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Stone of suspicion

“There is a dog buried in here!” might any Finn exclaim when suspecting there is something fishy going on. The saying originates to the stone in the image, located in a park in Helsinki. There is no dog buried beneath it, however.

In the first years of the 20th century Finland was autonomous grand duchy of Russia with a strong opposition towards the current imperial govern, which had stripped off many privileges granted to the duchy by the previous tsars. Current tsar, however, had granted dictatorship to local governor-general, who, fearing agitation by Finnish nationalists, had decreed acts suppressing civil rights, e.g. the prohibition of assembly.

To counteract, nationalists founded a secret society called Kagal, which used to gather around this particular stone. Should a militia ask the reason for the gathering, participants had agreed to tell him they were attending a memorial, which was one of the few forms of assembly allowed. Should the militia then ask why they were gathering around an unmarked stone, they'd tell him there was a dog buried in there.

A date was engraved to the stone later; it is still clearly visible, and happens to be the date Kagal was founded. Finland gained independence in 1917, two months before the civil war erupted.
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31 comments

dolores666 said:

Lovely bit of history and a great pic. For some reason makes me think of some of the more atmospheric of MR James short stories.
9 years ago

Spo replied to dolores666:

Thank you, Dodo. Yet another writer I should read. :-)
9 years ago

oHo said:

I enjoy the read and the picture ! Thanks for the insight!
9 years ago

funtor said:

Magical view!
9 years ago ( translate )

Wierd Folkersma said:

interesting story, in what park?
9 years ago

Spo replied to Wierd Folkersma:

Tullisaari, on the eastern side of the Aino Acten's villa.
9 years ago

dolores666 replied to Spo:

HIGHLY recommended. ;-)
9 years ago ( translate )

Au Cœur... diagonalh… said:

some sort of sentinel we could believe...
9 years ago ( translate )

Spo replied to Au Cœur... diagonalh…:

Sentinel of spirit?
9 years ago ( translate )

Jaap van 't Veen said:

Mysterious image; very well taken.
Congrats on Explore.
9 years ago ( translate )

Eefje said:

What a terrific atmosphere. It's canny, spooky, intriguing, mysterious, spiritual, all at the same time.
9 years ago

Spo replied to Eefje:

Thank you, Eefje. Rocking? :-)
9 years ago ( translate )

Annemarie said:

very powerful

congrats on explore:)
9 years ago ( translate )

Spo replied to Annemarie:

Thank you, Annemarie. I've yet to find the wonders of Explore, but perhaps one day I will. :-)
9 years ago

Gudrun said:

A captivating photo and story! Though there are spring flowers the BW treatment makes the place look sombre and mysterious.
9 years ago