Tuomas W. Hyrskymurto

Who was Tuomas W. Hyrskymurto?

Tuomas Wilho Hyrskymurto was a Finnish Communist revolutionary and originary merchant from Turku.

Hyrskymurto was in prison during the Hakaniemi skirmish in 1906. In 1917 he was the member of Turku social democratic city council's radical wing and one of the founders of the Turku Red Guard.

During the Finnish Civil War Myrskymurto was in Red Guard in Northern frontier as control commissar and member of the Tampere Red Guard. During the start of war Hyrskymurto's lead the Turku Red Guard with 300 cavalry and occupied Toijala railway station at January 26 in 1918.

He had also planned the Suinula massacre which took place on January 31 where he ordered that Red Guard should not take any prisoners. After the massacre he was known as the Butcher of Suinula. When the White Guard was besieging Tampere Hyrskymurto left the city and went to Toijala Red Guard commanders Eino Rahja's deputy and tried to break the Tampere siege from south. On April 20, he ordered the murder of 23 Mustiala agriculture students in Kuurila.

After the war Hyrskymurto fled to Russia. Leaving Finland Hyrskymurto left at the border huge collection of Finnish and foreign Bolshevik literature which was offered to University of Helsinki. The books were taken later to the university's library.