{{Short description|1744–1812 unit of Russia}} {{Refimprove|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox Former Subdivision |native_name = {{lang|ru|Выборгская губерния}} |conventional_long_name = Vyborg Governorate |common_name = Vyborg |subdivision = [[Governorate (Russia)|Governorate]] |nation = the [[Russian Empire]] |year_start = 1744 |year_end = 1812 |p1 = Saint Petersburg Governorate |flag_p1 = Flag of Russia.svg |s1 = Viipuri Province |flag_s1 = Coats of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland.svg |image_coat = Coat of Arms of Vyborg (Vyborg Governorate) (1788).png |image_map = Tabula_Geographica_Gubernii_Wiburgensis.tif |today = [[Finland]]<br/>[[Russia]] }} [[File:Altfinnland-sv.png|thumb|right|250px|Map of the secession of former Swedish Empire territory to the Russian Empire in 1721 and 1743 within the Vyborg Governorate.]] '''Vyborg Governorate'''{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{langx|ru|Выборгская губерния|translit=Vyborgskaya guberniya}}|{{langx|fi|Viipurin kuvernementti}}}}}} was an administrative-territorial unit (''[[guberniya]]'') of the [[Russian Empire]], established in 1744 from territories ceded by [[Sweden]] to Russia in two successive conflicts: the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–1721), concluded by the [[Treaty of Nystad]], and the [[Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743)|Russo-Swedish War]] (1741–1743), concluded by the [[Treaty of Åbo]]. These areas were initially attached to the [[Saint Petersburg Governorate]] before being reorganized as a separate governorate with its capital in [[Vyborg]] (Viipuri).
The region was later dubbed '''Old Finland'''{{efn|{{langx|fi|Vanha Suomi}}; {{langx|ru|Ста́рая Финля́ндия|Staraya Finlyandiya}}; {{langx|sv|Gamla Finland}}}} to distinguish it from the parts of Finland which remained under Swedish rule. Following Russia's victory in the [[Finnish War]] (1808–1809), Sweden ceded the rest of Finland. The newly conquered regions were organized as the autonomous [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] ("New Finland"). In 1812, Old Finland was incorporated into the Grand Duchy as [[Vyborg Province]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tandefelt |first=Henrika |date=6 June 2023 |title=Gamla Finland |url=https://www.uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-170045-GamlaFinland |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Uppslagsverket Finland}}</ref>
Old Finland retained many Swedish-era laws and institutions under Russian rule, creating a distinct legal and administrative identity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vanha Suomi |url=https://portti.kansallisarkisto.fi/fi/aineisto-oppaat/vanha-suomi |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=Arkistojen portti |publisher=The National Archives of Finland |language=fi}}</ref>
== Formation == In the [[Treaty of Nystad]] of 1721, Sweden formally ceded control of parts of the [[Viborg and Nyslott County]] and the [[Kexholm County]] located on the [[Karelian Isthmus]] and [[Lake Ladoga]] region to Russia. First these areas were part of the [[Saint Petersburg Governorate]]. Vyborg Governorate was established in 1744 when Sweden ceded control of parts of [[Kymmenegård and Nyslott County]] (which had been parts of Viborg and Nyslott County prior to the Treaty of Nystad) by the [[Treaty of Åbo]]. In Sweden (including Finland), the area of the governorate was also known as ''Old Finland'', and between 1802 and 1812 it was officially named the ''Finland Governorate''.
