Important dates

1930

28 March

A crowd upset by writings in communist newspapers destroys Työn Ääni’s printing press in Vaasa.

1 May–15 September

Anti-communists carry out 254 political kidnappings in Finland. Three of the kidnappings end in murder.

7 July

The anti-communist Lapua Movement organises a great peasant march in Helsinki to put pressure on the government to prohibit communist activities.

18 July

Members of the Lapua movement kidnap Väinö Hakkila, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Mayor of Tampere, and transport him to Lapua. During the kidnapping, Hakkila, a Social Democrat, is forced to sit on an ant-hill, among other ordeals.

11 November

The parliament passes legislation that prohibit communist activities.

24 November

Stockmann opens a modern department store in Helsinki, the largest in the Nordic countries.