Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
declared its independence on 6 December 1917. The formal
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
was only part of the long process leading to the independence of Finland.
History
Proclamation of Empress Elizabeth (1742)
The subject of an independent Finland was first mentioned in the 18th century, when present-day Finland was still ruled by Sweden. On 18 March 1742, during the Russian occupation in the
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743)
The Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743 (also known as The War of the Hats) was instigated by the Hats, a Swedish political party that aspired to regain the territories lost to Russia during the Great Northern War, and by French diplomacy, which soug ...
, Empress
Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
issued a proclamation in the Finnish language to the Finnish people asking them to create a Finland which would be independent from both Sweden and Russia. This led to preparations to create a
Kingdom of Finland in 1742. Elizabeth's nephew
Duke Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (who later became heir to the throne of Russia and Tsar as Peter III) was proclaimed King of Finland. However, the political situation outgrew the idea of a Finnish kingdom and the concept quickly evaporated.
Anjala conspiracy (1788)
The
Anjala conspiracy
The Anjala conspiracy ( sv, Anjalaförbundet, fi, Anjalan liitto) of 1788 was a scheme by disgruntled Swedish officers to end Gustav III's Russian War of 1788–1790. Declaring Finland an independent state was not a part of the original plot, ...
was a scheme in 1788–1790 as a response to end
Gustav III's Russian War
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
, and it included the independence of Finland to some degree. Several people involved were linked to
Walhalla-orden
Walhalla-orden was a secret society founded in the early part of 1783 in the Sveaborg (today, in Finnish: Suomenlinna) fortress outside Helsinki, Finland by Johan Anders Jägerhorn along with Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm. It is thought to have been ...
. Russian occupations and plundering of 1713–21 (the "
Greater Wrath
The Great Wrath (, in contemporary sources: , 'Era of Russian domination/supremacy'; ) was a period of Finnish history dominated by the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, from 1714 u ...
") (Finnish: ''Isoviha'') and 1741–43 (the "
Lesser Wrath Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician
* Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic
* Anton Lesser (born 1952), Brit ...
") (Finnish: ''Pikkuviha'') were still in vivid memory when Finns waged
partisan warfare
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of military occupation, occupation by some kind of insurgent activity.
The term can apply to the field element of resist ...
against the Russians.
Georg Magnus Sprengtporten
Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (russian: Егор Максимович Шпренгпортен, translit=Egor Maksimovič Šprengporten, ; sv, Göran Magnus Sprengtporten; fi, Yrjö Maunu Sprengtporten, ; 16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) ...
, who took no direct part in the conspiracy, had written a proposal for a Finnish constitution in 1786. Sprengtporten later had a role in forming the autonomous
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
within the Russian Empire, as he became the first
Governor-General of Finland
The governor-general of Finland ( fi, Suomen kenraalikuvernööri; sv, generalguvernör över Finland; russian: генерал-губернатор Финляндии) was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadic ...
after Sweden ceded the rest of Finland to Russia in 1809 at the conclusion of the
Finnish War
The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...
.
Rise of national identity
![Suomineito](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Suomineito.jpg)
According to professor
Martti Häikiö, before a nation declares independence, it must develop a
national identity
National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
and certain institutions. Governing bodies for Finland were developed after 1809, when it was "elevated as a nation among nations" (as
declared by
Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of G ...
) by becoming an autonomous
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
under the Russian tsar. The
Diet of Finland
The Diet of Finland ( Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Ri ...
met regularly from 1863.
National identity grew simultaneously with Pan-European nationalism.
Johan Ludvig Runeberg and
Elias Lönnrot
Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'',
(1835, enlarged 1849), from short b ...
created an idealized image of Finnish people and Finnish nature in the 1830s and 1840s. Also
J. V. Snellman was a central person in national romanticism and the modern nationality debate. He encouraged the use of the Finnish language (instead of Swedish) among the educated classes during
Finland's language strife
Finland's language strife ( sv, Finska språkstriden, lit=Finnish language dispute) ( fi, Suomen kielitaistelu, lit=Finnish language struggle) was a major conflict in mid-19th century Finland. Both the Swedish and Finnish languages were commonly u ...
.
The
Finnish markka
The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...
was introduced as currency in 1860 by the
Bank of Finland, which Snellman pegged to silver instead of the
ruble
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
.
During the
Famine of 1866–68
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accomp ...
, Snellman worked to obtain aid and distribute it in a country with low resources and undeveloped communications.
Elisabeth Järnefelt
Elisabeth Järnefelt (née Clodt von Jürgensburg; 11 January 1839 – 3 February 1929) was a Finnish salonist, known as "the mother of Finnish art and culture".Biografiskt lexikon för Finland 2. Ryska tiden (2009).
