The Jäger Movement ( Finnish : Jääkäriliike ) consisted of volunteers from Finland who trained in Germany as Jägers during World War I . Supported by Germany to enable the creation of a Finnish sovereign state, the movement was one of many means by which Germany intended to weaken Russia and to cause Russia's loss of its western provinces and dependencies.
128-618: The recruitment of volunteers from the Grand Duchy of Finland was clandestine and dominated by German-influenced circles, such as university students and the Finnish upper middle class. The recruitment was however in no way exclusive. In all, over 1,100 volunteers are estimated to have "slipped off" to train in Germany. The recruits were most often clandestinely transported across Finland's western border via Sweden to Germany, where they were formed into
256-626: A British fleet carrying 14,000 troops under Sir John Moore entered the port of Gothenburg . Due to various disagreements with the Swedish king, however, they never landed and sailed off to fight the French in Spain after leaving 16 battleships and 20 other ships at Sweden's disposal. The Swedish battlefleet which had been expelling Russians from Gotland was ordered to blockade the Hangö Peninsula and reached
384-510: A Finnish Diet, the Diet was not called to meet until 1863 and many new laws going through the legislature were laws that would have required the approval of the Diet while under Swedish rule. Alexander went a step further to demand a Finnish House of Nobles , which organised in 1818. The house was designed to register all noble families in Finland so that the highest Finnish estate would be representative of
512-503: A Swedish flotilla , supported by the local population, compelled the small Russian force left on the main island of Fasta Åland to surrender, and then invaded the island of Kumlinge where the bulk of the Russian garrison on the Åland Islands was based. After a two-hour-long battle, the local militia, together with the Swedish landing force, overwhelmed their enemies and Colonel Vuich and his garrison were compelled to surrender. On May 26,
640-464: A blockade of the Russian fleet at Baltiyskiy Port which continued until the sea started to freeze. The Swedish fleet suffered from outbreaks of scurvy and had been unable to maintain the blockade on its own. Skirmishes and landings continued in the Finnish archipelago from late summer into autumn. On 30 August, the Swedish coastal fleet defeated its Russian adversaries at the Battle of Grönvikssund , forcing
768-460: A clear reply. Although most Swedish officers were sceptical about their chances in fighting the larger and more experienced Imperial Russian Army , Gustav Adolf had an unrealistic view of Sweden's ability to defend itself against Russia. In Saint Petersburg , his stubbornness was viewed as a convenient pretext for Russia to occupy Finland , thus pushing the Russo-Swedish frontier considerably to
896-756: A further 36,000 in Norway. This forced the Swedes to allocate forces to southern Sweden and along the Norwegian border (23,000 troops). Denmark had declared war on Sweden on 14 March and some battles and skirmishes were fought along the Norwegian border. In April Napoleon began to devote more attention to the situation in Spain, and the British navy remained a continuous threat for troop movements between Denmark and Sweden. By November 1808, Russian forces had overrun all of Finland. On 19 November,
1024-613: A humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and amidst the turmoil in St. Petersburg , Finns remade their constitution and formed a new parliament whose representation was based on universal suffrage , giving women full suffrage before any other European nation after the short-lived Republic of Corsica . However, the parliament was quickly destroyed by Pyotr Stolypin , Nicholas II's prime minister. Stolypin proved to be even more vigorous than Bobrikov, as he believed every subject should be
1152-511: A land on the other side of the sea"). According to two 2015 studies by political scientists Jan Teorell and Bo Rothstein, Sweden's loss in the Finnish War led to reforms of the Swedish bureaucracy. Prior to 1809, Sweden had a reputation as one of Europe's most corrupt countries, but the loss in the war created the perception of an existential threat in the east for Sweden and motivated Swedish elites to reform its bureaucracy. The motivation behind
1280-493: A mandatory five-year military service, in which Finns had the possibility of being drafted into Russian units. Furthermore, he instituted that Russians be given the opportunity to serve in public office and that Russian be made the administrative language of Finland. In 1899, the February Manifesto under Nicholas II declared that Russian law was the law of the land, and Finland was to pledge allegiance to Russian law. The Diet
1408-509: A more active approach immediately, namely Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Möller (fi) who advocated for taking an immediate offensive and Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt who supported actively delaying the advancing enemies in co-operation with the garrisons on the southern coast. In the end, instructions which the new Swedish commander in Finland, General Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor , received from the king were an unsuccessful and open-ended mixture of ideas from these very different plans. Russia had gathered
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#17328593044781536-485: A novel administrative system was established in Finland, drafted in part by the liberal Mikhail Speransky . The new grand duchy would be governed by a Government Council, later the Senate of Finland , a body made up of Finnish citizens. The governor-general would accordingly have a relatively diminished role. Further, the emperor would deal with matters relating to Finland directly through a dedicated Secretary of State , without
1664-462: A portion of the troops that had been intended to participate in the landing actually reached the Finnish coast, and this resulted in another withdrawal on 28 September. The Swedish situation was further weakened by being at war with France and Denmark, both of whom threatened Sweden's possessions, with a joint invasion force of 45,000 troops in Denmark (under French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ) and
1792-466: A prince had been the duke of Finland (1556–1561/63), extended the list of subsidiary titles of the kings of Sweden considerably. The new title of grand duke of Finland did not result in any Finnish autonomy, as Finland was an integrated part of the Kingdom of Sweden with full parliamentary representation for its counties. During the next two centuries, the title was used by some of Johan's successors on
1920-445: A stoic patriot to the crown and uphold undying loyalty to Russia. Stolypin wished to destroy Finland's autonomy and disregarded native tongues and cultures of non-Russian subjects, believing them to be traditional and ritualistic at best. The Finnish parliament once again formed to combat Stolypin, but Stolypin was bent on quashing Finnish insurrection and permanently disbanded the parliament in 1909. As with Bobrikov before him, Stolypin
