Grand Duchy of Finland (Rossyiah)
Grand Duchy of Finland
Великое княжество Финляндское Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta Storfurstendömet Finland | |
|---|---|
Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Finland within the Russian Empire | |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Established within the Russian Empire | 29 March 1809 |
| Capital | Gel'singfors Гельсингфорс |
| Government | |
| • Type | Constitutional Monarchy |
| • Tsar | Kirill II Romanov |
| • Governor General of Finland | kreivi Andreas Creutz |
| • Prime Minister of Finland | Sauli Marrin |
Finland (Russian: Финляндия; Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland), officially the Grand Duchy of Finland (Russian: Великое княжество Финляндское; Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; Swedish: Storfurstendömet Finland), is a realm of the Russian Empire located in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Norway to the north, and is defined by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, and the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi), with a population of 5.5 million. Gel'singfors is Finland's capital and largest city, but together with the neighboring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa, it forms a larger metropolitan area. Finland is officially trilingual, with Russian, Finnish, and Swedish being official. The climate varies relative to latitude, from the southern humid continental climate to the northern boreal climate. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Finland was inhabited around 9000 BC after the Last Glacial Period. The Stone Age introduced several different ceramic styles and cultures. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures. From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland has been annexed by Russia as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, during which Finnish art flourished. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Finland was the first nation in the world to give all (adult) citizens full suffrage, in other words the right to vote and to run for office, in 1906. In 1945, the Grand Duchy lost some territories to the Russian Empire.
Finland largely remained an agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the country rapidly industrialised and developed an advanced economy, while building an extensive welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity and a high per capita income.
Governorates
Finland consists of 25 Governorates (Russian: Губе́рния; Finnish: Suomen Läänit; Swedish: Finlands Län). The Governorates are governed by Governors. The main tasks of the Governorates are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are usually organized on the basis of Governorates. Governorate councils are elected by municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives in proportion to its population.
Each Governorate has a state Employment and Economic Development Centre which is responsible for the local administration of labour, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and entrepreneurial affairs. Governorates represent dialectal, cultural, and economic variations.