Soviet prisoners of war in Finland Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet - Finnish conflicts of that period : the Winter War and the Continuation War . The Finns took about 5 , 700 POWs during the Winter War , and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well . However , during the Continuation War the Finns took 64 , 000 POWs , of whom almost 30 percent died . Winter War . The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Winter War ( 1939 – 1940 ) was 5 , 700 , of whom 135 died . Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets ( motti ) north of Lake Ladoga . The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick . Some of the POWs , at least 152 men , enlisted in the so - called Russian Liberation Army in Finland . They were not allowed to take part in combat . After the war , some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country . Continuation War . The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Continuation War ( 1941 – 1944 ) was about 64 , 000 . Most of them were captured in 1941 ( 56 , 000 persons ) . The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia , Köyliö , Huittinen and Pelso ( a village in modern day municipality of Vaala ) . Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated , and established 32 new prison camps in 1941 – 1944 . However , all of them were not used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country . The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war , as the war was expected to be of short duration . The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low , as the more qualified men were at the front . It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved . There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work , as well as the construction of fortification lines . Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war . Finnic prisoners who were captured on the fronts or transferred by Germany were separated from other Soviet POWs . At the end of 1942 volunteers could join the Finnish battalion Heimopataljoona 3 , which consisted of Finnic peoples such as Karelians , Ingrian Finns , Votes and Veps . Prisoner exchange with Germany . About 2 , 600 – 2 , 800 Soviet prisoners of war were handed over to the Germans in exchange for roughly 2 , 200 Finnic prisoners of war . Most of the prisoners transferred to Germany ( around 2 , 000 ) joined the Russian Liberation Army . The rest , mostly army and political officer s , ( among them a name - based estimate of 74 Jews ) died in Nazi concentration camps . Sometimes these handovers were demanded in return for arms or food . Deaths . Most of the deaths among Soviet POWs , 16 , 136 , occurred in the ten - month period from December 1941 to September 1942 . Prisoners died due to bad camp conditions and the poor supply of food , shelter , clothing , and health care . About a thousand POWs , 5 percent of total fatalities , were shot , primarily in escape attempts . Food was especially scarce in 1942 in Finland due to a bad harvest . Punishment for escape attempts or serious violations of camp rules included solitary confinement and execution . Out of 64 , 188 Soviet POWs , from 18 , 318 to 19 , 085 died in Finnish prisoner of war camp s . In 1942 the number of prisoner deaths had a negative effect on Finland ' s international reputation . The Finnish administration decided to improve living conditions and allowed prisoners to work outside their camps . Hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union ceased in September 1944 , and the first Soviet POWs were handed over to the Soviet Union on 15 October 1944 . The transfer was complete by the next month . Some of the POWs escaped during the transportation , and some of them were unwilling to return to the Soviet Union . Furthermore , Finland handed over 2 , 546 German POWs from the Lapland War to the Soviet Union . Trials in Finland . According to the Moscow Armistice , signed by Finland and the victorious Allies , mainly the Soviet Union , the Finns were to try those who were responsible for the war and those who had committed war crimes . The Soviet Union allowed Finland to try its own war criminals , unlike other losing countries of the Second World War . The Finnish parliament had to create ex post facto law s for the trials , though in the case of war crimes the country had already signed the Hague IV Convention . In victorious Allied countries war - crime trials were exceptional , but Finland had to arrange full - scale investigations and trials , and report them for the Soviet Union . Criminal charges were filed against 1 , 381 Finnish POW camp staff members , resulting in 723 convictions and 658 acquittals . They were accused of 42 murders and 342 other homicides . Nine persons were sentenced to life sentences , 17 to imprisonment for 10 – 15 years , 57 to imprisonment for five to ten years , and 447 to imprisonment varying from one month to five years . Fines or disciplinary corrections were levied out in 124 cases . Although the criminal charges were highly politicized , some war crime charges were filed already during the Continuation War . However , most of them were not processed during war time . Aftermath . Winter War POWs Returned to the Soviet Union . After the Winter War , the Soviet POWs were returned to the USSR in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty . They were transported under heavy guard by the NKVD to special camps as suspected traitors . Prisoners were interrogated by 50 person research teams . After lengthy investigations about 500 of the prisoners were found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death . Some prisoners were released , but most of them , 4 , 354 men , were sentenced to five to eight years in labour camps ( gulag ) . This would lead to the later death of some of the prisoners due to harsh camp conditions . Continuation War POWs Returned to the Soviet Union . After the Continuation War , Finland handed over all Soviet and German prisoners of war in accordance with the 10th article of the Moscow Armistice . Furthermore , the article also stipulated the return of all Soviet nationals who were deported to Finland during the Continuation War . This meant that Finland also had to hand over all those who moved to Finland voluntarily , as well as those who fought in the ranks of the Finnish army against the Soviet union , though some had Finnish citizenship . The return to the Soviet Union was in many cases fatal for these people , as some of them were executed as traitors at the Soviet train station at Vyborg and some died in harsh camp conditions in Siberia . After the collapse of the Soviet Union they were allowed to return to Finland . Some of the Soviet prisoners of war co - operated with the Finns during the war . Before the end of the war all related Finnish archives , including interrogation documents relating to co - operating prisoners , were destroyed ; and these POWs ' destinations after the war are uncertain . Some of them were secretly transported by Finnish army personnel to Sweden and some continued on as far as the United States . The highest ranking Soviet prisoner of war was Major General Vladimir Kirpichnikov , who returned to the Soviet Union . He was tried , convicted of high treason , and executed in 1950 . Legal position of Soviet POWs . Finland had signed the 1907 Hague IV Convention in 1922 that covered the treatment of prisoners of war in detail . However , Finland announced that it could not completely obey the convention as the Soviet Union had not signed the same convention . The convention required ratification by both parties to the hostilities before going into effect . Finland did not sign the updated 1929 Third Geneva Convention , because it conflicted with some clauses of Finnish criminal law . Although the Soviet Union had not signed the Hague IV Convention , the reality was unclear and ambiguous . Soviet law specified that a Soviet soldier ' s surrender constituted treason which was punishable by death or imprisonment and seizure of the unfortunate soldier ' s property .