Editing Juho Kusti Paasikivi (section)

== Independence and Civil War ==
[[File:Juho kusti paasikivi and Pehr Evind Svinhufvud 1918.jpg|thumb|Paasikivi (left) and [[P. E. Svinhufvud]] discuss the [[Kingdom of Finland (1918)|Finnish monarchy project]] in 1918.]]
During the [[World War I|First World War]] Paasikivi began to doubt the Finnish Party's obedient line. In 1914, after resigning his position at the Treasury, and also standing down as a member of Parliament, Paasikivi left public life and office. He became Chief General Manager of the ''[[Kansallis-Osake-Pankki]]'' (KOP) bank, retaining that position until 1934. Paasikivi also served as a member of the [[City Council of Helsinki]] 1915–1918.

After the 1917 [[February Revolution]] in [[Russian Empire|Russia]], Paasikivi was appointed to the committee that began formulating new legislation for a modernized Grand Duchy. Initially he supported increased autonomy within the Russian state, in opposition to the Social Democrats in the ''[[coalition cabinet|coalition-Senate]],'' who in vain strove for more far-reaching [[wikt:autonomy|autonomy]]; but after the 1917 [[Bolshevik]] [[October Revolution]], Paasikivi championed full independence—in the form of [[constitutional monarchy]].

During the [[Finnish Civil War|Civil War in Finland]] Paasikivi stood firmly on the side of the [[White Guard (Finland)|White]] government. As prime minister from May until November 1918, he strove for a continued [[constitutional monarchy]] with [[Frederick Charles of Hesse]], a German Prince, as king, intending to ensure German support for Finland against Bolshevist Russia. However, as Germany lost the World War, the monarchy had to be scrapped for a republic more in the taste of the victorious [[Triple Entente|Entente]]. Paasikivi's ''Senate'' resigned, and he returned to the KOP bank.

Paasikivi's ''Senate'' was in power during the existence of the prison camps following the Civil War in Finland, where 12,000 prisoners died in total. Starvation was seen as a principal cause of mortality in the camps which housed men and women who had fought on the side of the Reds.<ref>Jaakko Paavolainen. Suomen kansallinen murhenäytelmä: Punainen ja valkoinen terrori ja vankileirit v.1918.
Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, Helsinki, 1974. {{ISBN|951-30-2329-X}} p 254-256 (in English)</ref>

Paasikivi, as a political [[Conservatism|conservative]], was a firm opponent of [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democrats]] in the cabinet, or [[Communist Party of Finland|communists]] in the Parliament. Tentatively he supported the semi-[[fascist]] [[Lapua movement]], which requested radical measures against the political Left. But eventually the Lapua movement radicalized further, even assaulting [[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg|Ståhlberg]], liberal former president of Finland; and Paasikivi like many other supporters, turned away from the radical right. In 1934 he became chairman of the conservative [[National Coalition Party]], as a champion of [[democracy]], and successfully rehabilitated the party after its suspicious closeness to the Lapua movement and the failed coup d'état, the [[Mäntsälä Rebellion]].