By the end of the 19th century over half of the rural population of Finland was landless. This caused social unrest although attempts to solve the situation were done. The economic hardships caused by the October revolution and the revolutionary atmosphere sharpened the class conflicts and led to the outbreak of the Finnish civil war. The Finnish society had split into two hostile sides.

When the Reds took power in Helsinki and southern Finland on January 28th, 1918, the whites took control over the central and northern parts of the country and disarmed Russian troops that were there. 7800 Russian soldiers were taken prisoners and returned to Russia after the war. At the same time the Red Guard army carried out a revolution in the south, having deposed the government and replacing it with its own. Battles full of bloodshed began between the white army and the red guards. In the border regions the Ladoga area was conquered by the whites and Vyborg became the headquarters for the reds.

With the help of German troupes the white army succeeded to win the war but the scars of the civil war remained visible for generations to come. The lost war and the political situation made many seek refuge in neighboring Sweden or on the Russian side of Karelia, among them Edvard Gylling who later became leader of the Karelian republic. In the border areas the political unrest continued.

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