Background
Lapuan liike started in 1929 and was initially dominated by anti-communist nationalists, emphasizing the legacy of the nationalist activism, the White Guards and the Civil War in Finland. The movement saw itself as the badly needed restorator of what was won in the Civil War, supporting Lutheranism, nationalism, and anti-communism.
Many politicians, and also high military officers, were initially sympathetic with the Lapua Movement, as anti-communism was the norm in the educated classes after the Civil War. However, excessive use of violence made the movement less popular within a few months.
In the Civil War Ostrobothnia was one of the most important strongholds and bases of the White army, and anti-Communist sentiments remained extremely strong in Ostrobothnia. Late in November 1929 the Young Communist League of Finland arranged agitation, meetings and protests in Ostrobothnian Lapua. More specifically, they mocked God, the Lutheran Church, the bourgeois fatherland, the Finnish army and General Mannerheim. This infuriated the locals, who violently made an end to the meeting. On December 1st the first anti-communist meeting was held, attracting more than 1,000 people demanding and end to all communist activities.
Read more about this topic: Lapua Movement
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