Life
Elisabeth's parents we ...
held the literary salon ''Järnefelts skola'' (Järnefelt School), which became a center of the
Fennoman movement
The Fennoman movement or Fennomania was a Finnish nationalist movement in the 19th-century Grand Duchy of Finland, built on the work of the ''fennophile'' interests of the 18th and early-19th centuries.
History
After the Crimean War, Fennoman ...
.
During the time 1880–1910 the golden age of
Finnish art
Finnish art started to form its individual characteristics in the 19th century, when romantic nationalism began to rise in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
Prehistoric art
Marks of human activity in Finland has found in Susiluola, Krist ...
coincided with the national awakening. The central figure of the time was
Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national ident ...
. Other notable people were
Aleksis Kivi
Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, ''Seitsemän veljestä'' ("Seven Brothers") in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 p ...
and
Albert Edelfelt.
The fennoman
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
was:
:''"Swedes we are no more,''
:''Russians we cannot become,''
:''therefore Finns we must be."''
The first period of
Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland ( fi, sortokaudet / sortovuodet, lit=times/years of oppression; russian: Русификация Финляндии, translit=Rusyfikatsiya Finlyandii) was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at ...
(Finnish: ''Ensimmäinen sortokausi'') began in 1899 with the
February Manifesto
The February Manifesto, also known as His Imperial Majesty's Graceful Announcement (decree collection 3/1899) was a legislative act given by Emperor of Russia Nicholas II on 15 February 1899, defining the legislation order of laws concerning the Gr ...
, a legislative act given by
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, when
Nikolay Bobrikov
Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Бо́бриков; in St. Petersburg – June 17, 1904 in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland) was a Russian general and politician. He was the Governor-General of Finla ...
was
Governor-General of Finland
The governor-general of Finland ( fi, Suomen kenraalikuvernööri; sv, generalguvernör över Finland; russian: генерал-губернатор Финляндии) was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadic ...
.
[Johnson, A.; Bickford, C., Hudson, W., Dole, N. ''Cyclopedic Review of Current History. Volume 9. Garretson, Cox & Co. 1899'' page 198 and following] As a response, the cultural address ''Pro Finlandia'' was gathered with 523,000 names, and a delegation of 500 people was sent to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to deliver it. The
Kagal
Kagal is a town in Kolhapur district of the Indian state of Maharashtra.
History
During the rule of the Marathas and British raj, the town was the seat of a noble Ghatge Maratha
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक ...
resistance movement
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...
formed at this time. In 1901 Russia tried to alter the nature of the Finnish army with a new conscription law, which demanded that Finns not only defend Finland, but also fight for Russia on any front. Finnish resistance grew into a mass movement, and only half of the eligible men reported for duty. Bobrikov was shot in 1904 by
Eugen Schauman
Eugen Waldemar Schauman (russian: Евгений Владимирович Шауман, ''Evgeny Vladimirovich Shauman''); ( – ) was a Swedish speaking Finnish nationalist and nobleman. Schauman assassinated the Imperial Russian Governor-Gener ...
, who shot himself afterwards.
The Finnish newspaper ''
Päivälehti
''Päivälehti'' was a newspaper in Finland, which was then a Grand Duchy under the Czar of Russia. The paper was founded in 1889 as the organ of the Young Finnish Party and was published on six days a week. The founding company of the paper was S ...
'', which had been censored before, was closed permanently as a result of an editorial written about the assassination.
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...
composed ''
In Memoriam'' in memory of Schauman.
The steamship
SS John Grafton
SS ''John Grafton'' was a steamship that was used in an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle large quantities of arms for the Finnish resistance to the Imperial Russian regime in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. The matter later came to be known as t ...
unsuccessfully attempted to smuggle large quantities of arms for the Finnish resistance during the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
(1904-1905). The
Finnish general strike of 1905
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
temporarily halted russification.
![Schauman shoots Bobrikov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Schauman_shoots_Bobrikov.jpg)
During 1905–1908
Leo Mechelin
Leopold (Leo) Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin (24 November 1839 in Hamina, Finland – 26 January 1914 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish politician, professor, liberal reformer and businessman. A leading defender of the autonomy of the Grand Duch ...
formed a government and created a
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
with the
universal right to vote and be elected. In 1906 the unicameral
Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
was created, with universal and equal suffrage. However, the power of the parliament was limited by the tsar from 1908–1916.
The second period of
Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland ( fi, sortokaudet / sortovuodet, lit=times/years of oppression; russian: Русификация Финляндии, translit=Rusyfikatsiya Finlyandii) was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at ...
(Finnish: ''Toinen sortokausi'') in 1908 and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
led activist groups to unite. Under
Franz Albert Seyn
Franz Albert Seyn (russian: Франц Альберт Александрович Зейн, Frants Albert Alexandrovich Zeyn; 27 July 1862 – summer 1918) was a Russian general who was Governor-General of Finland between 24 November 1909 and 16 Mar ...
