Red Finland: Revolutionary symbols as emotional figures in 1918

Abstract

The Finnish Socialist Workers’ Republic, known as Red Finland, was a short-lived socialist republic in Southern Finland from late January to mid-May 1918. The socialist revolution led to a Civil War in Finland, ending in a victory for the non-socialists, the Whites. Unlike in Russia, from which Finland had gained independence just before the Civil War, the workers’ revolution never fully materialised.This chapter examines how the Red revolutionaries justified, narrativised and symbolised Red Finland. Rituals and group symbols were central in constructing collective experiences and memories. Drawing from the history of emotions and experience, I refer to these symbols as emotional figures – objectified ideas and images through which people perceive and give meaning to the world.