Viborg resident Jim Beláew recounts

We fled, father, mother and I, all the way to Haparanda by car and we drove at night, everything was so dark. We stayed there in a hotel, I think it was two to three weeks. Then we moved to Helsinki, where we got an apartment and there I lived with my parents. For some reason I became suspected by the Finnish police of being an English agent, probably because I was an English citizen. The police took me to SUPO’s headquarters and they wanted me to confess that I was acting as an English agent. However, my father called a policeman named Hakkarainen, they were good friends and played bridge together, they vouched for me and I was released. One of my father’s lawyers advised us that I should apply for Finnish citizenship, it was granted shortly. I reported for military service and so did my brother Bill. I was sent to Koulutuskeskus 3 (Training Center 3) in ..... After a month of training there, the Germans landed troops behind us, I went and took photos with a small camera and was caught again. That led to another trip to Helsinki for interrogation and my father had to step in again to get me out of the police.

I continued my training as an artilleryman in Vaasa. Eventually I came to a unit stationed near Oulu, where I continued training and when they thought we were ready, we were eventually sent to Karelia, Handelbro….

It was near Lake Ladoga, but we were not in contact with the Russians, it was other troops who were fighting the Russians.

When the war ended 1939–40 I returned to my parents and at the beginning of the Second World War I came in 1941 to St. Michel, and was placed in a reserve unit. I played the violin and because of that I got into a small military orchestra. It wasn’t much fun, I called my brother Bill, who by that time was employed in the General Staff (Päämaja) under the Finnish Commander-in-Chief K.G. Mannerheim to interrogate high-ranking Russian officers. Bill had an airplane at his disposal to quickly reach the interrogation targets. I tried to get him to take me to Headquarters, but that wasn’t possible. Instead I was transported to Petrozavodsk in Far Karelia, to the 2nd Jaeger Regiment’s brass band to, together with many civilian professional musicians, also be part of Petrozavodsk’s City Orchestra. It was a very fine orchestra and together with another violinist, Erkki Inkinen, could perform on soldiers’ evenings. I also learned to do magic tricks together with Sergeant Lauri Tiilikainen. In 1982 we had a reunion in Helsinki with the former comrades and it turned out that Tiilikainen had joined the police and served as a mounted policeman. Also Jääskeläine, whom I had fought with on one occasion, had become a police officer and was now police chief in some small town.

I remember from Petrozavodsk that we were to dig pits to protect ourselves from the Russians’ bombings, but it was more dangerous to be in the pits than out in the open. The ground was sandy and when it shook from the explosions, the sand started to flow into the pit and you had to get out before you were buried.

The Russians mostly had air supremacy and we had to serve as lookouts on the roof. Albert always moved behind the chimney during attacks and survived.. In Petrozavodsk I met a “defector” Albert Kronberg, he was only 14 years old and Captain Onni Palomäki urged me to take care of him since we both spoke Russian. He was a pleasant young man and I got along well with him. He received Finnish army clothes, but he was quite skinny at that time, there were no suitable clothes, but “one takes what one has.”

After the Finns’ retreat we were moved to Tampere. I could not play any wind instrument so I got a bass drum to handle and carry on my stomach during marches. We actually marched from the Alexander School on Hämeentie to the Messukylä hero burial site. It was late summer 1944.

When the war against the Germans ended, most of those called up were demobilized.

I was demobilized together with Erkki Inkinen, Toivo Iivarinen and the other conscripts. Albert was under contract and had to stay in Tampere where he was busy receiving weapons at the Cathedral School in Tampere. When most were demobilized, the 2nd Jaeger Regiment’s band was moved to its regular garrison town in Kuopio, Savonia.

I returned to Helsinki and since my parents had lost everything we had in Viborg, I had to become the family breadwinner by playing in a five-man orchestra. I married a Finnish woman, who was a photographer and had a studio in St. Michel. Her surname was Elftelä – actually she was Elgstedt – but the name was Finnishized in the patriotic frenzy prevailing at the time. After the war, when the General Staff in Mikkeli no longer had so many officers in service, the photo studio did not do well and she decided to move with the child to Stockholm. She left me with the apartment and all the cameras. After a while I was told that I should move from Mikkeli to Stockholm. The marriage was somewhat unhappy and we were disturbed by her older sister with alcohol problems. I also moved to Stockholm and my brother Bill came there too. I was forced to move from Stockholm to Sweden and for the following reason. I petitioned the Finnish President Paasikivi to be released from my Finnish citizenship. It was granted on condition that I moved from Finland within 14 days. I ran to the English embassy, I still had all my papers, and became an English citizen again.

After a few years’ stay in Sweden, I was asked if I would like to become an interpreter for the defense forces; I signed a paper for the defense intelligence service (which was under the Attaché Office). Then it wasn’t long before Albert showed up in Stockholm. He had bought a camera and was going to photograph his way around the dance floors, and at the same time began studying telecommunications at a school.

Albert adds that he has spent 25 summers on courses at Källviken and participated in many events when the Russians were to visit Sweden or when Swedes went on a “friendship visit” to the Soviet Union.

Now we are old and live on memories, we have managed well in Sweden, Jim is 87 and Albert is 80. He fell a while ago and got 5 cracks in his ribs and in his shoulder blade.

We are quite satisfied with our lives, the children are doing well and even though we have been criticized for a certain authoritarianism, none of the children have taken any major harm.

Albert: I remember that I was sitting at the Alpha Laboratory in Studsvik and Jim called. He told me that he had become acquainted with a tall and handsome woman and was going to marry her.

End 2008-03-11

Jim and his brother Bill are Viborg Russians.