Simo Häyhä (17 December 1905 Rautjärvi – 1 April 2002 Hamina) was a Finnish soldier in the winter war against the Soviet Union. He is considered one of the most effective snipers of all time. The number of Red Army soldiers shot by Häyhä during the three months of the war has been shown to be as many as 542 men (at least 505 soldiers). Other estimates place this number at around 200.Häyhä himself claims in his notebook that he shot about 500 soldiers.