2048-528: A target for the Pan-Slavist movement, which called for Slavic unity in eastern Europe. Finland was viewed as conquered territory, and that as subjects, Finland was to respect the tsar. Finland was also viewed as a land of settlement and that the "alien race" of the Finns were to be assimilated and protected from Western interference, thereby "blessing" the Finns with their presence. Moreover, Finnish representatives to
2176-546: A wealth of information from Finland using spies and other sources. The level of detail was so great that Russian maps of Finland were in many respects more accurate than their Swedish counterparts. The Russians used the services of General Georg Magnus Sprengtporten when forming their plans. Sprengtporten suggested going on to an offensive during the winter since Finland would be mostly isolated when seas were frozen. His ideas were further developed by General Jan Pieter van Suchtelen before General Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden
2304-561: The Antichrist and Britain as his ally against Napoleon's France , was apprehensive of the system's ruinous consequences for Sweden's maritime commerce. He instead entered into negotiations with Britain in order to prepare a joint attack against Denmark , whose Norwegian possessions he coveted. In the meantime, the Royal Navy attacked Copenhagen and the Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812)
2432-466: The Battle of Jutas for Sweden on 13 September, Kamensky gained the most important victory at Oravais on 14 September. Swedish attempts to land more troops near Åbo were stalled by Lieutenant-General Pyotr Bagration 's prompt actions. In Eastern Finland, the guerrilla movement was gradually extinguished. As a consequence, Russia's situation in Southern Finland improved significantly. In the north,
2560-570: The Border Guard border jäger and special border jäger. Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland , officially and also translated as the Grand Principality of Finland , was the predecessor state of modern Finland . It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an autonomous state within the Russian Empire . Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by
2688-630: The Decembrist revolt against him in December 1825. Nicholas assured Finland's secretary of state, Robert Henrik Rehbinder , that he (Nicholas) would continue to uphold Alexander's liberal policies regarding Finland. In 1830, Europe became a hotbed of revolution and reform as a result of the July Revolution in France. Poland , another Russian client state, saw a massive uprising against Saint Petersburg during
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#17328593044782816-557: The Grand Duchy of Finland from the territory obtained from Sweden, and would attach the areas gained from Sweden in the 18th century (so-called Old Finland ) to the new Grand Duchy in 1812. The Grand Duchy of Finland was to retain the Gustavian constitution of 1772 with only slight modifications until 1919. Almost all Finnish soldiers in Sweden (most of them in the Umeå area) were repatriated after
2944-748: The King of Sweden , the country became autonomous after its annexation by Russia in the Finnish War of 1808–1809. The Grand Duke of Finland was the Romanov Emperor of Russia , represented by the Governor-General . Due to the governmental structure of the Russian Empire and Finnish initiative, the Grand Duchy's autonomy expanded until the end of the 19th century. The Senate of Finland , founded in 1809, became
3072-461: The November Uprising of 1830–1831. Finland made no such move, as Russia had already won over Finnish loyalty. Thus, Russia continued its policies respecting Finnish autonomy and the quiet assimilation of the Finns into the empire. Zakrevsky died in 1831; Knyaz Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov succeeded him as Governor-General of Finland and continued Finnish appeasement. The appeasement of
3200-575: The Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars . As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire. Other notable effects were the Swedish parliament 's adoption of a new constitution and the establishment of the House of Bernadotte , the new Swedish royal house , in 1818. After
3328-479: The Russian Empire ; but the usual balance of power between monarch and diet resting on taxation was not in place, since the emperor could rely on the rest of his vast empire. The title "Grand Duke of Finland" was added to the long list of titles of the Russian tsar. After his return to Finland in 1812, the Finnish-born Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt became counsellor to the Russian emperor. Armfelt
3456-464: The Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) . This surprising action by the tsar was met with anger from certain parts of the Russian government and aristocracy, who wished to either return to the previous border or annex the communities west of St. Petersburg . Despite the outcry, the borders remained set until 1940. The gesture can be seen as Alexander's concern for Finland and his attempts of appeasement of
3584-770: The Swedish Party combined to collectively fight Bobrikov. The Social Democratic Party of Finland , a Marxist party popular among peasants was also extremely hostile and advocated class warfare and took arms, in contrast to the Social Democrats elsewhere in Europe. Finally, the Party of Active Resistance, a nationalist party that advocated an armed struggle and guerilla tactics, received fame when member Eugen Schauman assassinated Bobrikov in Helsinki on 16 June 1904. In 1905, Russia faced
3712-517: The four Estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on 29 March 1809 to pledge allegiance to Tsar Alexander I of Russia , who in return guaranteed that the area's laws and liberties, as well as religion, would be left unchanged. Following the Swedish defeat in the war and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on 17 September 1809, Finland became a true autonomous grand duchy within
3840-457: The Åland War . As newspapers were printed in Swedish and Russian due to censorship, many Finns could not read about the events of the Battle of Bomarsund and the Battle of Suomenlinna . Moreover, Nicholas I died in 1855, and the new emperor, Alexander II , had already planned educational reforms in outlying territories in Russia, including Finland. Alexander II also planned to call on the Diet of
3968-740: The 1920s a long feud between officers with Jäger-background and Finnish officers who had served in the Russian Imperial army was concluded in favor of the Jägers. Most of the commanders of army corps, divisions, and regiments in the Winter War were Jägers. The Jäger March composed by Jean Sibelius for the words written by Jäger Heikki Nurmio, was the honorary march of many army detachments. The Jäger conflict derived from rising tensions (short of armed conflict) between German-influenced Jägers and politicians who looked to Germany as their ally on one side, and
