Sisu, "Even Through a Stone Wall": The Autobiography of Oskari Tokoi

by Oskari Tokoi, John I. Kolehmainen (Introduction)

Overview

Originally published in 1957, Sisu, “Even Through a Stone Wall” is the English-language edition of the memoirs of the Social Democratic premier of Finland of 1917, Oskari Tokoi. Included are his account of events in Helsinki and Russo-Finnish relations during 1917, the Finnish civil war, and the little-known story of the Finnish Legion’s role in the Allied intervention in North Russia.

“‘sisu’…something that ‘surpasses fearlessness and extraordinary endurance...a kind of inner fire or superhuman nerve force....courage, tenacity, stubborn determination, energy and a will and an ability to get things done.’

“The record is now before us, and it constitutes, in my opinion, an inspiring revelation of Finnish sisu. It took real bravery for a young country lad of eighteen to emigrate to the New World in 1891 and to toil long hours in the eerie half-darkness of Wyoming and Colorado mines, disdainful of the large chunks of rock and ore hanging overhead which seemed to warn: “Beware! Someday we’ll fall and bury you!”—John I. Kolehmainen

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789125078
Publisher:	Borodino Books
Publication date:	12/01/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	221
Sales rank:	886,395
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

OSKARI TOKOI (1873-1963) was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. Born Antti Oskari Hirvi in the Central Ostrobothnia region of Finland on May 15, 1873, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1891, aged 18, working as a miner in the Midwest. In 1900 he returned to Finland, supporting himself as a farmer and merchant. He became politically active in 1901 and was elected as chairman of the workers’ association of Kannus in 1905. In 1907 he was elected to the Finnish parliament (Eduskunta) as a representative of the Social Democrats, chairman of the Finnish Trade Union Federation in 1912, and head of the Senate of Finland in 1917. When the Revolution began, Tokoi sided with the Reds, who appointed him Finland’s minister of foodstuffs. However, the Finns won their independence, forcing Tokoi into exile in Canada. He returned to the U.S. in 1921 and moved to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where from 1922-1959 he served on the editorial staff of the Finnish Daily Raivaaja. During WWII, Tokoi toured the U.S. as an active public voice for the cause of Finland, and the Edskunta exonerated him in 1944 of all charges related to the Finnish Civil War. After WWII he became an activist among Finnish-Americans and was honored with an Aaltonen sculpture at the Social Democrat party headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. Tokoi died in Fitchburg on April 4, 1963, aged 90.

John I. Kolehmainen (1910-1995) was a Finnish-American historian and writer. Born in 1910 in Conneaut, Ohio to Finnish immigrants from Viitasaari, he studied at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He served as a professor of history and political science at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and as a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Helsinki (1955-56). He published several books, including studies on the history of American Finns and a history of the Finnish Daily Raivaaja. He died in Canada in 1969, aged 85.