Porvoo > Borgå Southern Finland Finland
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The oldest parts of the cathedral at Porvoo, a port in southern Finland, located thirty miles (forty-eight kilometers) northeast of modern Helsinki, off the Gulf of Finland, along the Porvoonjoki River, date from the thirteenth century.
Originally made of wood, the first stone walls are built between 1410 and 1420.
Russia plans at first to annex Finland directly as a province of the Russian Empire, but in order to overcome the Finns' misgivings about Russian rule, Tsar Alexander I offers them the following solution.
Finland is not annexed to the Russian Empire but is joined to Russia instead through the person of the tsar.
In addition, Finland is made an autonomous state—the Grand Duchy of Finland—with its inherited traditions intact.
Thus the laws and constitution of Finland remain unchanged, and the tsar takes the place of the Swedish king as sovereign.
The official forms of government inherited from the era of Swedish absolutism are sufficiently autocratic to allow the tsar to accept them largely intact; however, included in these forms of government is the comprehensive law code of 1734 that protects individual rights.
Imperial assurances that Finland will be autonomous and that its traditions will be respected are encoded in two 1809 decrees that constitute for the Finns the basis of their relationship with Russia.
The Finnish Diet that meets at Porvoo (Swedish, Borgå) in 1809 seconds the tsar's decrees.
As a further gesture of magnanimity, in 1812 the tsar restores to Finland the lands Russia had annexed in the eighteenth century.
These conciliatory measures were effective, and, as long as Russia respects this arrangement, the Finns will prove to be loyal subjects of the Russian Empire.
Finland is not annexed to the Russian Empire but is joined to Russia instead through the person of the tsar.
In addition, Finland is made an autonomous state—the Grand Duchy of Finland—with its inherited traditions intact.
Thus the laws and constitution of Finland remain unchanged, and the tsar takes the place of the Swedish king as sovereign.
The official forms of government inherited from the era of Swedish absolutism are sufficiently autocratic to allow the tsar to accept them largely intact; however, included in these forms of government is the comprehensive law code of 1734 that protects individual rights.
Imperial assurances that Finland will be autonomous and that its traditions will be respected are encoded in two 1809 decrees that constitute for the Finns the basis of their relationship with Russia.
The Finnish Diet that meets at Porvoo (Swedish, Borgå) in 1809 seconds the tsar's decrees.
As a further gesture of magnanimity, in 1812 the tsar restores to Finland the lands Russia had annexed in the eighteenth century.
These conciliatory measures were effective, and, as long as Russia respects this arrangement, the Finns will prove to be loyal subjects of the Russian Empire.
The government of Finland, according to the terms of the agreement reached between the Diet and the tsar, is directly controlled by the tsar, who appoints a governor general as his adviser.
With one brief exception, all of the governors general are Russian.
The first governor general is the Swedish-Finn Goran Sprengtporten, who is ably assisted by the prominent Swedish-Finn politician, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt.
The chief instrument of government in the grand duchy is the Government Council, renamed in 1816 the Senate, which is composed of fourteen Finns appointed by the tsar.
The counterpart of the Senate in St. Petersburg is the Committee for Finnish Affairs, composed of Finns, which presents Finnish requests to the tsar; however, Finnish civil servants usually carry on the business of government with little interference from the tsarist government in St. Petersburg.
The Diet is formally the lawmaking body of the government; it cannot initiate legislation, however, but can only petition the tsar to introduce legislation.
The tsar, moreover, can summon and can dismiss the Senate without reference to the Diet.
There is an independent judicial system.
Finland even maintains its own customs system, and taxes collected in Finland remain in the country.
Finns are exempted from conscription into the Russian army.
Despite these safeguards, Finland still feels the autocracy of the tsar.
The Finnish Diet is dismissed in 1809, and it will not reconvene or more than fifty years.
Although the government of the grand duchy represents an uneasy balance between the traditions of Finnish self-government and those of Russian autocracy, as long as the Russians respect the balance, the Finnish people will be satisfied.
The period of Russian rule is characterized by peaceful internal development, largely because, for the first time in centuries, Finland is free of war.
With one brief exception, all of the governors general are Russian.
The first governor general is the Swedish-Finn Goran Sprengtporten, who is ably assisted by the prominent Swedish-Finn politician, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt.
The chief instrument of government in the grand duchy is the Government Council, renamed in 1816 the Senate, which is composed of fourteen Finns appointed by the tsar.
The counterpart of the Senate in St. Petersburg is the Committee for Finnish Affairs, composed of Finns, which presents Finnish requests to the tsar; however, Finnish civil servants usually carry on the business of government with little interference from the tsarist government in St. Petersburg.
The Diet is formally the lawmaking body of the government; it cannot initiate legislation, however, but can only petition the tsar to introduce legislation.
The tsar, moreover, can summon and can dismiss the Senate without reference to the Diet.
There is an independent judicial system.
Finland even maintains its own customs system, and taxes collected in Finland remain in the country.
Finns are exempted from conscription into the Russian army.
Despite these safeguards, Finland still feels the autocracy of the tsar.
The Finnish Diet is dismissed in 1809, and it will not reconvene or more than fifty years.
Although the government of the grand duchy represents an uneasy balance between the traditions of Finnish self-government and those of Russian autocracy, as long as the Russians respect the balance, the Finnish people will be satisfied.
The period of Russian rule is characterized by peaceful internal development, largely because, for the first time in centuries, Finland is free of war.
Lacy captures Porvoo (Swedish: Borgå) and ...
Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia at the Diet of Porvoo on March 29, 1809, commencing the secession of the future Grand Principality of Finland from Sweden.
The Emperor, in return, promises to retain and uphold former laws and privileges, as well as the dominant Lutheran religion
His pledge will later be interpreted by the Finns as a confirmation of constitutional laws, which have, effectively, established Finland as a separate state in real union with Russia.
The Emperor, in return, promises to retain and uphold former laws and privileges, as well as the dominant Lutheran religion
His pledge will later be interpreted by the Finns as a confirmation of constitutional laws, which have, effectively, established Finland as a separate state in real union with Russia.