Eugen Schauman’s (1875–1904) shirt

General Nikolay Bobrikov was appointed Governor-General of Finland in 1898. It soon became clear that Bobrikov’s task was to destroy Finland’s special status and Russify the Finns. In 1899, the Russification of Finland began under Bobrikov’s guidance. Bobrikov’s actions raised strong opposition in Finland and, in order to defeat this, he demanded a dictator’s powers in the spring of 1903. Civil servant Eugen Schauman shot Bobrikov in the staircase of the Senate in Helsinki on 16 June 1904. Right after the killing, he also shot himself. The case is Finland’s best-known political murder and can be interpreted as both terrorism and the desperate act of a patriot.

Schauman became a national hero and a patriotic martyr. The blood-stained clothes worn by Schauman were first taken to the Porvoo Museum. In fear of the Gendarmes, the clothes were moved to Sweden, but eventually, at Schauman’s father’s request, they were handed over to the National Museum in 1924.

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