Russian spy laughing through his execution in Finland, 1942

[Imran Khan]

brave man indeed salute to dead solder

 

[Indus Pakistan]

They "savagely" decided to attack a country that was too poor-little-defenceless to harm or threaten the Soviet Union.
The true heroes/badass are the Finnish soldiers that were outnumbered,underequipped compared to the other side and that tried as good as they could to stop the Soviet invasion of Finland. The leadershp of USSR thought they could invade our country and walk in Helsinki in (at most) 2 weeks or less ! I've heard stories that parade uniforms have been found on the Soviet soldiers killed... So they were prepared to parade in Helsinki..

-
"With Molotov cocktail in hands,
No fear of their tanks.....
Death or Glory!"

I agree with you 100%. The Russian attack on a small country and the remarkable resistance by the Finnish has been overshadowed by the larger WW2 conflict that ensued. This truely was a David and Goliath struggle. I also think the Finnish reliance on Germans which given the circumstances was understandable has also masked this heroic war of resistance.

And welcome to PDF. I did not know we had Finnish members here. Being a motor racing fan I am fan of many Finnish drivers top of that list being the legendary Ari Vatenan.

A great rally driver and a even greater person.

 

[silo]

I agree with you 100%. The Russian attack on a small country and the remarkable resistance by the Finnish has been overshadowed by the larger WW2 conflict that ensued. This truely was a David and Goliath struggle. I also think the Finnish reliance on Germans which given the circumstances was understandable has also masked this heroic war of resistance.

And welcome to PDF. I did not know we had Finnish members here. Being a motor racing fan I am fan of many Finnish drivers top of that list being the legendary Ari Vatenan.

A great rally driver and a even greater person.

Hi,
Thank you for this comment sir.

P.S ; If you are interested,you could see the thread i created about the battle of Suomussalmi.

Battle of Suomussalmi : The conflict that defined the Winter War

 

[Indus Pakistan]

It’s a pretty amazing picture. To capture the last few moments of life. He knows he will die in a few seconds, in a forest in the snow. And there he will bleed out and be forgotten. His life, his experience, has come to an end. What else could he do but smile? That smile was his final Defiance. Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.

Yes, indeed the thought of this is disturbing and profound at the same time. Smiling at death might not be such a crazy notion. Couple of years ago I had terrible accident and I ended up with a clot which moved to my heart causing massive myocardial infarction.

As I was being taken to the regional cardiac trauma centre in the ambulance I could just about hear the sirens. My sister was in the ambulance also and was crying. I was in absolute state of fear. I could not believe my time had come. I thought of all the things I could have done. I thought of my childhood. As I started to lose consciousness I felt cold like I had never felt cold. The reason was of course because of lack of perfusion in extremities of the body. My pulse was about 42 with blood pressure plunging. My body, my trusted beautiful body was shutting down on me.

Then there were these thoughts of staring out of 6ft hole for eternity. Then suddenly I was in state of bliss. It was like a post fear stage. I was at peace with what was going to happen. I accepted the inevitable. Then I said to my sister look after my kids please. Then I could not hear anything but just stared at a fire extinguisher sign above me and I slowly faded thinking that was the last thing I would see in my life.

Of course I woke up six storey high and looked left through the dark and could see lots of lights sparkling. Then I saw this heavely nurse walking over. It was not hell for sure but it was cardiac ward of the local NHS cardiac trauma centre. I was alive after going through what they call emergency PCI surgery.

 

[haviZsultan]

A Soviet spy laughs at his executioner in a picture taken in Rukajärvi, in East Karelia, in November 1942. It has been thought within the Finnish Defence Forces that the decision to withhold pictures of the fate of Russian POWs and spies may also have been prompted by concerns that pro-Soviet elements in Finnish society could have used the images for propaganda purposes. This picture was declassified by the Ministry of Defense of Finland in the 2006, with the description: Unknown Soviet intelligence officer before being shot, Finland, 1942.

It’s a pretty amazing picture. To capture the last few moments of life. He knows he will die in a few seconds, in a forest in the snow. And there he will bleed out and be forgotten. His life, his experience, has come to an end. What else could he do but smile? That smile was his final Defiance. Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.

Learning about the history might be a bit interesting. What did Finland have against russia in 1942 except the war was going on. Can you please explain the situation around the pictures. Thanks.

Yes, indeed the thought of this is disturbing and profound at the same time. Smiling at death might not be such a crazy notion. Couple of years ago I had terrible accident and I ended up with a clot which moved to my heart causing massive myocardial infarction.

As I was being taken to the regional cardiac trauma centre in the ambulance I could just about hear the sirens. My sister was in the ambulance also and was crying. I was in absolute state of fear. I could not believe my time had come. I thought of all the things I could have done. I thought of my childhood. As I started to lose consciousness I felt cold like I had never felt cold. The reason was of course because of lack of perfusion in extremities of the body. My pulse was about 42 with blood pressure plunging. My body, my trusted beautiful body was shutting down on me.

Then there were these thoughts of staring out of 6ft hole for eternity. Then suddenly I was in state of bliss. It was like a post fear stage. I was at peace with what was going to happen. I accepted the inevitable. Then I said to my sister look after my kids please. Then I could not hear anything but just stared at a fire extinguisher sign above me and I slowly faded thinking that was the last thing I would see in my life.

Of course I woke up six storey high and looked left through the dark and could see lots of lights sparkling. Then I saw this heavely nurse walking over. It was not hell for sure but it was cardiac ward of the local NHS cardiac trauma centre. I was alive after going through what they call emergency PCI surgery.

I respect you all the more now. You are our mashar. Sta sa num da? Talo pashto razi?

