Liberation in Moderation
Repression and Resistance in the Grand Duchy of Finland
Mats Fridlund, Daniel Sallamaa
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In the late 19th century, the Grand Duchy of Finland saw its autonomous status within the Russian Empire threatened by an aggressive policy of Russification. Having enjoyed special rights for decades, the Finns’ institutions and legal norms now were to be integrated into the tsarist empire. Passive and active resistance formed, which then led to an eruption of terrorist acts in the early 20th century. Surprisingly, however, the Finns initially fought for a return to autonomy and did not fundamentally question their place in the Russian Empire. Only with the outbreak of the First World War did they pursue complete secession from Russia.
(Osteuropa 4/2016, pp. 35–48)