The Treaty of Nystad (russian: Ништадтский мир; fi, Uudenkaupungin rauha; sv, Freden i Nystad; et, Uusikaupunki rahu) was the last peace treaty of the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

and the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

on in the then Swedish town of Nystad ( fi, Uusikaupunki, in the south-west of present-day Finland). Sweden had settled with the other parties in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(1719 and 1720) and in Frederiksborg (1720). During the war

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

had occupied all Swedish possessions on the eastern

Baltic coast The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10 ...

Swedish Ingria Swedish Ingria ( sv, Svenska Ingermanland, ‘land of Ingrians’) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1583 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1721, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Nystad. History Ingria was ceded ...

(where he began to build the soon-to-be new Russian capital of

St. 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 ...

in 1703), Swedish Estonia and Swedish Livonia (which had capitulated in 1710), and

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 ...

. In Nystad, King Frederick I of Sweden formally recognized the transfer of Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, and Southeast Finland ( Kexholmslän and part of

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

) to Russia in exchange for two million silver

thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

, while Russia returned the bulk of Finland to Swedish rule. The Treaty enshrined the rights of the German

Baltic nobility Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of today's Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously since the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana. Most of the nobility were Baltic Germans, bu ...

within Estonia and Livonia to maintain their financial system, their existing customs border, their self-government, their

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

religion, and the German language; this special position in the Russian Empire was reconfirmed by all Russian Tsars from

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

(reigned 1682-1725) to Alexander II (reigned 1855-1881). Nystad manifested the decisive shift in the

European balance of power The European balance of power is the tenet in international relations that no single power should be allowed to achieve hegemony over a substantial part of Europe. During much of the Modern Age, the balance was achieved by having a small number of ...

which the war had brought about: the Swedish imperial era had ended; Sweden entered the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in 1718 ...

, while Russia had emerged as a new empire. Fe- Medal 1721 Treaty of Nystad Peter the Great, Obverse.jpg, The obverse of an Fe- medal 1721 by the Danish medallist Anton Schultz. Treaty of Nystad to end the Great Northern War by Peter the Great. Fe- Medal 1721 Treaty of Nystad Peter the Great, Reverse.jpg, The reverse of the above medal. Treaty of Nystad.jpg, Signing of the Treaty of Nystad

Legacy

In pre-1917 Saint Petersburg, in the Vyborgsky district (relatively nearest to Russo-Finnish border) one of the thoroughfares (now ''Lesnoy prospekt'') was named after the Nystad treaty (Nystadt Street, Rus. Ништадтская улица).Лев Успенский. Записки старого петербуржца. (Lev Uspenskii. Zapiski starogo peterburjca.) Any edition. The district also houses a church commemorating the first Russian victory in the Great Northern war, the Battle of Poltava – St. Sampsonius' Cathedral.

References

External links

Freden i Nystad – Ништадтский мир 1721 – Uudenkaupungin rauha 1721.
Trilingual source publication (Finnish, Swedish, Russian) of the documents concerning the peace treaty from The Russian Foreign Ministry Archives. Published by Agricola – The Finnish History Network publication series number 10. 2014 (Heidi Pitkänen red.)
International conference ‘The Border of the Treaty of Nystad – Peter the Great’s Line’ dedicated to the Tercentenary of the Great Northern War’s end and the making of the Treaty of Nystad. Vyborg, Leningrad Region. October 7-8, 2021
The Conference is dedicated to the Tercentenary of the Great Northern War’s, making of the Treaty of Nystad and demarcation of the border between Russia and Sweden in 1722. The aim of the conference is to thoroughly study the history of the border demarcation between Russia and Sweden, its influence on the historical and cultural heritage in the borderline territories, to draw attention to the problems of preservation of monuments dated back to the Peter the Great’s period as well to expand co-operation between Russian and European researchers in studying Peter I’s period. Vyborg, Leningrad Region. October 7-8, 2021 {{Authority control Nystad 18th century in Estonia Ingria Swedish Livonia Nystad Nystad History of the Karelian Isthmus 1721 in Finland 1721 in Russia 1721 in Sweden Uusikaupunki Treaties involving territorial changes 1721 treaties Treaties of the Russian Empire Russia–Sweden treaties

Legacy

See also

References

External links