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4096-471: The Convention of Olkijoki was signed and the Swedish army was forced to leave the Finnish countryside. The Russian emperor was, however, now eager to bring hostilities to the territory of Sweden proper, which was certain to bring the war to a victorious end. With this objective in mind, Kamensky suggested a daring plan, whereby the Russian army was to cross the frozen Gulf of Bothnia at two locations: one unit
4224-460: The Diet, to which Alexander agreed with, and promised the Diet would shortly be summoned. By 1809, all of Finland had been conquered and the Diet was summoned in March. Finland was then united through Russia via the crown, and Finland was able to keep the majority of its own laws, giving it autonomy. Instead of the newly acquired territory being subjected to direct rule by an imperial governor-general ,
4352-476: The Estates once more. Under Alexander's rule, Finland experienced a period of liberalization in education, the arts, and the economy. In 1858, Finnish was made the official language of local self-government, such as provinces, where Finnish was the majority of the language spoken. However, the Finns feared that St. Petersburg would prevent the Diet from meeting on the basis that Polish and Russian citizens did not receive
4480-519: The Finnish archipelago, against which Sweden could deploy only 7 galleys and 30 gun sloops. Swedish efforts to harass the Russians with landings continued, with roughly 1,000 volunteers under Captain Anders Gyllenbögel landing on 1 August to support Swedish-led uprisings on the coast south of Vasa. The landing succeeded, and together with Swedish troops advancing from the north, they managed to drive
4608-483: The Finnish archipelago. The Russians utilized the guns from the burned ships, and from those which burned during the winter, and constructed several fortifications on the coast, both in Hangö as well as along narrow passages leading to Åbo. Under Colonel Carl Johan Adlercreutz the Swedish army counter-attacked at Siikajoki and began to halt the Russian offensive. Soon after at the Battle of Revolax (Finnish: Revonlahti ),
4736-563: The Finnish economy in 1885. Finland had managed to create a thriving modern industry based around textiles and timber that managed to rival the Russian economy at the time. Russian bureaucrats, out of both shock and jealousy, called for the revision of the Russo-Finnish Tariff . Russification had taken an economic turn as well, as the basis of the reformed tariff was economic uniformity, which only furthered economic difficulties of Finland. The tariff's revision in 1885, and subsequently 1897,
4864-402: The Finnish team marched behind the Russian team with a Finland-sign. In the medal ceremonies, the Russian flag above a white-blue pennant reading "Finland" was raised for the Finnish athletes. Finnish War Russian victory Sweden The Finnish War ( Swedish : Finska kriget ; Russian : Финляндская война ; Finnish : Suomen sota ) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and
4992-574: The Finns could be seen as a prototype of the later Russification , as educated Finns moved to Russia in mass, seeking jobs within the imperial government to rise within Russian imperial society. The Russian language was studied increasingly as well, with more Finns seeking to learn Russian language, politics, culture, and to assimilate into Russian society. Even though Nicholas had no intentions on doing this , his inner office, specifically Nicholas's Interior Minister, Lev Perovski (in office: 1841–1852), advocated for Count Zakrevsky's ideas and further pushed
5120-471: The Finns, in attempts to gain their loyalty which would come from passive appeasement, compared to the vigorous Russification later in the nineteenth-century. Moreover, Alexander moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki , a small fortified town protected by Suomenlinna . Finland's main university also transferred to Helsinki after a fire broke out in Turku, destroying most of the building. Despite promises of
5248-407: The Grand Duchy followed the Russian imperial model with provinces ( Russian : губерния governorate , Swedish : län , Finnish : lääni ) headed by governors. Few changes were made however, and as the language of the administrators was still Swedish the old terminology from the Swedish time continued in local use. The Viipuri Province was not initially part of the Grand Duchy, but in 1812 it
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5376-452: The Grand Duchy to be a constitutional monarchy but the governmental institutions born during the Swedish rule offered him a more efficient form of government than the absolute monarchy in Russia . This evolved into a high level of autonomy by the end of the 19th century. There were a total of twenty Governors-General from the Finnish War until independence : The administrative division of
5504-646: The Grand Duke of Finland and was represented in Finland by the Governor-General . The Senate of Finland was the highest governing body of the Grand Duchy and was composed of native Finns. In St. Petersburg Finnish matters were represented by the Minister–Secretary of State for Finland . The Senate had a primarily advisory role until it got the right to representation in 1886. On top of having its own central, regional and local administration, Finland had its own stamps, currency and army. Alexander I did not want
5632-526: The Jägers (Finnish pl. Jääkärit). Their contribution to the White victory was crucial, not least through improving morale. Having been professionaly trained in Germany, many were also the best candidates to assume command over the untrained troops of the Civil War. Immediately after the Civil War, they were allowed to use the word Jäger in their military ranks. Many of the Jägers continued their military careers. In
5760-561: The Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion . The Jäger Battalion fought in the ranks of the German Army from 1916 in the battles on the northern flank of the eastern front. After the outbreak of the Civil War in Finland the Jägers were engaged on the " White " (non-communist) side in the war and formed the nucleus of the new Finnish Army. In Finland, these 2,000 volunteers were simply called
5888-708: The Russian Emperor Alexander I concluded the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon , Alexander, in his letter on 24 September 1807 to the Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf , informed the king that the peaceful relations between Russia and Sweden depended on Swedish agreement to abide by the limitations of the Treaty of Tilsit which in practice meant that Sweden would have been required to follow the Continental System . The king, who viewed Napoleon as
6016-533: The Russian crown, and the negative experience with the Polish Sejm . Despite this, Alexander I ceased to give in to Finnish affairs and returned to governing Russia. In 1823, Count Arseny Zakrevsky was made Governor-General of Finland and quickly became unpopular among both Finns and Swedes alike. Zakrevsky abolished the Committee for Finnish Affairs and managed to obtain the right to submit Finnish affairs to
6144-535: The Russian emperor, bypassing the Finnish Secretary of State. Two years later, Alexander I died ( 1 December [ O.S. 19 November] 1825). Zakrevsky seized the opportunity to require Finland to swear an oath of fealty which would refer to the emperor as the absolute ruler of Finland – expecting that emperor would be Constantine , Alexander's next-eldest brother. However, Nicholas , younger brother of Constantine and Alexander, became emperor despite
