The Vottovaara incident is deliciously frustrating!
Mount Vottovaara is a hill in the Republic of Karelia, modern-day Russia. The Winter War was fought between Finland and the Soviet Union between November 1939 and March 1940.
Hereโs what we know: Vottovaara was/is a sacred site to the people living in the area (the Sรกmi).
Hereโs what weโve heard (from Finnish soldiers): in January 1940, a group of Soviet soldiers ascended Mount Vottovaara. In the following nights, the Finnish troops situated nearby heard gunshots et cetera, yet no Finnish soldiers were engagin with the Soviets. When Mount Vottovaara became silent, the Finnish soldiers went to see what had happened. All the Soviet soldiers had been basically slaughteredโtorn to pieces, brutally disemboweled, et ceteraโ, okay, some had taken their own lives. No remains of wild beasts were anywhere to be found, nor where there any remains of any other armed peopleโjust the Soviets.
Hereโs what weโve also heard (from whom? I donโt know): that the Soviets were warned (by the locals) not to ascend Vottovaara.
Hereโs what we absolutely do not know: What killed them? Was it a Stรกllo? Or werewolves? Or something more mundaneโlike a massive pack of wolves?
I need answers.
There's a full episode of Vottovaara incident on the InBetween channel.
There are also this theories of what happened in the comment section:
"As a Saami I can tell you what happened (in Vottovaara). We have a belief of a generational protective cave bear sprit that will rip and tear apart anything that threatens our land and people. My grandmother called it our family protector".
"This was such a great episode Carol Ann, thank you! My grandmother was Suomalainen (Finnish). I don't know about the newer generations, but the older ones, like my grandmother's, and great-grandmother's, fully believed that Vottovaara was inhabited by very powerful spirits. That you should never, ever go there, but if you had to, to bring gifts of appeasement, it could be food, Sima (Finnish mead), rich tobacco... I heard stories growing up about the Russians going up that mountain. My grandmother said that they were seen as an invading force, that bringing weapons to the mountain was sacrilegious, that the Russians pitching tens, temporary dwellings or not, was like laying claim to that space, and the spirits couldn't let that stand. That's what they believed."
Wartime Stories also has made a video of this topic! Tho, their information about Sรกmi is not all that correct BUT otherwise, I do recommend you to listen this as well - as well as their other videos!
There's some very weird and fascinating stories / encounters etc! Their sister channel, Bedtime Stories, also have GREAT videos! Highly recommending them BOTH!
