Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)
The battle of Svensksund as depicted by Swedish painter Johan Tietrich Schoultz
Date June 1788 – August 1790 Location Eastern Finland, Baltic Sea, Western Sweden Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Sweden	Russian Empire  Denmark
Commanders and leaders
Gustav III	Catherine II Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel Major General von und zu Mansbach
Strength
38,000 soldiers 25,514 soldiers on land c. 13,000 soldiers onboard ships	38,720 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Around 3,000 killed in battle, dozens of ships (of various sizes), 18,000 due to non-combat causes, around 4,500 captured	At least 2,640 killed and wounded, 100+ ships (of various sizes), at least 6,000 non-combat deaths, around 6,000 captured.

38,000 soldiers

The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90, known as Gustav III's Russian War in Sweden, Gustav III's War in Finland and Catherine II's Swedish War in Russia, was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790.

The conflict was initiated by King Gustav III of Sweden for domestic political reasons, as he believed that a short war would leave the opposition with no recourse but to support him. Despite establishing himself as an autocrat in a bloodless coup d'état that ended parliamentary rule in 1772, his political powers did not give him the right to start a war. Also he was becoming increasingly unpopular, an issue which became obvious during the parliament session of 1786. This unpopularity was also encouraged by Russia, which believed an autocratic king to be a threat to its interests. However, Russian support for his opposition did not go unnoticed by Gustav III, and was one of the reasons why he thought of the war as inevitable. The Western powers — such as Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Prussia — were alarmed by a string of Russian victories in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) and lobbied for the war in the north, which would have diverted the attention of Catherine II of Russia from the Southern theatre. It was at their instigation that Gustav concluded an alliance with the Ottoman Empire in the summer of 1788. However, only the Ottoman Empire was willing to ally with Sweden while Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Prussia rejected efforts to form an alliance.

Before the grand opening of the Riksdag in 1789, King Gustav III had the Riksdag Music commissioned. The Parliament then decided on the creation of a National Debt Office to raise funds and finance the war, a move that gave rise to a wave of inflation of the Swedish Riksdaler.

The Swedes initially planned a naval assault on Saint Petersburg. One Swedish army was to advance through Finland; a second army, accompanied by the Swedish coastal flotilla, was to advance along the Finnish coast into the Gulf of Finland; while a third army sailed with the Swedish battlefleet in order to land at Oranienbaum to advance on Saint Petersburg. The goal was to instigate a coup de état in Russia and depose Empress Catherine II of Russia. Sveaborg was set as the forward base of operations for the campaign. However, the whole concept was based on the assumption that the Swedish open sea fleet would be able to decisively defeat its Russian counterpart. Incidentally, Russian forces were not totally unprepared for the war since the bulk of the Russian Baltic Fleet was planned to be transferred against the Ottoman Empire and had made preparations of its own for war.

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