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Johan Vilhelm Snellman (; 12 May 1806 – 4 July 1881) was an influential
Fennoman 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, Fennoma ...
philosopher and Finnish
statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
,
ennoble Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
d in 1866. He was one of the most important 'awakeners' or promoters of Finnish nationalism, alongside
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 shor ...
and J. L. Runeberg.


Life and career

Snellman was born in Stockholm,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, the son of Kristian Henrik Snellman, a ship's captain. After the
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
conquest of
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 Bot ...
in 1808–09, and the promising establishment of the semi-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 predecess ...
, his family moved there in 1813, to the Ostrobothnian coastal town of
Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipa ...
. His mother Maria Magdalena Snellman died there only a year later. In 1835, after academic work amongst followers of
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, Snellman was appointed lecturer at the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
, where he belonged to the famous circle of Cygnaeus, Lönnrot, and Runeberg comprising the brightest of their generation. Snellman's lectures quickly became popular with the students, but in November 1838 his lectureship was temporarily recalled after a judicial proceeding that ultimately aimed to establish firm governmental control of new and oppositional thought among the academics. As a consequence, Snellman exiled himself to Sweden and Germany, more or less voluntarily, from 1839 to 1842. By the time he returned to Helsinki, his popularity had increased further, but the political juncture did not allow the university to employ him. Instead, he took up the position as headmaster for a school in distant
Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and c ...
and published starkly polemical periodicals, including the paper '' Saima'' in Swedish, which advocated the duty of the educated classes to take up the language of the then circa 85% majority of Finns, and develop Finnish into a language of the civilized world, useful for academic works, fine arts, state craft, and
nation building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According t ...
. ''Saima'' was suppressed by the government in 1846. In 1848–49, Snellman was again rebuffed when applying for the position of professor at Finland's University in Helsinki. After having contemplated a renewed exile in Sweden, this time possibly definitive, Snellman in 1850 gave up the position in Kuopio and moved to Helsinki, where he and his family lived under economically awkward conditions until the death of Emperor Nicholas in 1855. Then it again became possible for Snellman to publish periodical papers on political issues. He had married Johanna Lovisa Wennberg in 1845, and they had five children before her death in 1857. In 1856, Snellman was finally appointed professor, which was met with great satisfaction among politically interested Finns. However, Snellman's unparalleled popularity could not remain. He was a generation older than the most active political opposition, and now backed a government which had the brightest expectations for Finland under the rule of
Emperor Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...
. The language strife in Finland, of which he was the chief initiator, contributed also to substantial opposition against him and his views. Finally and not least, his stance against the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...
rebels of the
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
of 1863 was seen by many as the ultimate sign of unprincipled ingratiation.J. V. Snellman – senaattorina monen asian ohjaksissa - J. V. Snellmanin kootut teokset
(in Finnish)
In 1863 Snellman was called to a cabinet post in 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 bec ...
, in effect as Chancellor of the Exchequer, where he became an energetic and valued senator. He accomplished a ''language decree'' from the Emperor that would gradually give Finns a position equal to that of the Swedish within the Finnish government. In practical terms it meant the re-establishment of the Parliament, which had remained inhibited since the Russian conquest. A separate Finnish
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general d ...
, the Markka, was introduced in 1860, and Snellman managed to tie it to silver instead of to 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 ''ru ...
. The Markka came to be of the utmost value for Finland. Snellman's tenure as Finance Minister would be tainted by the Finnish famine of 1866–1868, aggravated by the government's strict
fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection ( taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variabl ...
, but Snellman worked to get aid while trying to protect the new currency. Snellman's inflexibility and high profile position in the political debate would however, together with his old reputation as radical agitator of the 1830s–1840s, accumulate too much resistance and aversion to his person and his policies. In 1868 he was forced to resign from the senate. For the remainder of his life, he continued to participate in the political debate, and now ennobled he belonged to the Nobles' Chamber of the parliament. Snellman never lost his popularity among his Fennoman followers, but he had become a highly divisive symbol in Finland's political landscape.


Honors

Johan Vilhelm Snellman first appeared on a 1960 coin, commemorating the introduction of the markka denomination in 1860. He was recently selected as the main motif for another commemorative coin, the €10 Johan Vilhelm Snellman commemorative coin, minted in 2006 celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth. The obverse depicts J.V. Snellman. It also depicts the logo of the Europe Coins Programme. The reverse design features represent the dawn of Finnish culture. A park in Kuopio called the Snellman Park (''Snellmaninpuisto'') has been named after J. V. Snellman; it was formerly known as the former location of the
Kuopio Market Square Kuopio Market Square ( fi, Kuopion kauppatori) is the market square in the Multimäki district in Kuopio, North Savonia, Finland. The market is located about one hundred meters above sea level and the size of the area is 130×174 meters. The cov ...
. In the middle of the park, a bust of J. V. Snellman sculpted by Johannes Takanen was unveiled on July 3, 1886.


Works

In 1842 Snellman published his foremost work ''Läran om staten'' (''Study of the State'').


References

* http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=160109&nodeid=37598&culture=en-US * http://www.kansallisbiografia.fi/english/person/3639 * http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/550446/Johan-Vilhelm-Snellman * http://runeberg.org/authors/snellman.html * http://www.taidemuseo.fi/english/veisto/veistossivu.html?id=95


External links


J. V. Snellman in 375 humanists – 12 May 2015. Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snellman, Johan Vilhelm 1806 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Stockholm Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish Party politicians Finnish senators Members of the Diet of Finland Finnish philosophers 19th-century Finnish nobility Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki 19th-century Finnish philosophers 19th-century Finnish politicians