6272-517: The Russian fleet, which turned and attempted to reach the relative safety of Baltiyskiy Port . The British ships were far superior sailing ships compared to those of either the Swedes or Russians, and engaged the withdrawing Russian squadron (nine ships of the line and several frigates) on their own. The last of the Russian ships of the line was disabled and then captured and burned by the British ships. More Royal Navy ships (including HMS Victory , Mars , Goliath , and Africa ) arrived to oversee
6400-414: The Russian threat he received in early 1808. Most of the Swedish plans assumed that warfare would be impossible during winter, disregarding the lessons from recent wars. In addition, several new good roads had been built into Finland greatly reducing the earlier dependency on naval support for any large operation in Finland. The Swedish plan was to first passively defend and hold on to the fortifications in
6528-421: The Russians also forced the Swedes to withdraw. The king was quite unprepared for the attack, especially as war was not declared until April. About 21,000 Swedish troops were stationed in various fortresses in Finland, while the rest of his army was unable to leave southern Sweden for fear of Danish attack. The Russian advance was swift. On the first day of the war they had captured the town of Lovisa and besieged
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#17328593044786656-456: The Russians to abandon their plans to invade Åland and concentrate on defense. On 17 September, the Swedes landed again , this time at Lokalax (Finnish: Lokalahti ), while the coastal fleet covering the landing managed to keep the Russians away in the Battle of Palva Sund on 18 September. The troops that landed were forced to withdraw to their ships on 18 September, but landed in Finland again on 26 September. However, owing to bad weather, only
6784-403: The Russians towards Björneborg (Finnish: Pori ). Swedish patrol ships (consisting of armed merchant vessels) scouted and raided the coast, taking Russians prisoners to Åland. These raids caused much confusion, and Russian responses to them thinned their strength along the coast. Also the Swedish southern army of Finland, consisting of roughly 4,000 men under Major General Eberhard von Vegesack ,
6912-508: The Russians were driven from Central Finland, their forces stretched along the line of Pori – Tampere – Mikkeli . Having received considerable reinforcements, their numbers increased to 55,000, as opposed to the 36,000 estimated for Sweden. On 14 August, Count Nikolay Kamensky decided to use this numerical superiority to launch a new offensive. Kamensky's 11,000-strong corps achieved important victories at Kuortane (1 September) and Salmi (2 September), and although Georg Carl von Döbeln won
7040-473: The Russians, forcing Russia to use various tactics to quash armed Finnish rebellion. Thus, in the beginning of the war, General roda Voysk Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden , with permission of the tsar, imposed an oath of fealty on Finland, in which Russia would honour Finland's Lutheran faith, the Diet of Finland , and the Finnish estates as long as the Finns would remain loyal to the Russian imperial crown. The oath also dubbed anyone person who gave aid to
7168-565: The Swedes and reach the Gulf of Bothnia towards Uleåborg (Finnish: Oulu ) and Vasa (Finnish: Vaasa ) to cut off the retreat of the main body of the Swedish army. On February 21, 1808, 24,000 Russian troops under Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoevden crossed the border in Ahvenkoski and took the town of Lovisa (Finnish: Loviisa ). Since Klingspor had not arrived, Lieutenant General Karl Nathanael af Klercker acted as Swedish commander in Finland. He
7296-414: The Swedes had several hundred local men-in-arms. The Russians, however, were able to send reinforcements to the area which were, in addition to being numerically superior, both far better trained and equipped than the peasants and militia the Swedes had raised. By the end of July the small forces Sweden had landed and the men that had supported them were either beaten or withdrawn back to their ships. After
7424-495: The Swedes. The strength of the Swedish coastal forces deployed to the Finnish archipelago was equal in size to the coastal fleet that the Russians had obtained by the Sveaborg surrender. To prevent the Russians from gaining strength, the Swedish coastal fleet's unit under Rear Admiral Claes Hjelmstjerna tried to engage them twice in battle. The first was at the Battle of Rimito Kramp on 30 June, and after Russians withdrew closer to Åbo,
7552-461: The Swedish Navy's failure to tightly block the coastal sea route past Hangö . The 200th anniversary of the war was selected as the main motif for a high value commemorative coin, the €100 200th Anniversary of Finnish War commemorative coin , minted by Finland in 2008. The motif on the coin is the passage of Finland from Sweden to Russia. The same coin depicts both the pre-war Finnish history, with
7680-418: The Swedish army under Colonel Johan Adam Cronstedt started an advance towards the south. These successes yielded a promotion to Field Marshal for Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor . The Swedish advance was very slow however, as operations were often halted due to the thaw. An exception was the brigade under Colonel Johan August Sandels , which swiftly advanced towards Kuopio . Nikolay Tuchkov , a Russian general who
7808-434: The Swedish blockades in the archipelago, to cut contact between Åland and Sweden, and to stop Swedish supply transports sailing in the Gulf of Bothnia . The Russian fleet reached Hangö on 6 August and chose not to engage the scattered Swedish fleet elements in the vicinity. On 20 August, two British ships of the line ( HMS Implacable and Centaur ) joined the Swedish fleet. The allied fleet moved on 25 August 1808 to engage
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#17328593044787936-559: The Swedish elite, due to Swedish propaganda during the Crimean War urging revolt against the Russians. Alexander also passed a law regarding language ordinance in August 1863, requiring that the Finnish language must be introduced to all public businesses within twenty years. The law was expanded in 1865 to require that state offices must serve the public in Finnish if requested. Despite this, the language laws took time to be fully implemented due to
8064-566: The Swedish or Finnish armies a rebel. The Finns complied, bitter over Sweden abandoning the country for their war against Denmark and France , and begrudgingly embraced Russian conquest. The Diet of Finland was now to only meet whenever requested, and was never mentioned in the manifesto published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Further on, Alexander I requested a deputation of the four Finnish estates, as he expressed concern over continued Finnish resistance. The deputation refused to act without
