19th Century Russia
Entering the 19th century, Finland was a part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Then, in 1809 it became a Grand Duchy under Russian rule, and finally, after periods of both greater and lesser degrees of independence, it becoming an independent country in 1917. Finland initially joined Sweden in the 13th century and then remained under Swedish control for about 600 years. Then, in the Finnish War of 1809, Russia captured Finland, which lead to Finland becoming a Grand Duchy in the Russian empire. During Russian control, there was an initial period of relative peace and positive development. However, 1881 marked a significant change when Russia began a period of Russification that attempted to completely erase the Finnish culture. The anger of the
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The process involved a series of manifestos where the Tsar not only took away the rights of the Finnish people but also replaced them with new stringent Russian policies. The most significant manifesto, released in 1899, gave the Governor General the right to “forbid any kind of public or private gatherings”, and “forbid persons regarded by him as detrimental to political order and public tranquillity from residing in Finland.”(Nicholas II) Consequently, the Governor General essentially became a dictator who had almost complete control over the country and its people. Not only were these changes worse than the the policies under earlier Russian control, but they were even worse than those under Swedish control. Additionally, the Russian officials created the Conscription Act of 1901 that decreed that the Finnish and Russian militaries be integrated, as well as forcing the Finnish men to join the Russian army. These anti-Finnish policies showed how little the Russians cared for the Finnish people, especially as the manifesto is coming from the leader of the Russian people. It was a reversal of the earlier course, as the new approaches aimed to destroy the Finnish national identity. However, they lead to the exact opposite outcome. The Finnish people united in their hatred of Russia and the Russian policies, further strengthening their sense of nationalism and yearn for
The process involved a series of manifestos where the Tsar not only took away the rights of the Finnish people but also replaced them with new stringent Russian policies. The most significant manifesto, released in 1899, gave the Governor General the right to “forbid any kind of public or private gatherings”, and “forbid persons regarded by him as detrimental to political order and public tranquillity from residing in Finland.”(Nicholas II) Consequently, the Governor General essentially became a dictator who had almost complete control over the country and its people. Not only were these changes worse than the the policies under earlier Russian control, but they were even worse than those under Swedish control. Additionally, the Russian officials created the Conscription Act of 1901 that decreed that the Finnish and Russian militaries be integrated, as well as forcing the Finnish men to join the Russian army. These anti-Finnish policies showed how little the Russians cared for the Finnish people, especially as the manifesto is coming from the leader of the Russian people. It was a reversal of the earlier course, as the new approaches aimed to destroy the Finnish national identity. However, they lead to the exact opposite outcome. The Finnish people united in their hatred of Russia and the Russian policies, further strengthening their sense of nationalism and yearn for