In the immediate future, this new situation hardly brought change. Admittedly, Alexandre, become grand duke of Finland, replaced the king of Sweden, but the Grand Duchy remained an entity distinct from the Empire. The tsar was represented there by a general governor, holder of the supreme authority on the administration; the first holder of this load was G. Mr. Sprengtporten, who, after the failure of the plot of 1788, had given up the service of Sweden for that of Russia. Its successors were Russians, but the other stations of the administration remained between Finnish hands.  

The time of Russian sovereignty opened under favorable auspices. The country, increased, had passed from the statute of Swedish province to that of autonomous State, and this situation, in a time when the national idea, carried by the romantic movement, gained little by little all Europe, could only encourage Finnish particularism. The first clearly signs national awakening appeared around 1820 at the university of Turku, where Adolf Ivan Arwidsson, champion of the Finnish language, formulated a profession of faith remained famous: “We are not any more of the Swedes, we do not want to become Russians; let us be of the Finns.” During centuries, Swedish had been the only language of the administration, the legislation, teaching, and the principal vector of the cultural life. Except the peasants, only the clergy, for the needs for preaching, practiced Finnish.  

The statute of Finnish did not change immediately, but the publication of Kalevala (1835), emblematic epopee composed by Elias Lönnrot starting from poems authentically popular, conferred a real prestige to him. The national feeling was also expressed in the work of Johan Ludvig Runeberg, author of Swedish language, but whose patriotic poetry of inspiration idealized the man of the people, worker or soldier. Johan Vilhelm Snellman, publicity agent, philosopher and statesman, encouraged the Finns cultivated to express itself in Finnish and militated for his introduction into the administration and teaching.  

From 1863, the Diet, which had not been joined together during one half-century, started again to sit regularly. Principal political cleavage opposed the “svécomanes” to the “fennomanes”, the partisans of Swedish to the champions of Finnish. This one, little by little, gained ground, in teaching, the administration, the cultural life and policy. In 1902, the equality of the two languages was officially recognized.   
The reaction anti-Russian

With the turning of the century, svécophones and fennophones were confronted with a new threat, that of an integration, desired by the Russian nationalists, of the Grand Duchy in the Empire. Various decisions, made by Nicolas II with no regard for his engagements, transformed into hostility traditional Finnish honesty.  

In answer to the attempts at Russianization, three ways took shape. Conciliationnistes defended the idea that it was necessary to compose with the requirements of Saint-Pétersbourg in order to save time, to remain capable to influence the course of the events, to make obstacle with the nomination of Russians in stations which there remained preferable to see occupied by Finns. Constitutionnalistes wanted to answer the violations of the Finnish Constitution while refusing to obey, but this strategy, to be effective, required an national unit without fault, incompatible with the position conciliationnist. It did not gain of them less one certain success, in particular near young people who, after the law of 1901 on the military service and the posterior decrees removing the Finnish army, omitted to present themselves to the drawing lot to be made enlist in the Russian units. The passive resistance leading to nothing in the long run, a movement activist was constituted finally around a program which prepared armed resistance and did not exclude the insurrection.

Political reforms

The war Russo-Japanese woman and the failure of the Russian revolutionary movement of 1905 involved a suspension of the policy of Russianization and opened the way with an important political reform. In 1906, the Diet in four states voted, on imperial proposal, its own replacement by a single House of Representatives, elected by the vote for all and levelling. The right to vote, recognized with social classes which had up to that point been excluded from it, moreover was extended to the women. With the elections of 1907, the Socialists obtained 40 % of the seats. This success confirmed the existence of a vast rural proletariat and the extent of the social problems.  

These problems, the new Parliament could not however make large-thing to solve them, because the Russian power took the control of Finland again. In 1908, Russianization was started again with a new strength and, at the beginning of the First World War, the idea of an armed rising gained ground, in particular in the university circles. The young patriots, refractories in their country, started to gain Germany to receive a military formation there.  

No rising had still occurred when the revolution of February burst in Russia. A new period opened. The Russian provisional government restores Finnish autonomy, but this measurement was not sufficient any more. In July 1917, the Finnish Parliament, dominated by the Socialists, is invested of all the powers, except as for the foreign affairs and soldiers, who were left in Russia. This situation was unacceptable for the Russian government and this one chooses to dissolve the Parliament. At the conclusion of new elections, with the autumn 1917, the Socialists were in minority.  

In margin of these events, Finland suffered from a fast increase from unemployment, food shortage and social crisis. When the revolution Bolshevik burst in Petrograd in November 1917, a general strike followed in Finland where part of the Socialists, gained by the revolutionary spirit, was not long in being radicalized. The interior situation became chaotic. The presence of undisciplined Russian troops added to confusion.