8192-412: The Swedish sea fortress of Svartholm . Borgå (Finnish: Porvoo ) was captured on 24 February and Helsingfors (Finnish: Helsinki ) on 2 March. Abandoned Swedish fortifications on the Hangö Peninsula (Finnish: Hanko ) were taken and manned on 21 March and on the same day the Russian army took Åbo (Finnish: Turku ) while a small detachment was sent to Åland . Before the end of March 1808 even Vasa
8320-521: The Swedish-speaking Östra Nylands Segelförening adopted the Flag of Sweden . At the end of the 19th century, flags with the coat of arms were used in unofficial contexts such as private estates and protests. In official contexts, the Russian white-blue-red tricolour was primarily used. The Grand Duchy of Finland participated in the 1912 Summer Olympics with their own team. In the opening ceremony,
8448-485: The Swedish-speaking officers of the Finnish army left Finland as a direct consequence of this conflict, as the Finnish senate elected a German prince as King of Finland and would have made Finland a monarchy . However, the kingdom was never realized beyond this election; and when World War I ended and the German Kaiser fled, the nascent Finnish monarchy was replaced by a republic, whereupon Baron Mannerheim returned. At
8576-555: The War Minister Arakcheyev to Finland in order to pressure Knorring into action before joining the army himself. As Russian forces embarked upon their unprecedented march across the frozen gulf, King Gustav IV, accused of fatal mistakes leading to the loss of Finland—was dethroned by a coup in Stockholm on 13 March, and his uncle was proclaimed Charles XIII of Sweden . Four days later, Bagration's corps of 17,000 men occupied
8704-527: The cape on 10 June. Due to bad weather and poor visibility the fleet under Admiral Rudolf Cederström chose to stay relatively far from the coast. Upon approaching the coast on 21 June, Cederström learned that the Russians had already passed the cape some time earlier. Attempts to stop the Russians deeper in the archipelago were also unsuccessful. Failure to block the Russians led the king to relieve Cederström of his duties and replace him with Commander Henrik Johan Nauckhoff . Major General Eberhard von Vegesack
8832-619: The censorship only fueled Finland's language strife and the Fennomanian movement. The works of Johan Snellman and other Fennoman authors combined literature and nationalism and increased the calls for language recognition and education reforms in Finland. This heightened during the Crimean War in which Finnish ports and fortresses on the Baltic Sea became subject for Allied attacks, specifically Suomenlinna and Bomarsund in Åland during
8960-417: The church and works appearing socialist or communist. The reactionary policies of the Lutheran Church convinced the also reactionary Nicholas I ( r. 1825–1855 ) to prohibit (1850) the publishing of all Finnish works that were not religious or economic in nature, as such works would have been considered revolutionary and might encourage the Finnish majority to revolt against the church and crown. However,
9088-455: The coastal sea route from Russian ships. Total British control of the Gulf of Finland was a large obstacle to the Russian supply network and required sizable garrisons to be posted all along the Finnish coast. The Royal Navy captured 35 Russian ships and burnt 20 others before leaving the Baltic Sea on 28 September 1809. In August, Charles XIII, anxious to improve his position at a peace settlement, ordered General Gustav Wachtmeister to land in
9216-505: The colors of the Russian flag twice or thrice saw some use. A blue cross flag similar to that of the modern flag of Finland was first used by the yacht club Nyländska Jaktklubben in 1861, equipped with the coat of arms of Uusimaa in the upper corner. It was inspired by the similar flag used by the Neva Yacht Club . The flag of the yacht club was made official by the Senate in 1890 when
9344-586: The current state of Finland. Bobrikov found little support in Finland, mainly from the Russian minority and members of the Old Finnish Party . Bobrikov brought in Russian officials to take government and state spots and, in an extreme act of anger, suspended the Finnish Constitution in 1903. His actions were met with extreme anger from Finns and Swedes, in which the moderate parties, the Young Finns and
9472-401: The dismay of Alexander I. The emperor refused to ratify the truce and replaced Buxhoeveden with a new commander-in-chief, Bogdan von Knorring , in December of that year. In the south, the Swedish battle fleet remained anchored within the Finnish archipelago, blocking some of the deeper coastal sea routes from Hangö towards Åbo. Russian ships continued to arrive from the east but remained within
9600-533: The epic being poetry or stories about Finnish folklore. The quest for literature expanded into the 1840s and 1850s and caught the eye of the Finnish church and the Russian crown. Finnish newspapers, such as Maamiehen Ystävä (The Farmer's Friend), began publication in both urban and rural areas of Finland. However, the Swedish academic elite, the church, and the Russian government opposed Finland's literature movement. Edvard Bergenheim , Archbishop of Turku from 1850 to 1884, called for double censorship on works opposing
9728-506: The expeditionary force had been authorized to disembark, it would have enabled the Swedes to release at least 10,000 trained soldiers for the Finnish War. As it happened, the bulk of the Swedish army, including the best units, were kept out of the Finnish War by the king, who reserved them for his plans for conquering either Sjælland or Norway. Swedish landings were invariably made with poorly equipped and trained forces, often with troops who had very low morale. Landings were further complicated by
9856-450: The faction centered on former Russian General and Finnish Commander-in-Chief Baron Gustaf Mannerheim on the other side. The Mannerheim side was oriented towards an alliance with Sweden, which remained neutral during the war but which was opposed to Russia, and with which Finland shared its history up to 1809. Mannerheim, who was from a Finland Swedish family, was respected among Finns, Russians, and Swedes alike. Baron Mannerheim and some of
9984-472: The fights ended with a decisive winner, the overall strategic victory went to Russia, who gained advantage in the Finnish archipelago by managing to link up their separate coastal units. Sweden performed several small landings along the coast near Kristinestad (Finnish: Kristiinankaupunki ) and Kaskö (Finnish: Kaskinen ) and managed to raise local men to oppose the Russians. The first occurred on 3 July with several others taking place soon after. Altogether
10112-468: The frozen gulf further north; they entered Umeå on 24 March. The third force, commanded by Count Shuvalov, struck against Torneå and, braving fierce frost, encircled a Swedish army, which capitulated on 25 March. Six days later, the tsar arrived in Åbo and, on learning about the truce, not only revoked Knorring's signature but named Barclay de Tolly as the new commander-in-chief. Hostilities thus continued until May, when Shuvalov finally reached Umeå, where he
