Border General's Cabin

Living quarters and headquarters of Major General Erkki Raappana in Rukajärvi front.

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Border General's Cabin

Living quarters and headquarters of Major General Erkki Raappana, commander of 14th Division in Rukajärvi, 1941–1944.

Parppeinvaara Rune Singer's Village is an important museum area, constantly developed since the 1960s to commemorate Karelian architecture and rune-singing tradition. One of the preserved buildings is Border General's Cabin, also known as Rukapirtti, which was moved to its present location in 1984.

The cabin, built of pine snags, served as the living quarters and headquarters of Major General Erkki Raappana in Rukajärvi, Soviet Karelia, during the Continuation War, until dismantled and relocated to Lieksa by withdrawing Finnish troops in the summer of 1944.

14th Division occupied the village of Rukajärvi in September 1941

The Finns advanced rapidly after the outbreak of the war on June 25, 1941, and regained the post-Winter War concessions. They continued the offensive past the 1939 border deep into Soviet Karelia, where Raappana’s 14th Division occupied the village of Rukajärvi in September.

The advance was halted soon afterward, and the conflict entered the trench warfare phase. This allowed political leadership to take stock of the developments in the other theaters of the war.

Because the front was consolidated and the overall situation remained relatively calm, a decision was made to build a proper facility where the operational commander could exercise his duties.

A location on the shore of Lake Novinkajärvi in the village of Tiiksa was selected for the purpose.

Construction workers with a wide range of special skills served in Raappana’s division. Lieutenant Eino Pitkänen, an architect, produced in no time plans for a cabin consisting of a drawing room with a fireplace, a bedroom, and a kitchen, while several men skilled in timber work were found in the Engineer Battalion. Thanks to their efforts, construction proceeded apace.

The first phase of the cabin became available to Raappana in the fall of 1941. Work then continued with the addition of two more rooms.

In September 1942, the cabin received a prominent guest when the commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces, Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim, arrived to inspect Rukajärvi front. During the tour he managed to find time for fishing, hunting, sauna bathing and other leisure activities.

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Kenraalimajuri E.J. Raappana, SA-kuva

When Raappana turned fifty on June 27, 1943, the division’s soldiers handed over the cabin to their commander as a birthday present.

This essentially symbolic gesture demonstrated the men’s high appreciation of their leader.

Construction resumed in 1944 with the completion of the third phase, a large extension called “underworld” due to its position on the hillside slightly below the main building. However, joy was short-lived.

In June 1944 the Soviet Union launched a full-scale offensive that changed the military situation completely. In anticipation of things to come, the cabin was dismantled in August. The timbers were trucked to Lieksa, where the building was re-erected on Lake Suomujärvi for use as a clubhouse of a hunters’ association established by high-profile figures including, naturally, Raappana himself. The association rented extensive lands in the area for its exclusive use.

When Patvinsuo national park was established in the 1980s, the removal of Rukapirtti became again necessary. The new location was found at Parppeinvaara, where the cabin was transformed into a museum to commemorate Raappana’s life and work and named Border General's Cabin.