[[File:Map of Vyborg Namestnichestvo 1792 (small atlas).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Map of the Vyborg Viceroyalty with its six uyezds, 1792.]] Initially the governorate had subdivision into three provinces: Kymi Province, Vyborg Province and Kexholm Province, which reflected the previous borders of the Swedish counties (part of Kymmenegård and Nyslott County ceded in 1743, part of Viborg and Nyslott County ceded in 1721 and part of Kexholm County ceded in 1721, respectively). [[Catherine the Great]] issued a decree in 1775 to change the previous administrative division from governorates to [[Viceroy#Russian_Empire|viceroyalties]] (''namestnichestvo''), and in 1783 the Vyborg Governorate was renamed into Vyborg Viceroyalty ({{langx|ru|Выборгское наместничество|translit=Vyborgskoye namestnichestvo}}, however in Finnish the name did not change) within its previous borders. The subdivision was also changed, from provinces into [[uyezd]]s ({{langx|ru|уе́зд}}, {{langx|fi|kihlakunta}}), of which there were 6 in the viceroyalty: Wilmanstrand, Vyborg, Friedrichshaven, Nijschlott, Kexholm and Serdobol.{{efn|Russia used Baltic/Low German names for the cities instead of Swedish in the Vyborg Province/Viceroyalty, and contemporary Russian names are transliterations of them.}} [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]] changed the name back to Vyborg Governorate in 1796, renaming the previous uyezds into districts ({{langx|de|Lands Kommissariat}}, {{langx|ru|округ|translit=okrug}}, {{langx|fi|kihlakunta}})<ref>{{cite book |title=Лекции по административному праву Великого княжества Финляндского |trans-title=Lectures on administrative law of the Grand Duchy of Finland |language=ru |first=Eduard Nikolaevich |last=Berendts |publisher=R. Golkike and A. Vilborg |year=1903}}</ref> and [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] changed the name to ''Finland Governorate'' in 1802.
== Legal situation == The Russian emperor guaranteed [[Lutheranism|religion]], property rights, old Swedish laws, and some privileges to the inhabitants of these territories. However, a circumvention occurred, as the Russian administrators and Russian military were unfamiliar with the Swedish system. The Russians were used to a different system with its serfs, [[serfdom]]. As a result, the economy of the area was markedly different from that on the Swedish side of the border.
The territories enjoyed a sort of [[Autonomous entity|autonomy]] and much [[Political particularism|particularism]], since the Russian rulers applied similar principles here as in the [[Baltic Provinces]]. The administration resembled a German [[principality]], rather than a [[Guberniya|Russian province]].
Ecclesiastically, the areas were administered as a diocese, but without a [[bishop]]. The church building in Viipuri and another in Hamina were assigned as [[Cathedral|cathedrals]], with a diocesan chapter ("consistory"), led by the [[archdean]].
The area was not forced to contribute men to the Russian Army until 1797. However, there were many non-Finnish troops in the area, especially after the [[Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)|1788–90 war]].
Scandinavian-style district courts continued in judicial function, each with a judge and lay members. However, the Russian estate owners and military often ignored these courts' decisions and imposed illegal punishments on the peasants.
Because of the absence of an evenly applied, up-to-date legal system in the area, apathy in some ways dominated among Old Finland's residents; and not many figures from the area have a prominent place in history. Two of these are [[Maximilian von Alopeus]] and his brother [[David Alopaeus]], born into a Finnish family in Viipuri and both later serving many posts in Imperial administration, including ambassador in some Central European countries.
== Integration with the Grand Duchy of Finland == [[File:Coat_of_arms_of_Vyborg_Governorate.jpg|thumb|Coat of arms 1788–1811]] During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the [[Kingdom of Sweden (1721–1809)|Kingdom of Sweden]] had allied itself with the Russian Empire, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and the other parties against [[The First French Empire|Napoleonic France]]. However, following the [[Treaties of Tilsit|Treaty of Tilsit]] in 1807, Russia made peace with France. In 1808, and supported by [[France]], Russia successfully challenged Swedish control over Finland in the [[Finnish War]]. In the [[Treaty of Fredrikshamn]] on September 17, 1809, Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, east of the [[Torne (Finnish and Swedish river)|Torne River]], to Russia. The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and was reconstituted into the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], with the Russian tsar as the grand duke.
