Paavo Ruotsalainen (July 9 1777 - January 27 1852) was a Finnish farmer and lay preacher.

Born in Tölvänniemi (parish Iisalmi) as the oldest son of plain farmers, he received his first bible at age six. At the time of his confirmation he had already read it three times, and always thought about the words of the bible which gained him the nickname foolish Paavo. When he heard about the lay pastor Jakob Högman in Jyväskylä, he instantly traveled the 200km to there by foot. This visit lay the foundation of his religious life.

Paavo Ruotsalainen became the leading of the awakening movement in Finland. He traveled around Finland to meet with other members of the movement, most notably the priests Jonas Lagus and Nils Gustav Malmberg in Pohjanmaa - it is estimated that he traveled 40,000 km altogether, most of it by foot. With the spreading of the movement, both church and state authorities became worried about it. In 1838/39 he was put to trial and was impose a fine, yet this could not stop the movement.

His religious activities made his private life more difficult - his first wife could not understand his activities, his oldest son was even murdered by opponents of the movement.

Ruotsalainen died on the island Aholansaari and was buried in Nilsiä.