Konrad Zilliacus and Revolutionary Russia

Abstract

Abstract The Russian revolutionary movement was not well known in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Connections between Finnish political activists and Russian revolutionaries started only in the first years of the twentieth century. This article investigates Swedish-speaking author and activist Konrad Zilliacus's relation with the Russian revolutionaries. It analyzes how Zilliacus's understanding of revolutionary Russia was constructed. Based on the close reading of his book Det Revolutionära Ryssland and the Finnish and English translations of this book, this study analyzes Zilliacus's perceptions of Russia, sources of his information, and the reception of the book and its impact on general knowledge of revolutionary Russia in Finland. The article illuminates Zilliacus's connections abroad and with the Russian socialist revolutionaries. It provides an insight into the topics of the book and discusses how this information was obtained and how the experts of the book were related in the network of the revolutionaries. The article discusses the impact of the book and draws a synthesis of the Russian expertise in Finland and abroad of that time. The article demonstrates how the socialist revolutionaries, who had also sought support from abroad, influenced Zilliacus's thinking on Russian opposition and the future of Finland.