Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Kamar ɗaruruwan sauran 'yan gudun hijirar Finnish Red Guard, Vähä ya shiga Red Army kuma ya yi yaƙi da Bolsheviks a cikin Yaƙin Basasa na Rasha. A lokacin rani na 1919 Vähä ya yi aiki a Siberia, sannan aka mayar da shi zuwa Petrograd don shiga makarantar soja. A cikin 1920-1923, Vähä ya ɗauki kwas na shekaru uku a makarantar Petrograd Red Officer School, inda 'yan uwansa huɗu suka haɗu da shi. A lokacin da yake a kwalejin, Vähä ya shiga cikin wadanda ake zargi da laifin Kuusinen Club Incident
a watan Satumbar 1920, dakile tawayen Kronstadt a watan Maris na 1921, da kuma dakile tashin hankalin Gabashin Karelia a lokacin hunturu na 1922. Bayan yakin Kimasozero a watan Janairun 1922, Vähä ya kashe sojoji uku da aka kama na White Guards na Finnish bisa umarnin shugaban sa Toivo Antikainen. Antikainen daga baya aka kama shi a Finland, inda aka yanke masa hukuncin rai da rai saboda kisan kai.