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Hi,
Thank you for this comment sir.

P.S ; If you are interested,you could see the thread i created about the battle of Suomussalmi.

Battle of Suomussalmi : The conflict that defined the Winter War

Finland fought very very bravely and effectively in winter war .Salute to the finnish soldiers.Even during the time fo gustavas adolphus finnish hackapelita cavalry were elite troops in his army.
They basically joined the barbarossa to get back the land they lost,they even refused to make a direct attack on leningrad and cut off final supply route which would have meant death for the population.
Much of the reforms of the red army in 1940-41 were due to embarassment of winter war.

Plus winter war also produced simo haya-the most succesful sniper in history.

 

[silo]

Finland fought very very bravely and effectively in winter war .Salute to the finnish soldiers.Even during the time fo gustavas adolphus finnish hackapelita cavalry were elite troops in his army.
They basically joined the barbarossa to get back the land they lost,they even refused to make a direct attack on leningrad and cut off final supply route which would have meant death for the population.
Much of the reforms of the red army in 1940-41 were due to embarassment of winter war.

Plus winter war also produced simo haya-the most succesful sniper in history.

The most interesting fact about Simo Häyhä is that he never used any scope,only iron sight,which makes his achievments even more impressive.

"I did what I was told to as well as I could." -Simo Häyhä

Many soldiers during the war achieved impressive things.
Another soldier,Viljam Pylkäs,killed 83 Russian soldiers with Suomi machine gun when the Russians tried to attack his position in a small hill during the winter.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

A Soviet spy laughs at his executioner in a picture taken in Rukajärvi, in East Karelia, in November 1942. It has been thought within the Finnish Defence Forces that the decision to withhold pictures of the fate of Russian POWs and spies may also have been prompted by concerns that pro-Soviet elements in Finnish society could have used the images for propaganda purposes. This picture was declassified by the Ministry of Defense of Finland in the 2006, with the description: Unknown Soviet intelligence officer before being shot, Finland, 1942.

It’s a pretty amazing picture. To capture the last few moments of life. He knows he will die in a few seconds, in a forest in the snow. And there he will bleed out and be forgotten. His life, his experience, has come to an end. What else could he do but smile? That smile was his final Defiance. Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.

More than bravery, such situations usually bring out insanity. When you are taken out into a forest with an officer(with a holstered pistol) you know what's coming. The walk of 2 minutes becomes like that of 2 years. Enough time to lose one's head.

 

[EAK]

The dress up suggest (he was still wearing the cap) that he was not brought out of captivity rather caught and shot momentarily. That only suggest that he was trying to smile out of the situation and convince the shooter. After all he was a spy...

Now That's an interesting Assessment .. And quite close to reality..

 

[Indus Pakistan]

More than bravery, such situations usually bring out insanity. When you are taken out into a forest with an officer(with a holstered pistol) you know what's coming. The walk of 2 minutes becomes like that of 2 years. Enough time to lose one's head.

I beg to differ. Knowing that your life is about to come to end soon and that there is absolutely nothing you can you do to change the inevitable outcome that waits you rationalizes the mind like nothing else.

I would say far from insanity the act of laughing was expression of extreme sanity in face of death. For what else was he going to do to change the outcome? Cry for forgiveness? Plead innocence? To try to change his fate or expect anything less then the inevitable was about to happen would have been insanity.

 

[Joe Shearer]

A Soviet spy laughs at his executioner in a picture taken in Rukajärvi, in East Karelia, in November 1942. It has been thought within the Finnish Defence Forces that the decision to withhold pictures of the fate of Russian POWs and spies may also have been prompted by concerns that pro-Soviet elements in Finnish society could have used the images for propaganda purposes. This picture was declassified by the Ministry of Defense of Finland in the 2006, with the description: Unknown Soviet intelligence officer before being shot, Finland, 1942.

It’s a pretty amazing picture. To capture the last few moments of life. He knows he will die in a few seconds, in a forest in the snow. And there he will bleed out and be forgotten. His life, his experience, has come to an end. What else could he do but smile? That smile was his final Defiance. Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.

Drunk or a communist fanatic.Russians are brave no doubt,but this seems a bit odd behaviour.

I don't agree, Austerlitz.

At the moment of certain death, how would one wish to go? Not being at that point, my answer is artificial, but for what it is worth, I would like to go laughing.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Cry for forgiveness? Plead innocence? To try to change his fate or expect anything less then the inevitable was about to happen would have been insanity.

No. The usual behavior is one of resignation. One without reaction.

This one is strange, and does bear signs of insanity. The method of this summary execution is also strange. There is no pole, he is not made to lie down. In fact this angle of shooting is the first I have seen so far. You always shoot at the front or at the back of the skull. Not sure what is the source of the anomaly above. I don't rule out a Soviet propaganda picture either.

 

[Joe Shearer]

No. The usual behavior is one of resignation. One without reaction.

This one is strange, and does bear signs of insanity. The method of this summary execution is also strange. There is no pole, he is not made to lie down. In fact this angle of shooting is the first I have seen so far. You always shoot at the front or at the back of the skull. Not sure what is the source of the anomaly above. I don't rule out a Soviet propaganda picture either.

Your arguments are really far-fetched. There need not be a pole; execution victims are not necessarily tied to poles. Where did you pick up this always shoot at the front or the back of the skull? And as for your very strange thought that it was Soviet propaganda, if you had cared to inspect the facts rather than impose a priori thinking, you would have found that the picture was released by the Finns. In the 21st century.

Not to mention that your thoughts on the likely reaction of an execution victim to the death to come are themselves questionable.