Russo-Swedish Wars of 1788–1809

At issue: Russian vs. Swedish control over the eastern provinces of Sweden

Date: 1788–1809

Location: Finland

Combatants: Russians vs. Swedes

Principal commanders:Russian, Alexander I (1777–1825); Swedish, Gustav III (1746–1792)

Principal battles: Svenskund (Ruotsinsalmi), Sveaborg (Suomenlinna)

Result: Russia gained possession of the eastern provinces of Sweden, creating a buffer between Russia and Sweden and establishing the borders of what would later become the independent nation of Finland

Background

The Russo-Swedish Wars of 1788–1809 consisted of two brief periods of conflict, from 1788–1790 and 1808–1809, with a long period of stalemate in between. Relations between Russia and Sweden had been hostile for decades, dating back to the early years of the eighteenth century when the Russian czar Peter the Great initiated a war against Sweden that resulted in the loss of considerable Swedish territory. Peter’s successful campaigns had marked the emergence of Russia as a great power in Europe and Sweden’s decline as one. In 1788, the Swedish king Gustav III decided to declare war on Russia to serve as a distraction from domestic problems. He is reported to have said that a “nice little war” was just what the country needed.

Unfortunately, the war did not go as smoothly as Gustav hoped. The land campaign was a fiasco because Finnish military officers (the Anjala League) mutinied. The Finns were tired of Finland serving as a battleground between Sweden and Russia. The Swedes did succeed in defeating the Russians in a sea battle at Svenskund (1788) (Ruotsinsalmi in Finnish), but it is more likely that the Russians’ simultaneous engagement in a war with the Ottoman Empire led to this brief war ending with the 1790 Treaty of Värälä. The conflict of 1788–1790 resulted in a stalemate with no loss or gain of territory for either country.

Action

In 1807, the Russian czar Alexander I attempted to persuade Sweden to ally itself with the anti-British countries in the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden refused, and the Russians invaded Finland on February 21, 1808. Military intelligence provided early warning of the impending attack, but poor communications and planning within Sweden canceled out any long-term advantage this might have provided. The fortress of Sveaborg (Suomenlinna in Finnish) surrendered without a fight, an occurrence that Gustav IV Adolph, the Swedish king, referred to as “this disgusting incident” in a May 6, 1808, royal proclamation. The troops at Sveaborg had received few communications from other Swedish forces and apparently had little idea of how the war was progressing. In addition, the men thoroughly disliked their commander, R. O. Cronstedt, and essentially refused to fight under him.

Although the Swedish troops in Finland did receive help from the Finnish peasantry, who organized a guerrilla resistance behind the advancing Russian lines, by the following year, it was clear the war was not going well. In the spring of 1809, Russian troops advanced into Sweden proper and began to move on Stockholm. Sweden sued for peace, and in September, 1809, signed the Treaty of Hamina. Under the terms of the treaty, Finland became Russian territory, an autonomous grand duchy. In 1810, as a result of the war, the Swedish parliament named one of Napoleon’s marshals, Jean-Baptiste-Jules Bernadotte, heir to the Swedish monarchy. He assumed the throne as Charles XIV John upon the death of Charles XIII.

Aftermath

The creation of the grand duchy of Finland seemed to defuse hostilities between Sweden and Russia proper. The grand duchy served as a buffer zone. Russia added parts of Karelia that it had taken from Sweden in earlier wars to the new grand duchy, establishing borders that defined Finland until the mid-1940’s. The duchy’s creation also had the unintended consequence of fostering a sense of nationalism in the Finnish people. Before the Russo-Swedish Wars, Finland had been a collection of provinces, the eastern half of Sweden, and had not had a single identity. As a grand duchy, the Finnish-speaking inhabitants began to see themselves as a distinct people, neither Russian nor Swedish, and a desire for complete independence gradually arose.

Bibliography

Derry, T. K. A History of Scandinavia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980.

Engman, Max, and David Kirby, eds. Finland: People, Nation, State. London: Hurst, 1989.

Klinge, Matti. A Brief History of Finland. Helsinki: Otava, 1987.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Let Us Be Finns, Essays on History. Helsinki: Otava, 1982.

Nordstrom, Byron J. Scandinavia Since 1500. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

Paasi, Anssi. Territories, Boundaries, and Consciousness: The Changing Geographies of the Finnish-Russian Border. Chichester, England: J. Wiley & Sons, 1996.

Singleton, Fred. A Short History of Finland. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.