostroboth ...

, he fell off the train around Kiviniemi station. This was discovered and Lukkarinen was arrested by the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

s in June 1916. Lukkarinen was kept in vicious conditions in Oulu County Prison. The death sentence was handed down by a secret VI Army Military Court. The ruling has been accused of the Finnish Governor of the

Province of Oulu The Province of Oulu (, , ) was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland and also the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia. History The Province of Oulu was established in 1775 ...

, Axel Fabian af Enehjelm, who allegedly, under pressure from the Russians, contributed to the fact that a rather insignificant

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

was made a warning example by sentencing him to death. According to another view, af Enehjelm, known for his pro-Russianism, sought to act in such a way that Lukkarinen was not pardoned. In prison, Lukkarinen was prevented from meeting his wife, who had traveled to Oulu specifically from

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

. Lukkarinen was

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

on 2 October 1916 in Oulu's

Kontinkangas Kontinkangas is a district of Oulu, Finland. It is located to the east of the National road 4 and to the north of the National road 22 about two kilometers from the city centre. Its neighbouring districts are Kaukovainio, Raksila, Peltola and ...

. The body was covered in a pit dug at the base of the

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

. After Finland became independent, Lukkarinen's reputation was restored, his grave was opened and his earthly remains officially buried in

Oulu Cemetery The Oulu Cemetery () is a cemetery located in the Intiö district close to the city centre of Oulu, Finland. The cemetery was inaugurated in 1781 by vicar Carl Henrik Ståhle. The cemetery was first known as ''Ståhleborg'', after the vicar and ...

in 1917.Tieteen kuvalahti Historia 15/2013, p.74 (in Finnish) Taavetti Lukkarisen hirttopuu

Today, Lukkarinen's gallow tree is located next to the current

Oulu University of Applied Sciences University of Applied Sciences (OAMK) () is a university of applied sciences in , Finland, with approximately 9,000 students, including around 240 international degree students. The number of incoming exchange students annually is approximately ...

' Department of Social and Health Care. The place is marked on the terrain. There is a fence around the supposed hanging tree with text describing the event. However, according to some estimates, the tree is not the same, but another tree would have been chosen instead.

References

External links

Joni Skiftesvikin romaanin "Isäni, sankari" päähenkilön esikuva on Taavetti Lukkarinen
(in Finnish)
Ylkkäri 14/2003
p. 17 The hanging of Taavetti Lukkarinen in 1916. (in Finnish) 1884 births 1916 deaths Executed Finnish people Finnish activists Grand Duchy of Finland Political history of Finland People executed for treason against Finland People executed for treason against Russia People executed by the Grand Duchy of Finland by hanging {{Finland-bio-stub

See also

Further reading

References

External links