A Brief History
On September 29, 1714, Cossacks from the Russian Empire slaughtered 800 Finns on the island of Hailuoto during the Russian invasion of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, known as The Great Wrath.
Digging Deeper
Russia has long had a tumultuous relationship with their neighbors, Finland and Sweden, and this time the Russians had the upper hand, defeating Sweden in battles leading up to the massacre at Hailuoto.
During 1714, Russia managed to occupy virtually all of Finland, until the end of the Great Northern War, which finally ended by the treaty of Nystad in 1721.
The occupation of Finland was characterized by partisan attacks against the Russians, and Russian retaliation in the form of rape, pillaging, and crushing taxes. Thousands of Finns died and as many as 30,000 Finns were taken as slaves. Incredibly, Swedish Count Gustaf Otto Douglas ran the occupation for the Russians from 1714 to 1717.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Frost, Robert. The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558 – 1721. Routledge, 2000.
Hourly History. Great Northern War: A History from Beginning to End. Hourly History, 2021.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Estormiz of a memorial stone for the Greater Wrath in Muhos, Finland, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work.
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