"Kuulaa kalloon"

Abstract

Toivo Kuula was a famous Finnish composer who died in Vyborg in 1918. He worked in Vyborg in 1916–1918 and was known as an intense Finnish man born in the city of Vaasa. At the end of April 1918 the Finnish Civil War of 1918 had just ended. The Whites had won the war at the expense of the Reds and the victors held a celebration in Vyborg. Toivo Kuula participated in a celebration organised by the light infantrymen from Vaasa. It was an evening of heavy drinking. Toivo Kuula was murdered by one of the infantrymen. Hence, it was hushed up and remained a mystery until the 1960s. In the article I concentrate on the how the image of this evening is presented in reminiscences. Who has silenced the murder? What is the meaning of this silence? What kind of mystery and myth has been fashioned around the murder of Toivo Kuula?