10240-589: The ideas of subtle Russification during the 1840s. However, Finland did experience a nationalistic revolution in the 1830s – one based around literature. This marked the beginning of the Fennoman movement , a nationalistic movement that would operate in Finland until its independence. In 1831, the Finnish Literature Society was founded, which formed on the basis of appreciation of the Finnish language . Finnish
10368-446: The interference of the Swedish elite, who owned most of these offices and businesses. Despite this, the education laws pushed through and the first secondary schools instructed in Finnish began in the 1870s. The power of the Diet was also expanded in 1869, as it allowed the Diet more power and the ability to initiate various legislation; the act also called the tsar to call upon the Diet every five years. An act passed regarding religion
10496-481: The involvement of his Russian cabinet or administration. This laid the foundation for the considerable autonomy enjoyed by Finland for most of the period of Russian rule. The earlier years of the grand duchy can be seen as uneventful. In 1812, the area of Old Finland (known as Viipuri Province from 1812 to 1945) was gifted to Finland. Russia had annexed this territory from Sweden in the Great Northern War and
10624-435: The island of Kimito (Finnish: Kemiönsaari ), a Swedish force of gunboats was deployed to the narrows. They met the Russians first at Tallholmen on 21 July and again on 2 August in the Battle of Sandöström . Swedish attempts to land troops and artillery in support of the gunboats at Vestankärr on 2 August ended in failure, though the attempt came very close to capturing General Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden . While none of
10752-456: The landing force. By the morning of 20 June, the Swedish forces were forced to withdraw. In addition, Colonel Johan Bergenstråhle landed 1,100 Swedes just a few kilometers northeast of Vasa on 25 June and managed to quickly advance to the town. The Russians, however, managed to gather a force of 3,000 men which was able to force the ill-trained Swedes to withdraw. The advance of the Russian coastal squadron beyond Hangö created difficulties for
10880-724: The most important governmental organ and the precursor to the modern Government of Finland , the Supreme Court of Finland , and the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland . Economic, social and political changes in the Grand Duchy of Finland paralleled those in the Russian Empire and the rest of Europe . The economy grew slowly during the first half of the 19th century. The reign of Alexander II (1855–1881) saw significant cultural, social and intellectual progress, and an industrializing economy. Tensions increased after Saint Petersburg adopted Russification policies in 1898;
11008-535: The new circumstances saw the reduction of Finnish autonomy and cultural expression. Unrest in Russia and Finland during the First World War (1914–1918) and the subsequent collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 resulted in the Finnish Declaration of Independence and the end of the Grand Duchy. An extended Southwest Finland was made a titular grand duchy in 1581, when King Johan III of Sweden , who as
11136-463: The next Finnish Diet. As for Sweden, the majority did not think too much about Finland's conquest, as Sweden itself annexed Norway from Denmark in 1814 and entered a personal union with the nation. Whether or not Alexander purposely ignored the existence of the Diet is debatable, with notable factors such as the fall of Napoleon and the creation of the Holy Alliance , newfound religious mysticism of
11264-412: The north of Sweden and to attack Kamensky's rear. Engagements at Sävar and Ratan proved inconclusive and Kamensky succeeded in neutralizing this belated counter-offensive, following up with a final victory over the Swedes at Piteå. Wachtmeister's action was only a prelude to the peace negotiations that opened in August and resulted in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (17 September), in which Sweden ceded
11392-587: The present time, infantry in the Finnish Army are designated either as infantry or Jäger troops, specifically mechanized infantry or motorised infantry using APCs or vehicles such as Sisu Nasu . Mechanized infantry using IFVs are called panssarijääkäri or Armoured Jäger. Several other variations exist, including Finnish Navy Coastal Jäger (Marine), Guard's Jäger of the Guard Jaeger Regiment , in special forces (Para) Jäger, Special Jäger , and in
11520-425: The same liberties and that the Diet would be eradicated. It was misinterpreted, as it only added a few extra steps to the lawmaking process; the Diet was allowed to stay. In 1863, Alexander called the Diet and issued that the Finnish language was to be on par with Swedish and Russian in the Grand Duchy, while also passing laws regarding infrastructure and currency. Alexander came to favor the Finnish working class over
11648-432: The second was a battle at Pukkisaari on 4 July. Fighting ended in a stalemate, but can be viewed as a Swedish failure since they failed to decisively defeat the Russians. Having been alerted to the approach of additional Russian coastal units from Sveaborg, the Swedish forces moved to intercept them before they could link up with the Russian coastal unit now bottled up at Åbo. Learning that the Russians intended to go around
11776-417: The shallow narrows where the Swedish ships of the line could not reach. Small boat actions took place during the night time of 17–18 July which became known as the skirmish at Lövö ( Finnish : Lövön kahakka ). However, the Swedish fleet dropped its blockade on 22 August, allowing the Russian coastal units to unite. Odds were very much against the Swedes as the Russians had nearly one hundred coastal ships in
11904-456: The situation was more complicated. Tuchkov's battered unit strained to hold its own against Sandels, while the progress of a relief force under General Alekseyev was contained by guerrilla fighters. It was not until 26 September that Prince Dolgorukov (Alekseyev's replacement) managed to join his forces with Tuchkov's, inducing Sandels to retreat. Three days later, Buxhoeveden—pressed by the early onset of winter weather—signed an armistice, much to
12032-487: The southern coast of Finland, in which Sweden had strong garrisons, while the rest of the Swedish Army retreated to the north. Then in the spring, counterattack simultaneously from north and south, when the Swedish army would have naval support and the Russian army would be spread over Finland and thus have long supply lines. The basic reason for the plan was to avoid major decisive battles. Some advocates existed for taking
12160-474: The strategic Åland Islands , while Kulnev led a vanguard further across the frozen sea that on 19 March reached the Swedish shore within 70 km from Stockholm. When news of Kulnev's incursion spread to the Swedish capital, the new king sent an embassy to Knorring, proposing a truce. The Russian commander agreed and speedily recalled Kulnev back to Åland. Meanwhile, the other Russian contingent—5,000 men under Barclay de Tolly —endured great hardship in crossing