, Bobrikov's successor as Governor-General, all legislation was moved to the Russian
State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
, which then pushed for laws restricting Finnish autonomy. Russia demanded higher payments and the
Senate of Finland
The Senate of Finland ( fi, Suomen senaatti, sv, Senaten för Finland) combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Finland from 1917 to 1918.
The body that would beco ...
was replaced with the ''admiral-senate'' or ''saber-senate''. Nicholas II pushed for complete russification and the end of Finnish autonomy in 1914, but this was halted by the beginning of the First World War. The
Jäger Movement
The Jäger Movement ( fi, Jääkäriliike sv, Jägarrörelsen) consisted of volunteers from Finland who trained in Germany as Jägers (elite light infantry) during World War I. Supported by Germany to enable the creation of a Finnish sovereign ...
was formed and sent first 200, and later 1900, Finnish volunteers to Germany to be trained as Jägers (elite light infantry) for armed resistance. The Finnish Jägers formed the
27th Jäger Battalion and were eventually sent to
Libau to fight against the Russian Empire. Sibelius composed the ''
Jäger March
The "Jäger March" ( fi, "Jääkärimarssi", italic=no, originally "Jääkärien marssi"), , is a military march by Jean Sibelius. He set in 1917 words written by the Finnish Jäger, ''Hilfsgruppenführer'' Heikki Nurmio who served in Libau, in ...
'' on lyrics written by
Heikki Nurmio
Heikki Nurmio (1887-1947) was a Finnish jäger and writer. He is remembered for writing the lyrics for "Jääkärien marssi" (''Jäger March'') composed by Jean Sibelius in 1917.
Heikki Nurmio joined the 27th Jäger Battalion in 1916 in German ...
, who served in the 27th Battalion.
Discussions in 1917
Revolution in Russia
The
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...
and
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
s in 1917 ignited hope in the Grand Duchy of Finland. After the
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
of Tsar
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
on 2 March (15 March
N.S.) 1917, the
personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
between Russia and Finland lost its legal base – at least according to the view in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
– as he was the
Grand Duke of Finland
Grand Duke of Finland, or, more accurately, the Grand Prince of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinas, sv, Storfurste av Finland, rus, Великий князь Финляндский, r=Velikiy knyaz' Finlyandskiy, p=vʲɪˈlʲikɪj knʲæsʲ fʲ ...
. Negotiations began between the
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...
and Finnish authorities.
Power act
The resulting proposal, approved by the Russian Provisional Government, was heavily rewritten in the Finnish Parliament and transformed into the so-called Power Act (Finnish: ''Valtalaki'', Swedish: ''Maktlagen''), whereby the Parliament declared itself to now hold all powers of legislation, except with respect to foreign policy and military issues, and also declared that it could be dissolved only by itself. At the time of the vote it was believed that the Provisional Government would be quickly defeated by the
rebellion in Saint Petersburg. The Provisional Government survived, however, and disapproved of the Power Act and dissolved the Finnish Parliament.
After new elections and the ultimate defeat of the Provisional Government in the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, the Finnish Parliament decided to create a three-man regency council, based on Finland's Constitution, and more precisely o
§38of the old
Instrument of Government of 1772, which had been enacted by the
Estates after
Gustav III's bloodless coup. This paragraph provided for the election of a new monarch in case of the extinction of the royal line and was interpreted in Finland as vesting sovereignty in the Estates, later the Parliament, during such an interregnum. The regency council was never elected, however, because of the strong opposition of Finnish socialists and their
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
of 1917 which demanded more radical action.
On 2 November (15 November N.S.) 1917, the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s declared a general right of
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
, including the right of complete
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
,
"for the Peoples of Russia". On the same day, the Finnish Parliament issued a declaration by which it assumed, ''
pro tempore
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
'', all the powers of the
Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
in Finland.
The old Instrument of Government was, however, no longer deemed suitable. Leading circles had long held that monarchism and hereditary
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
were antiquated, and advocated a republican constitution for Finland.
The Declaration and 15 November
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...
formed a
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
which started on 27 November 1917. Its goal was to execute independence as soon as possible. The Senate returned to the Parliament with a
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
and proposal for a new republican Instrument of Government on 4 December. The Declaration of Independence was technically given the form of a preamble of the proposition, and was intended to be agreed upon by the Parliament. Parliament adopted the Declaration on 6 December with 100 votes against 88.
With reference to the declaration of 15 November, the new declaration says:
The people of Finland have by this step taken their fate in their own hands; a step both justified and demanded by present conditions. The people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national and international duty without complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now; Finland's people step forward as a free nation among the other nations in the world. (...) The people of Finland dare to confidently await how other nations in the world recognize that with their full independence and freedom, the people of Finland can do their best in fulfilment of those purposes that will win them a place amongst civilized peoples.
