Editing Old Finland (section)

==History==

In the [[Treaty of Nystad]] (1721) that concluded the Great Northern War, Sweden was forced to cede [[Kexholm County|Käkisalmi County]] and [[Viborg and Nyslott County|Viborg/Viipuri County]] to Russia.  The ceded Finnish-speaking [[Ingria]] around Saint Petersburg, however, was not included in Old Finland. In the [[Treaty of Åbo]] (1743) Sweden had to cede the areas in southern [[Finnish Karelia|Karelia]] east of the [[Kymi river]] and around [[Savonlinna]] to Russia.

The Russian ruler 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 other side of the border.

The ruler's guarantee froze the situation. Thus legal developments in Sweden were not introduced to these areas: 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.

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]].

Under Russian rule the combined territories formed the [[Vyborg Governorate]], or Government of Vyborg.

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]]s, 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.

These areas, Government of Vyborg, were later referred to as ''Old Finland''; and from the beginning of 1812, they were incorporated in the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], where the newly acquired provinces from Sweden were ''"New Finland"''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hs.fi/paivanlehti/12122017/art-2000005486180.html|title=Vanha Suomi syntyi ennen Suomen suuriruhtinaskuntaa|work=[[Helsingin Sanomat]]|date=December 12, 2017|access-date=October 17, 2021|language=fi}}</ref>  The population in these provinces came to receive 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.