Appeal to the Parliament of Finland

Elements, alien to our national aspirations, which took power under the name of the Bolsheviks, during one and a half years destroyed our country and oppressed our people. Our attempt to free oneself of these executioners in the 1918 was doomed to failure due to our weakness, and its result was strengthening of Bolshevik’s terror and increasing of their bloodthirstiness only. Thereafter flowed even more terrifying amounts of innocent Karelian blood, was plundered and destroyed the people's property, our faith was violated by converting churches into dance halls, by brutal murders of our bishops and priests and by removing the study of religion from our schools; nothing was sacred to the Bolsheviks. The oppressed by this way and starving people could no longer bear this Bolshevik yoke and voluntarily, with the generous help of our Finnish brothers which decided to sacrifice their young lives for the liberation of our people, raised his tired head again and, tempering in suffering, entered into the battle against the Bolsheviks again. Because our initially exhausted sons are unlikely to be able to free themselves from our oppressors without outside help, we meekly pass through you a request to the brotherly Finnish people to continue their constant additional assistance in those ours noble and sacred mission. Deputies of brotherly to us people, do not reject our meek request from your relatives on the other side of the border. Trust that we will never forget the generous help from relatives those we have received and will receive, and when comes the moment of our liberation, all whole Karelian people bend our knees for gratitude to the Almighty. On this historic for the Finnish people anniversary*, please accept our heartfelt congratulations and sincere wishes that the people of Finland would never again have to see those terrible times, the liberation of which is now being celebrated. You are celebrating now, but once come the time when the dream of Great Finland will come true and its relatives peoples will unite.

Vidlitsa Village, May 16. 1919

By the Olonets Temporary Government:
Georgi Kuttujeff
Ivan Akimoff
Petr Pernanin

Secretary: A.Popoff

* The first anniversary of the victory in the Finnish War of Independence