Kustaa Lillbäck
Kustaa Lillbäck (1700–1721) was a Finnish-Russian serf and soldier.[1]
Life
Lillbäck was born in Finland, which was then a part of Sweden. During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), Finland was occupied and pillaged by Russia from 1713 to 1721. Many Finnish people were abducted by Russians during the Great Wrath, and either trafficked to slavery in the Middle East via the Crimean slave trade, or enslaved in Russia itself. Lillbäck was one of the many victims of this slave trade when he was abducted in 1715. In is case, he was enslaved in Russia.
After having agreed to convert to the Russian Orthodox faith, he was manumitted and included to serve in the Russian army. He was placed to serve in the Russian Army occupying his native Finland. During his service in Finland, he participated in the atrocities committed by the Russian occupying forces in Finland. He was viewed by the Finns as a traitor and became infamous for his participation in the war atrocities committed by the Russians against the Finnish civilian population.
After the peace between Sweden and Russia in 1721, the Russian forces left Finland. Lillbäck was captured and executed as a traitor and collaborator.
In fiction
Lillbäck and his life was the subject of the novel Paholaisen sota (Swedish: Djävulens krig: förrädaren Gustav Lillbäck och stora nordiska kriget 1700–1721, "Devil's war: the traitor Gustav Lillbäck and the great northern war 1700–1721") by Kustaa H. J. Vilkuna.[2]
See also
References
- 1700 births
- 1721 deaths
- 18th-century Finnish people
- 18th-century executions by Sweden
- Russian serfs
- Swedish people of the Great Northern War
- Finnish prisoners of war
- Russian military personnel of the Great Northern War
- 18th-century Finnish women
- 18th-century slaves
- Swedish emigrants
- Immigrants to the Tsardom of Russia
- Prisoners of war held by Russia
- People executed for treason against Finland
- Finnish emigrants to Russia
- Slaves in the Tsardom of Russia