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Public Order Collapses 1917 – When Hatred Became a Virtue and Revenge a Merit

The “Public Order Collapses 1917” exhibition took museum visitors through the turmoil of the birth year of independent Finland. What happens when opposing opinions divide a country and citizens no longer trust the authorities?

General view of the exhibition “Public order collapses 1917”. The picture shows museum visitors viewing the exhibition, with old banners and photographs in the foreground.

Photo the Police Museum, Henri Hautamäki

The exhibition shed light on the dramatic events of 1917. After the March revolution in Russia, Finns had no common view of who had the power to maintain public order. Opposing groups began establishing militia, or “guards”, to protect their safety. The country was drifting towards civil war.

In the exhibition, museum visitors got to experience the heated events of the militia strike in Turku in December 1917, and to take a peek into a smuggler’s sleigh. We exhibited rare police uniforms, and Jorma Gallen-Kallela’s sketches of the police uniforms of independent Finland were also displayed.

The “Public Order Collapses 1917” exhibition was displayed from the spring of 2017 to the autumn of 2020.

A smuggling sleigh in the exhibition.

Photo the Police Museum

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Visit the online exhibition as well

In addition, connected to the “Public Order Collapses 1917” exhibition, there is an online exhibition “The Police of Independent Finland” which describes the development of the police forces in independent Finland.

Visit “The Police of Independent Finland” online exhibition