The governorates of the Grand Principality of Finland were the administrative division of the

Grand Principality 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 ...

as part 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. ...

from 1809 to 1917. The administrative division of Finland followed the Russian imperial model with governorates (russian: губе́рния, sv, län, fi, lääni) headed by governors. However few changes were made and as the language of the administrators was still

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

the old terminology from during the Swedish time continued in local use. The

Vyborg Governorate The Vyborg Governorate was a Russian Governorate 1744–1812, which was established in territories ceded by the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War. By the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden formally ceded control of the parts of the Viborg a ...

was not initially part of the Grand Principality, but in 1812 it was transferred from Russia proper to Finland.

Governorates

After 1831 there were eight provinces in the Grand Principality. * Åbo och Björneborg Governorate (russian: Або-Бьернеборгская губерния, sv, Åbo och Björneborgs län, fi, Turun ja Porin lääni) * Kuopio Governorate (russian: Куопиоская губерния, sv, Kuopio län, fi, Kuopion lääni) * Vaasa Governorate (russian: Ва́заская губерния, sv, Vasa län, fi, Vaasan lääni) * Nyland Governorate (russian: Нюландская губерния, sv, Nylands län, fi, Uudenmaan lääni) * St. Michel Governorate (russian: Санкт-Михельская губерния, sv, St. Michels län, fi, Mikkelin lääni) * Tavastehus Governorate (russian: Тавастгусская губерния, sv, Tavastehus län, fi, Hämeen lääni) * Uleåborg Governorate (russian: Улеаборгская губерния, sv, Uleåborgs län, fi, Oulun lääni) * Viborg Governorate (russian: Выборгская губерния, sv, Viborgs län, fi, Viipurin lääni)

History

The Vyborg Governorate was established in territories ceded by 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 ...

in 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-Swed ...

. By the

Treaty of Nystad 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 of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of ...

in 1721, Sweden formally ceded control of the parts of the Viborg and Nyslott County and the

Kexholm County Kexholm County (, ) was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1721, when the southern part was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Nystad. The capital of the county was Kexholm (), which today is Priozersk. History The county ...

located on the

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. The governorate was extended in 1743 when Sweden ceded control of the rest of Viborg and Nyslott, now called the Kymmenegård and Nyslott County, by the

Treaty of Åbo The Treaty of Åbo or the Treaty of Turku was a peace treaty signed between the Russian Empire and Sweden in Åbo ( fi, Turku) on in the end of the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. History By the end of the war, the Imperial Russian Army had ...

. In the Swedish kingdom the ceded territories was also known as

Old Finland Old Finland ( fi, Vanha Suomi; rus, Ста́рая Финля́ндия, r=Staraya Finlyandiya; sv, Gamla Finland) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and in the Russo-Swedis ...

( sv, Gamla Finland, fi, Vanha Suomi), and between 1802 and 1812 it was named the "Finland Governorate". During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

had allied itself with the Russian Empire,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the other parties against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. However, following the treaty of

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

in 1807, Russia made peace with France. In 1808, and supported by France, Russia successfully challenged the Swedish control over Finland in 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 the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn ( sv, Freden i Fredrikshamn; russian: Фридрихсгамский мирный договор), or the Treaty of Hamina ( fi, Haminan rauha), was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 ...

on September 17, 1809 Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, east of the

Torne River The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

, to Russia. The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and was reconstituted into 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 ...

, with the Russian Tsar as Grand Duke. In 1812 the Vyborg Governorate was transferred from Russia proper to the Grand Principality. The transfer, announced by Tsar Alexander I just before Christmas, on December 23, 1811 O.S. (January 4, 1812 N.S.), can be seen as a symbolic gesture and an attempt to appease the sentiment of the Finnish population, which had just experienced Russian conquest of their country by force in the Finnish War. In 1831 the Nyland-Tavastehus Governorate (russian: Нюланд-Тавастгусская губерния, sv, Nylands och Tavastehus län, fi, Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni) was divided into the Nyland Governorate and the Tavastehus Governorate. Upon the death of Tsar Nicholas I in 1855, a small group of citizens in the city of Vaasa tendered a petition to change the name of the city after him. The name of the city came from the Royal House of Vasa and despite that only 15 citizens were backing the proposal the name of the city was changed to Nikolaistad (russian: Николайстад, fi, Nikolainkaupunki). This also meant that the Vasa Governorate (russian: Вазаская губерния, sv, Vasa län, fi, Vaasan lääni) was called Николайстадская губерния (Nikolaistadskaya gubérnija) in Russian, after 1855. The official Swedish, and later the Finnish, name for the province did not change. After being a part of Sweden for seven centuries, the first half century of Finland as a Russian Grand Principality meant a period of consolidation into the Russian Empire, where the authorities managed to convince the imperial court of the loyalty of the Finnish population and the officials to Russia. This resulted in the re-establishment of the Diet of Finland and an increased autonomy, an example of which was the elevation of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

from a language for the common people to a national language equal to

. The period of liberalisation came to an end in 1899 when a campaign of attempted Russification was initiated, and attempt that ultimately would prove unsuccessful and detrimental for Finland's relationship with Russia. The policy of Russification, coupled with Russian defeat in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the subsequent Russian Revolution paved the way for

Finland's declaration of independence The Finnish Declaration of Independence ( fi, Suomen itsenäisyysjulistus; sv, Finlands självständighetsförklaring; russian: Провозглашение независимости Финляндии) was adopted by the Parliament of Finl ...

on December 6, 1917. The former Swedish

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, that for a century had been ruled as governorates of a Russian Grand Principality, would now become the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

( fi, lääni, sv, län) of an independent Republic of Finland.