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Finland's Mosin Rich History
In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Empire had acquired the eastern third of Sweden and established the Grand Duchy of Finland. The Czar of Russia would also rule as the Grand Duke of Finland, but nationalistic aspirations were rising, and this solution was clearly untenable.
Depicted in this photo is a man named Andrew Dalback, taken in Finland during the 1870s. Notice the Berdan 2 rifle on the right
The World Goes to War
Many Finnish men served in the Russian army during The Great War. It is also rumored that Nokia (which produced rubber products around this time) helped to produce Zelinsky gas masks for the Russian Army
Finland Declares Independence
Finnish Parliament approves a measure for declaring Independence on December 6th, 1917. A Civil War would ensue, between the Whites and the Communist supporting Reds. The Whites were aided by Germany, who would send 87,102 Mosin Nagant rifles to Finland on four ships in 1918 (Virgo, Mira, Poseidon, and Arcturus). The vast majority of these rifles were of the M91 pattern.
Finnish White soldier Janne Kontiokoski with German supplied M91 rifle. Notice the German produced bayonet adapter with ersatz bayonet. Photo taken April 16th, 1918
Arms for a New Nation
After the Whites were victorious and the dust from the Civil War had started to settle, it was found that Finland was in possession of 179,775 Russian M91 Mosin Nagant rifles. Thus, it can be inferred that Germany had provided Finland with at least half of its Mosin Nagant rifles during the Civil War.
Rifles surrendered by Red Guard soldiers after the battle of Lahti. April 1918