Sveaborg Rebellion

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The Sveaborg Rebellion was a rebellion which started June 30, 1906 on the sea fortress Suomenlinna (Sveaborg in Swedish and Russian) as part of the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907.

The rebellion began when Suomenlinna's Russian soldiers started a mutiny against the bad treatment of soldiers and against officers. The rebellion was also a protest against the loss at the Russo-Japanese War. The rebels believed that by rebelling, they would get support from other rebellions, but they didn't and the rebellion ended in 60 hours.

[edit] Start of the rebellion

The rebels' first target was to attack Kronstadt, and from there to attack Saint Petersburg and to depose the tsar. The next day, rebels captured Katajanokka in Helsinki. The Finnish Red Guards leader Johan Kock declared a general strike which supported the rebels. Ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet attacked Suomenlinna on August 1.

The next day, the rebels surrendered without reservation. Among them were 100 Finnish Red Guards. During the rebellion a bloody riot started in Hakaniemi, where Russian sailors and the Finnish White movement struck against each other. Dozens of people died.

Among the Russian prisoners were also Red Guards. The Red Guards leader Johan Kock fled the country among help with other activists to Sweden and from there to England and later he moved to the United States.