International recognition
Svinhufvud immediately asked Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and France to recognize Finland's independence. The West, however, said they would wait until the former ruler, Russia, recognized the declaration. They told Svinhufvud to talk to
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
's Bolshevik Government. Svinhufvud was hesitant to do this, as he did not want to recognize the Bolsheviks as the legal rulers of Russia. Besides, he thought that the Bolshevik government would probably fall soon. So the parliament decided to ask for recognition from the
Russian Constituent Assembly
The All Russian Constituent Assembly (Всероссийское Учредительное собрание, Vserossiyskoye Uchreditelnoye sobraniye) was a constituent assembly convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It met fo ...
. Germany, which was in middle of peace negotiations with Soviet Russia, pressured Finns to talk to Lenin and the
Council of People's Commissars
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
. Svinhufvud followed their advice, as Finland wanted Germany's recognition as soon as possible.
On 18 December (31 December
N.S.), the
Soviet Russian government issued a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
recognizing Finland's independence, and on 22 December (4 January 1918 N.S.) it was approved by the highest Soviet executive body, the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK). This is how the meeting is told in Svinhufvud's biography, ''Svinhufvud ja itsenäisyyssenaatti'' written by
Erkki Räikkönen:
The independence of Finland was recognized after that by Germany, Sweden, and France on 4 January 1918, by Norway and Denmark on 10 January, and by Austria-Hungary on 13 January.
Organizing a new country
![Perustuslakivaliokunta 1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Perustuslakivaliokunta_1918.jpg)
Hardship burdened the common people, resulting in polarization, and soon ignited the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The declaration actually addresses this problem:
The Government will approach foreign powers to seek the recognition of our political independence. All the complications, famine and unemployment ensuing from the present external isolation make it urgent for the Government to tie direct contacts with foreign powers without delay. Urgent, concrete assistance in the form of necessities for living and industry is our only rescue from imminent famine and industrial standstill.
Many of the necessary ministries and authorities had been founded during years of autonomy, and they continued their activities perhaps after a change of name. The
Bank of Finland had the same position as before. As
pilotage
Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...
has military significance, the National pilot office had been subjected to russification. The National Board of Navigation, later called the Finnish Maritime Administration, was founded 15 December 1917, and piloting became its responsibility.
The attempt to establish
a monarchy in Finland failed and in 1919
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg became the first president. The first parliamentary elections were held in March 1919.
List of recognition
National symbols
From several suggestions, the parliament selected a blue and white flag, which was flown over the house of parliament on 28 May 1918. The
coat of arms of Finland
The coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right foreleg replaced with an armoured human arm brandishing a sword, trampling on a sabre with the hindpaws. The coat of arms was originally created around the year 1580.
Back ...
, with a crowned lion on a red field had existed since Swedish rule.
[
]
Selection of the national anthem divided social classes. The conservatives preferred "
Maamme
"" (; sv, Vårt land, ; both meaning "Our Land") is the de facto national anthem of Finland. The music was composed by the German people, German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with original Swedish language, Swedish words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a ...
" by Runeberg and Pacius, while the working class was singing "
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
" and "
The Internationale
"The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of th ...
". After the Whites won the Finnish Civil War, "Maamme" was chosen.
Finland's
Independence Day was declared to be 6 December and a national holiday. The bill to make Finland a republic was passed by the Diet in 1919.
Commemoration
The 90th Anniversary of Finland's Declaration of Independence was selected as the main motif for the €5
90th Anniversary of Finland's Declaration of Independence commemorative coin, minted in 2007. The reverse shows petroglyph aesthetics, while the obverse has a nine-oar boat with rowers as a symbol of collaboration. Musical symbols and Finnish
kantele
A kantele () or kannel () is a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the south east Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Estonian kannel, Latvian kokles, Lithuanian ...
strings are also included in the coin's design.
See also
*
Timeline of Independence of Finland (1917-1920)
*
History of Finland
*
Politics of Finland
The politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President Sauli Niinistö, who leads the nation's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of ...
*
Finland under Swedish rule
In Swedish and Finnish history, Finland under Swedish rule is the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is uncertain and controversi ...
*
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
*
Heimosodat
The Finnish Heimosodat (singular ''heimosota''), refer to a series of armed conflicts and private military expeditions in 1918–1922 into the areas of the former Russian Empire which were neighbouring Finland and inhabited in large part by ot ...
*
''Trust'' (1976 film)
References
External links
Finland as a state in 1917- ''Itsenäisyys100''
{{Finland topics
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
Political history of Finland
Dissolution of the Russian Empire