Grand-Duchy of Finland
| Grand Duchy of Finland | ||||||||||
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Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta (Finnish) Storfurstendömet Finland (Swedish) Великое княжество Финляндское (Russian) Velikoye knyazhestvo Finlyandskoye |
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| Governorate-General of the Russian Empire | ||||||||||
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Anthem Maamme / Vårt land "Our Land" |
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.svg) The Grand Duchy of Finland in 1914.
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| Capital |
Turku (1809–1812) Helsinki (1812–1917) |
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| Languages | Swedish, Finnish, Russian | |||||||||
| Religion | Finnish Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| Grand Duke | ||||||||||
| • | 1809–1825 | Alexander I | ||||||||
| • | 1825–1855 | Nicholas I | ||||||||
| • | 1855–1881 | Alexander II | ||||||||
| • | 1881–1894 | Alexander III | ||||||||
| • | 1894–1917 | Nicholas II | ||||||||
| Governor-General | ||||||||||
| • | 1809 | Georg Sprengtporten (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1917 | Nikolai Nekrasov (last) | ||||||||
| Vice Chairman | ||||||||||
| • | 1822–1826 | (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1917 | Anders Wirenius (last) | ||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Diet of Porvoo | 29 March 1809 | ||||||||
| • | Treaty of Fredrikshamn | 17 September 1809 | ||||||||
| • | Independence declared | 6 December 1917 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1910 | 360,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1910 est. | 2,943,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 8/km2 (21/sq mi) | |||||||||
| Currency |
Swedish riksdaler (1809–1840) Russian ruble (1840–1865) Finnish markka (1865–1917) |
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| Today part of |
 Finland Russia
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The Grand Duchy of Finland (Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, Swedish: Storfurstendömet Finland, Russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Finlyandskoye; literally "Grand Principality of Finland") was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke.
An extended Southwest Finland was made a titular grand duchy in 1581, when King John III of Sweden, who as a prince had been the Duke of Finland (1556–1561/63), extended the list of subsidiary titles of the Kings of Sweden considerably. The new title Grand Duke of Finland did not result in any Finnish autonomy, as Finland was an integrated part of the Kingdom of Sweden with full parliamentary representation for its counties. During the next two centuries, the title was used by some of John's successors on the throne, but not all. Usually it was just a subsidiary title of the king, used only on very formal occasions. However, in 1802, as an indication of his resolve to keep Finland within Sweden in the face of increased Russian pressure, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later.
During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, the four Estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on 29 March 1809 to pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, who in return guaranteed that the area's laws and liberties as well as religion would be left unchanged. Following the Swedish defeat in the war and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on 17 September 1809, Finland became a true autonomous grand duchy within the autocratic Russian Empire; but the usual balance of power between monarch and diet resting on taxation was not in place, since the Emperor could rely on the rest of his vast Empire. The title "Grand Duke of Finland" was added to the long list of titles of the Russian Tsar.
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Wikipedia