Frans Myyryläinen

Who was Frans Myyryläinen?

Frans Johan ”Janne” Myyryläinen was a Finnish Red Guard during the Finnish civil war. He was also a Red Guardian in Kainuu and an officer Guardian in Soviet Russia.

Myyryläinen worked as forest guardian and as a shopkeeper in Kainuu and as an inspector in the early 20th century. He became member in the Kainuu red guards. The opposition White Guard said that Myyryläinen was a dangerous man.

During the civil war in 1918 Myyryläinen was arrested and tried. His punishment was two years in prison and he lost his civic confidence for 12 years but escaped and was recaptured.

On his way to prison camp in Lahti Myyryläinen was able to escape a second time and this time to Soviet Union. In Russia, he was in a red guard officer school. Later, he organized underground movement in Kainuu.

Myyryläinen is known as the leader of the Pork mutiny in 1922 in Salla and in Savukoski.Using the name Jahvetti Moilanen, he stood on a crate that had formerly contained pork and delivered a speech that called the 'Declaration of Battle of the Red Guerrilla Battalion of the North'. After the speech, some 300 workers joined the battalion and were armed and given money.