In 1812, the area of Vyborg Governorate was transferred from Russia proper to the grand duchy and established as [[Viipuri Province]].<ref>{{cite web |date=December 12, 2017 |title=Vanha Suomi syntyi ennen Suomen suuriruhtinaskuntaa |url=https://www.hs.fi/paivanlehti/12122017/art-2000005486180.html |access-date=October 17, 2021 |work=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |language=fi}}</ref> The transfer, announced by Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] just before Christmas, on December 23, 1811 [[Old Style|O.S.]] (January 4, 1812 [[New Style|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]].
Some of the legal developments in Sweden during the 18th century had not been introduced in Old Finland: the Viipuri and Käkisalmi territory did not adopt the 1734 General Law of Sweden (though [[Hamina]] (Fredrikshamn), [[Lappeenranta]] (Villmanstrand), and [[Savonlinna]] (Nyslott), at the time still Swedish, of course did adopt it), and the new [[Instrument of Government (1772)|constitution]] of King [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]] was not implemented in the entire area.
After integration, the inhabitants of Old Finland were gradually brought under the same legal system as the rest of the grand duchy, including its [[Constitution of 1772|Constitution]] and General Law, although some privileges took time to implement. The so-called [[Manorialism|donated estates]] (owned by [[Russian nobility|Russian noblemen]]) in Karelia were a headache resolved slowly by monetary compensation from the Grand Duchy's Treasury. This was a long lasting burden, as the last instance of compensation was not until the 1870s.
== Governors == [[File:Border changes in Finland 1812.jpg|thumb|170px|upright|The annexation of Vyborg Governorate to the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812]] {{plainlist| * 1744–1744 {{ill|Yury Nikitich Repnin|ru|Репнин, Юрий Никитич}} * 1745–1752 [[Afanasiy Isakov]] (acting) * 1752–1754 [[Johann Christoph von Keyser]] * 1754–1766 [[Afanasiy Isakov]] * 1766–1778 {{ill|Nikolaus Hendrik von Engelhardt|ru|Энгельгардт, Николай Николаевич фон}} * 1779–1780 {{ill|Yevgeny Petrovich Kashkin|ru|Кашкин, Евгений Петрович}} * 1780–1782 [[Pyotr Alekseyevich Stupishin]] * 1782–1785 {{ill|Wilhelm Heinrich von Engelhardt|ru|Энгельгардт, Вильгельм Карпович}} * 1785–1785 {{ill|Alexander von Peutling|ru|Пеутлинг, Александр Александрович}} * 1785–1793 {{ill|Karl Johann von Günzel|ru|Гинцель, Карл Христианович фон}} (acting) * 1793–1797 {{ill|Fyodor Pavlovich Shcherbatov|ru|Щербатов, Фёдор Павлович}} * 1797–1799 [[Karl Magnus von Rüdinger]] * 1799–1799 [[Pyotr Vasilyevich Zheltuhin]] * 1799–1804 {{ill|Magnus Orraeus|ru|Ореус, Максим Максимович}} * 1804–1808 {{ill|Nikolay Fyodorovich Emin|ru|Эмин, Николай Фёдорович}} * 1808–1811 {{ill|Ivan Jakovlevich Buharin|ru|Бухарин, Иван Яковлевич}} * 1811–1812 [[Johan Gustaf Winter]] }}
== See also ==
* [[Fief of Viborg]] * [[Karelia (historical province of Finland)|Finnish Karelia]] * [[History of the administrative division of Russia]] * [[South-Eastern Finland fortification system]]
==References==
=== Notes === {{reflist}} {{notelist}}
=== Further reading ===
* {{Cite book |last=Danielsson-Kalmari |first=Johan Richard |title=Viipurin läänin palauttaminen muun Suomen yhteyteen |publisher=WSOY |year=1911 |edition=Revised and supplemented |publication-place=Porvoo |language=fi}} First edition (1894) available via [https://runeberg.org/djviipurin/ Project Runeberg] {{Subdivisions of the Russian Empire}} {{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Governorates of the Russian Empire]] [[Category:1744 establishments in the Russian Empire]] [[Category:History of Vyborg]] [[Category:History of Karelia]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1744]] [[Category:1812 disestablishments in Europe]]