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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 The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
aimed at limiting the special status of the
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 ...
and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness in 1899–1905 and in 1908–1917. It was a part of a larger policy of
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cult ...
pursued by late 19th–early 20th century Russian governments which tried to abolish cultural and administrative autonomy of non-Russian minorities within the empire. The two Russification campaigns evoked widespread Finnish resistance, starting with
petitions A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...
and escalating to strikes, passive resistance (including draft resistance) and eventually active resistance. Finnish opposition to Russification was one of the main factors that ultimately led to Finland's declaration of independence in 1917.


Under Tsarist Russia

Russia attacked Sweden in 1808, in what became later known as the
Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...
. In 1809 the lost territory of Sweden became the
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 ...
in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
. In 1809 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 ...
recognized
Alexander I of Russia 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 o ...
as grand duke. For his part, Alexander confirmed the rights of the Finns, in particular, promising freedom to pursue their customs and religion and to maintain their identity:


First period of Russification

This promise was maintained; indeed, Alexander II amplified the powers of the Finnish diet in 1869. Having enjoyed prosperity and control over their own affairs, and having remained loyal subjects for nearly a century, the manifesto which
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 Pol ...
issued on 15 February 1899 was cause for Finnish despair. The manifesto was forced through the Finnish senate by the deciding vote of the senate president, an appointee of the tsar—and after the
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 ...
,
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 ...
, had threatened a military invasion and siege. While ostensibly affirming the Finns' rights in purely local matters, the manifesto asserted the authority of the state in any and all matters which could be considered to "come within the scope of the general legislation of the empire". As a response to the manifesto, a petition with 523,000 names was gathered and a delegation of 500 people were sent to deliver it to the tsar. A separate petition called ''Pro Finlandia'' that contained the names of 1,050 prominent foreign people was also gathered few months later. Russification policies enacted included: * The above-mentioned February Manifesto of 1899, the decree by Emperor
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 Pol ...
which asserted the imperial government's right to rule Finland without the consent of local legislative bodies, under which: ** the Orthodox Russian Church's status was strengthened; including, for example, criminalizing the act of subjecting a follower of the Orthodox church to a Lutheran church service; ** the press was subjected to tighter Russian censorship than before; ** the
Finnish army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...
was made subject to Russian rules of
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...
. * The Language Manifesto of 1900, 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 ...
by Nicholas II which made Russian the language of administration of Finland (in 1900, there were an estimated 8,000 Russians in all of Finland, of a population of 2,700,000)—the Finns saw this as placing the Russian minority in charge. * The
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
law, signed by Nicholas II in July 1901 incorporating the
Finnish army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...
into the imperial army and forcing Finns to serve in Russian units. * Finnish stamps were abolished and Russian stamps became the only ones allowed in January 1901. * Some Finnish government offices, such as the Railway and Lighthouse Boards got new, Russian, staff. From April 1903 until the
Russian Revolution 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 ...
, the governor-general was granted dictatorial powers. Bobrikov used these powers to personally abolish several newspapers and to deport notable Finnish political leaders. In June 1904
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-Ge ...
assassinated Bobrikov. The imperial government responded with a purge of opponents of Russification within the Finnish administration and more stringent
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
. However the passive resistance campaign also had some successes, notably a ''de facto'' reversal of the new
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
law. The Russification campaign was suspended and partially reversed in 1905–1907 during a period of civil unrest throughout the Russian empire following Russian defeats in 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 ...
.


Second period of Russification

The program was reintroduced in 1908, costing Finland much of its autonomy and again causing further Finnish resistance, including the Jäger movement. During 1909–1917 the Finnish politicians 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 ...
were replaced by Finnish-born officers of the Russian army who were formally subjects of the Grand Duchy, creating the so-called ''admiral-senate'' or ''saber-senate''. Russia demanded higher payments for not conscripting Finns (issue of , "military millions"). The 1910 "Law of all-Empire legislation procedures" removed most Finnish legislative powers from the newly established
Finnish Parliament 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 ...
to the Russian
Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were f ...
and State Council. In 1912 they passed the "Law of equality" which opened all Finnish government and civil service offices to Russians. Many measures were again suspended in 1914–1917 during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, but secret government documents published in the Finnish press in November 1914 suggested that the imperial government still harbored plans for the complete Russification of Finland. The second wave halted due to the
February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and some ...
in Russia.


Japanese involvement

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 ...
, with financial aid from Japan the rebels bought a shipment of thousands of rifles with the aim of creating an uprising and forming an independent state. However, the ship was wrecked off the coast of Finland and the plan fell apart. During the First World War when Russia and Japan were allies fighting against Germany, the Japanese handed the Russian government a list of the leading men in the freedom movement (now in World War I working with Imperial Germany).


See also

*
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cult ...
* Kagal (Finnish society) * Russophobia *
Russification of Belarus The Russification of Belarus ( be, Расеізацыя Беларусі, Rasieizacyja Biełarusi; russian: Русификация Беларуси, translit=Rusyfikatsiya Byelarusi) is a policy of replacing the use of the Belarusian language an ...
* Russification of Ukraine


Notes


References


Further reading

* Sergeevskii, N. D.br>Finland : the question of autonomy and fundamental laws
(1911) * Alenius, Kari. "Russification in Estonia and Finland Before 1917," ''Faravid,'' 2004, Vol. 28, pp 181–194 * Huxley, Steven. ''Constitutionalist insurgency in Finland: Finnish "passive resistance" against Russification as a case of nonmilitary struggle in the European resistance tradition'' (1990) * Polvinen, Tuomo. ''Imperial Borderland: Bobrikov and the Attempted Russification of Finland, 1898–1904'' (1995) * Thaden, Edward C. ''Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland'' (1981).


External links





text of the February Manifesto of 1899 ''(in English)''
Nicholas's Decree Limiting Finnish Autonomy, March 20, 1903
''(in English)'' {{Finland topics Grand Duchy of Finland Russification