Kalle Korhonen

Kalle Korhonen
Карл Корхонен
Member of the Parliament of Finland
In office 4 April 1917 – 25 September 1918
Constituency	Oulu Province South
Personal details
Born	Kaarlo Eeronpoika Korhonen (1878-12-27)27 December 1878 Veneheitto, Säräisniemi, Russian Empire
Died	11 February 1938(1938-02-11) (aged 59) Karhumäki, Soviet Union
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Finland
Occupation	Farmer

Kaarlo (Kaarle) Eeronpoika Korhonen (Russian: Карл Эрикович Корхонен, romanized: Karl Erikovic Korxonen; 27 December 1878 – 11 February 1938) was a Finnish farmer, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he represented Oulu Province South between April 1917 and September 1918.[1] Korhonen went to Soviet Russia during the Finnish Civil War and was executed there in 1938 during Stalin's Great Purge.

Early life

Korhonen was born on 27[a] December 1878 in Veneheitto in Säräisniemi municipality in central Grand Duchy of Finland.[1][2] After attending public school, he worked as a wheelwright and a labourer.[2] He was a farmer in Säräisniemi.[1]

Politics and civil war

Korhonen joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1902 and was chairman of the party's local branch.[2] He was elected to the Parliament of Finland at the 1916 parliamentary election.[3][4] He was re-elected at the 1917 parliamentary election.[5][6]

During the Finnish Civil War Korhonen was sent to Petrograd as part of a people's delegation.[2] After the Reds were defeated Korhonen remained in Soviet Russia.

Exile and death

Korhonen was chairman of the Airo commune in Kostroma in the Volga region.[2] He was sent to Karelia in June 1920 where he worked as a raftsman on the Sunu river, as a railway guard in Kemi and in the land affairs department of the Uhtua District (Kalevalsky District) administration.[2] He was a manager of financial affairs at a youth school (1923-1930), a director of the financial department of the Uhtua state farm (1930-1933), school director (1932-1936) and a worker of the Municipal Department of the Uhtua District Executive Committee (1936).[2]

Korhonen was a member of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) from 1918 to 1936.[2] With the onset of Stalin's Great Purge, Korhonen was expelled from the party on 26 November 1935 by the Kalevala district committee.[2] He was imprisoned on 30 November 1937 for counter-revolutionary activities and on 21 January 1938 sentenced to death by shooting.[2][7] He was executed on 11 February 1938 in the foothills of Karhumäki (Medvezhyegorsk).[2][7] He was posthumously rehabilitated in September 1988.[2][7]

Personal life

Korhonen was married to Hilma (Hilda) and had an adopted daughter, Silvia Thorstensson.[2][8] Later he married Soviet citizen Anna and lived in Uhtua (Kalevala) in Russian Karelia.[2] They had a son, Taisto.[2]

See also

• List of Finnish MPs imprisoned for political reasons

Notes

1. Another sources give Korhonen's date of birth as 26 December 1878.[2]

References

1. "Kansanedustajat: Kalle Korhonen" (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Parliament of Finland. Archived from the original on 18 March 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
2. "KASNTn NKVDn vuosina 1937 - 1938 rankaisemien Suomen Eduskunnan entisten jäsenten luettelo (A - K)". Virallinnen Karjala (in Finnish). Petroskoi, Russia: enäjän FSBn Karjalan Hallinto. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017.
3. "Eduskuntawaalit". Sanantuoja (in Finnish). No. 76. Kuopio, Finland. 13 July 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.
4. "Ilmoitus". Kaleva (in Finnish). No. 159. Oulu, Finland. 15 July 1916. p. 1. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.
5. "Ilmoitus". Kaiku (in Finnish). No. 199. Oulu, Finland. 19 October 1917. p. 1. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.
6. "Uuden eduskunnan kokoonpano". Keski-Savo (in Finnish). No. 113. Savonlinna, Finland. 20 October 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.
7. Lahti-Argutina, Eila (2001). Olimme joukko vieras vaan : venäjänsuomalaiset vainonuhrit Neuvostoliitossa 1930-luvun alusta 1950-luvun alkuun (in Finnish). Turku, Finland: Siirtolaisuusinstituutti. p. 239. ISBN 951-9266-72-0. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.
8. "Konkurssi- ja velkomisasioita". Virallinen lehti (in Finnish). No. 164. Helsinki, Finland. 8 October 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 26 December 2023 – via National Library of Finland.