Taistoism () was an orthodox pro-

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

tendency in the mostly Eurocommunist Finnish

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

movement in the 1970s and 1980s. The Taistoists were an interior opposition group in the Communist Party of Finland. They were named after their leader Taisto Sinisalo, whose first name means "a battle", "a fight" or "a struggle". Sinisalo's supporters constituted a party within a party, but pressure from the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

prevented the party from formally splitting. The term ''taistolaisuus'' was a derogatory nickname invented by ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' and was never used by the group themselves. In colloquial Finnish, ''taistolainen'' is the same as Tankie in English. Although the Taistoists were sometimes identified as " Stalinists", this was not a central part of their orthodoxy. Sinisalo himself was quite critical of Stalin, though he did credit Stalin with the establishment of socialism in the USSR. The opposition was expelled from the party 1985–1986 and it formed the Communist Party of Finland (Unity), which took the name "Communist Party of Finland" after the original party's bankruptcy in 1992. Some of the former Taistoists later joined the Left Alliance or have since abandoned Communism altogether.

Notable former Taistoists

Members of Parliament

* Markus Kainulainen (1975–1979) * Lauri Kantola (1962–1975) * Mikko Kuoppa (1979–1987, 1995–2011) * Ensio Laine (1968–1995) * Pentti Liedes (1954–1966, 1970–1983, 1983–1985) * Marja-Liisa Löyttyjärvi (1979–1991) * Pauli Puhakka (1954–1983) * Irma Rosnell (1954–1987) * Taisto Sinisalo (1962–1979) * Marjatta Stenius-Kaukonen (1975–1994, 1999–2003) * Oili Suomi (1970–1972, 1977–1979) * Sten Söderström (1979–1987) * Esko-Juhani Tennilä (1975–2011) * Seppo Toiviainen (1979–1987) * Mirjam Tuominen (1970–1979) * Pentti Tiusanen (1995–2011) * Pirkko Turpeinen (1983–1987) * Rainer Virtanen (1954–1972)

Cultural movement

* Kaj Chydenius * Kristiina Halkola * Heikki Kinnunen * Kaisa Korhonen * Marja-Leena Mikkola * Aulikki Oksanen * Pirkko Saisio

Socialist student movement

* Yrjö Hakanen, chairman * Satu Hassi, member

Journalists

* Urho Jokinen, ''Tiedonantaja'' chief editor 1969–1984 * Jaakko Laakso, ''Tiedonantaja'' chief editor 1976–1991 * Leif Salmén * Erkki Susi, ''Tiedonantaja'' editor 1971–1984, chief editor 1984–? * Esko-Juhani Tennilä *

Nils Torvalds Nils Ole Hilmer Torvalds (born 7 August 1945) is a Finnish politician who had been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2012 to 2024. He is a member of the Swedish People's Party of Finland, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democra ...

, ''Arbetartidningen Enhet'' editor

Other Members

* Ilkka Kylävaara * Johannes Pakaslahti * Veikko Porkkala * Rauno Setälä * Seppo Toiviainen