12288-540: The strongest of the Swedish fortresses, Sveaborg, still had several of its planned fortifications missing, most notably all the land side fortifications designed to protect against a besieging enemy. In 1808 a British expeditionary force under John Moore arrived in Sweden, but after months of idleness departed for the beginning of the Peninsular War . Had the king accepted the landing of 10,000 British troops in Skåne , where
12416-655: The throne after the death of his father and began a rule of staunch conservative, yet peaceful, rule of Russia. Finland, as well as many other outlying Russian territories, faced the burden of Russification, the cultural, social, economical, and political absorption into Russia. Compared to the early Russification of the 1830s and 1840s, the Russification of the late 19th-early 20th century was much more vigorous in its policies. Moreover, Finland faced political turmoil within its nation between various factions such as liberals, Social Democrats, Young Finns, and communists. Finland became
12544-446: The throne, but not all. Usually, it was just a subsidiary title of the King, used only on very formal occasions. However, in 1802, as an indication of his resolve to keep Finland within Sweden in the face of increased Russian pressure, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later. During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia,
12672-462: The tsar were replaced with Pan-Slavist advocates. Russification only increased from there, but from the 1880s on, the conflict between the Swedish minority halted. Compared to the Baltic States , the Finnish majority was far better educated and more keen in Russian politics. The reactionary policies of Russification, which aimed to combine secular nationalism and a divine right monarchy, infiltrated
12800-521: The two countries against Napoleon's remaining threats: the United Kingdom and Sweden . Russia invaded Finland in February 1808, claimed as an effort to impose military sanctions against Sweden, but not a war of conquest, and that Russia decided to only temporarily control Finland. Collectively, the Finns were predominately anti-Russian, and Finnish guerrillas and peasant uprisings were a large obstacles for
12928-428: The war with a garrison of 6,000 men, over 700 cannons, and enough stores to last until the summer of 1808. Defenses were strong enough to prevent the Russians from trying to storm the fortress by surprise. Instead the Russians laid siege to Sveaborg . The fortress surrendered on 6 May 1808 after prolonged negotiations with the Russians as the commanding officer Carl Olof Cronstedt and his council believed that resistance
13056-521: The war. Sufficient stocks of supplies had not been prepared for the Swedish army, since King Gustaf IV Adolf thought it might be taken as provocative by the Russians. Furthermore, Swedish strategy relied on the outdated plans for Finland which took into account neither the advances in weaponry, mobility of the armed forces or the greatly improved road networks of Finland. Most of the fortifications in Finland had not been completed and those that were completed had mostly fallen into neglect and disrepair. Even
13184-416: The west of the Russian capital and safeguarding it in case of any future hostilities between the two powers. The situation was problematic for Sweden, since it once again faced both Denmark and Russia as potential enemies requiring the Swedes to split their forces. The king had thought it impossible to defend Finland should the enemy attack during the winter and chose largely to ignore the repeated warnings of
13312-503: The whole of Finland and all of its domains east of the Torne river (the north-eastern parts of what was then called Västerbotten , today Norrbotten ) to Russia. Sweden then joined the Continental System and closed its harbours to British ships, leading to a formal declaration of war on Great Britain . A few months later, on 6 January 1810, the Russian government mediated the Treaty of Paris between Sweden and France. Russia would create
13440-437: The withdrawing Swedish crown on the reverse side, and the post-war future of the country, with the Russian eagle symbol on the obverse side. In memory of the 200th anniversary of the Finnish War, all Swedish 1 krona coins minted during 2009 featured a stylised depiction of the sky and the sea on the reverse side, flanked by a quote by Anton Rosell: Den underbara sagan om ett land på andra sidan havet ("The wonderful story of
13568-458: Was Finland's official flag until independence. An official maritime flag was chosen in 1812 for governmental use. It was a white flag, with the Russian flag in the upper corner and a compass rose in the middle. In 1883 it was replaced with a blue cross flag with the compass rose in the upper corner. A post flag (a white flag with the Russian flag in the upper corner and a post horn in the middle)
13696-428: Was also passed in 1869 which prevented the power of the state over the church. Moreover, Finland also received its own monetary system, the Finnish markka , and its own army . Finland's first railway line was opened between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna on March 17, 1862. The policies of Russification under Alexander III and Nicholas II easily sum up the time period from 1881 to 1917. In 1881, Alexander III took
13824-456: Was also used in the Grand Duchy, along with a customs flag (a blue flag, with the Russian flag on the upper corner and the logo of the customs agency in the middle). Originally, there were no regulations regarding merchant flags until 3 October 1821, when Finnish ships were given the right to fly the Russian flag without permission. White, blue and red flags with the Russian flag in the corner were also used. Later on six and nine-striped flags with
13952-482: Was appointed as the commander of the Russian army in Finland in December 1807. The plan involved using the series of fortifications built after 1790 as staging grounds for the Russian advances into Finland. In southern Finland, armies were to isolate the fortifications and first take control of the whole of southern Finland before advancing further to the north. Forces in Savolax (Finnish: Savo ) were to press hard against
14080-446: Was appointed governor-general. Under Bobrikov, the Finns had a near collective hatred of him, whose reactionary policies gave rise to socialism and communism among the Finnish working class. The Party of Active Resistance and Kagal , in particular, became very popular in Finland for the former's tactics of violence and the latter's tactic of propaganda and persuasion. At the beginning of this reign, Bobrikov almost immediately introduced
14208-517: Was chosen to lead the first Swedish army to Finland. He was to lead a force of 2,600 men, land somewhere between Nystad (Finnish: Uusikaupunki ) and Åbo , and then capture the latter. Von Vegesack instead chose to land his force at the Lemo (Finnish: Lemu ) manor house a few kilometers south of Åbo. The landing began on 19 June and was initially successful. The surprised Russians garrisoned at Åbo reacted quickly, however, and deployed over 3,000 men to stop
14336-552: Was declared. Referring to the treaties of 1780 and 1800, the emperor demanded that Gustav Adolf close the Baltic Sea to all foreign warships. Although he reiterated his demand on November 16, 1807, it took two months before the king responded that it was impossible to honor the previous arrangements as long as the French were in control of the major Baltic ports. King Gustav Adolf did this after securing an alliance with Britain on 8 February 1808. Meanwhile, on 30 December 1807 Russia announced it would be forced to act should Sweden not give
14464-471: Was dispatched to the north of Finland, left garrisons in every fort along his way. This reduced his unit to 4,000 troops, which proved insufficient to pacify the hostile country. The Finns rose up in guerrilla fighting as far east as Frederikshamn (Finnish: Hamina ) within the Old Finland province of Russia. In May, the Russians suffered further setbacks when they were driven from Gotland and Åland, where
14592-407: Was essentially downgraded to a state assembly and that Finland was a province of Russia, ignoring its autonomy. The Finnish Army as a whole was dissolved in 1901. Bobrikov unintentionally united both Finns and Swedes against Russia, which only angered him more. With churches refusing to proclaim the law, judges refusing to carry it out, and conscripts refusing service, Bobrikov went on a frenzy with
14720-502: Was formed out of spite of Finland's commercial success and working-class unity. Russification policies continued into 1890, with the addition of the Imperial Post System in Finland, replacing the Finnish post. It was not until the mid-1890s, that the Finnish people realized the true intentions of the Russian crown. Nicholas II ascended to the throne in 1894 after Alexander's death, and with him came General Nikolay Bobrikov , who
14848-528: Was futile. The Russians gained the main body of the Swedish archipelago fleet intact as well as large stores of supplies and munitions. The Russians had advanced considerably but they had also gained the long and vulnerable coastline with it. After the sea would be clear of ice there would be nothing to prevent Swedish forces from landing troops on the shore. With the Royal Navy supporting the Swedish Navy there
14976-412: Was ill-prepared for a war. While the garrison was 700 men strong, only a third of the men had actually functioning weapons, while most of the fortress' guns had no carriages. The fortress had fallen into disrepair and lacked both adequate food and ammunition stores. Even the wells were found to be unusable. After starting the siege on 21 February, the Russians issued a surrender demand for the fort, but this
15104-455: Was instrumental in securing the grand duchy as state with greater autonomy within the Russian Empire, and acquiring so-called Old Finland that Russia had annexed from Sweden in the Treaty of Nystad (1721) and the Treaty of Åbo (1743). The formation of the grand duchy stems from the Treaty of Tilsit between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Emperor Napoleon I of the French. The treaty mediated peace between Russia and France and allied
15232-494: Was little the Russian Baltic Fleet could accomplish. Capture of the main body of the Swedish archipelago fleet had resulted in a real advantage to the Russians since it allowed them to gain superiority in the narrow waters of the Finnish archipelago where large ships of the line could not operate. Even the powerful explosion at Sveaborg which destroyed several of the captured ships did little to change Russian superiority in
15360-420: Was moved from Åland to Finland, and landed at Kristinestad in late autumn, joining with von Döbeln's forces. However, since von Vegesack had been ordered to land his men at Björneborg , the king, after pursuing the matter unsuccessfully in military tribunals, condemned von Vegesack to lose his rank and title. A Russian battle fleet under Admiral Pyotr Khanykov (also Chanikoff ) sortied in late July to clear
15488-510: Was not represented as language of the scholarly elite, as most printed academic works, novels, and poetry was written in either Swedish or Russian. Copying the German reading rage, Lesewut , and subsequent Swedish mania, Finland entered the reading craze by the 1830s. This fad peaked in 1835 with the publication of The Kalevala , the Finnish epic. The Kalevala' s influence on Finland was massive, and strengthened Finnish nationalism and unity, despite
15616-419: Was notified of the Russian invasion already on 21 February and since it was impossible to hold the predefined defense lines as the army had not yet fully assembled, he ordered the army to assemble at Tavastehus (Finnish: Hämeenlinna ). Before the engagement started, Klingspor finally arrived on 2 March and assumed command. Instead of facing the Russians at Tavastehus, he ordered the army to withdraw. In Savolax
15744-416: Was refused by the Swedes. The demand was repeated on 2 March but without success. After a meager Russian bombardment, Gripenberg agreed to negotiations on 10 March. The fortress surrendered to the Russians on 18 March after a siege that had lasted roughly a month, with just one man having been wounded in action. Sveaborg (Finnish: Suomenlinna ) under Admiral Carl Olof Cronstedt had been well prepared for
15872-548: Was succeeded by Kamensky. A British Royal Navy fleet under Admiral James Saumarez had arrived in Sweden in May and he concentrated his ships, 10 ship of the line and 17 smaller ships, to the Gulf of Finland. The presence of the British naval units kept the Russian battlefleet strictly confined to Kronstadt , and after the British constructed artillery batteries to the Porkkala cape they cut off
16000-413: Was taken. In Savolax, Russians also advanced rapidly and took Kuopio on 16 March. Swedish forces had mostly just withdrawn before the advancing Russian often destroying usable materials. For example, the Swedish archipelago fleet 's ships that had been docked in Åbo (nearly 50 gun sloops) were torched to prevent their capture. The Swedish fortress of Svartholm, commanded by Major Carl Magnus Gripenberg,
16128-418: Was to march from Vasa towards Umeå and the other from Åbo to Åland and thence towards the vicinity of Stockholm . A third unit was to advance into Sweden by land, going around the gulf and through the town of Torneå (Finnish: Tornio ). Although Knorring was urged to execute the plan as quickly as possible, he regarded the idea as unrealistic and procrastinated until March, when the emperor dispatched
16256-444: Was transferred by Tsar Alexander I from Russia proper to Finland. After 1831 there were eight provinces in the Grand Duchy until the end and that continued in the independent Finland: The Grand Duchy of Finland had no official flag of its own, but different types of flags were used in different occasions. An official flag was debated even in the Diet of Finland in the 1860s, but one was never officially chosen. The flag of Russia
16384-495: Was unaware that such actions only fanned the flames and was subsequently assassinated by Dmitry Bogrov , a Jewish member of the far-left. From Stolypin's death henceforward, the Russian crown ruled Finland as a monarchist dictatorship until Russia's collapse during the Russian Revolution , from which Finland declared independence , a war of independence that soon transformed into a civil war . The Russian emperor ruled as
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