February Manifesto
The February Manifesto, also known as His Imperial Majesty's Graceful Announcement was a legislative act given by Emperor of Russia Nicholas II on 15 February 1899, defining the legislation order of laws concerning the Grand Duchy of Finland. This included all laws which also concerned the interest of the Russian Empire. The manifesto left the Diet of Finland only an advisory role in passing these laws. The February Manifesto was seen as the beginning of the first period of Russian oppression and generally the start of Russification of Finland.
The fundamental statutes of state legislation procedure were published in connection with the manifesto, based on which the Russian state council would review the law proposals. The emperor had the final decision. There was no definition or restriction of what matters the state legislation concerned.
The February Manifesto was prepared in secret from the Finns, although it was based on the work of two Russian-Finnish committees active in the early 1890s. Its immediate purpose was to enable the discontinuation of the Finnish military conscripted in 1881, which the Diet of Finland did not want to agree to. However, the manifesto acted as a start for the politics driven by Nikolay Bobrikov who had been appointed Governor-General of Finland in 1898, which aimed at narrowing the autonomy of Finland and other ways of Russification of Finland. The Great Petition was assembled to counter the manifesto.
The Finns felt the February Manifesto was a coup d'etat. When Finland had been annexed to Russia in 1809, Emperor Alexander I had promised that the old laws could stay in force. According to the interpretation in Finland at the time, this also included the Swedish Gustavian era constitution, defining the rights of the Diet of Finland. These rights had been respected ever since the Diet of Finland first assembled in 1863. Narrowing the rights of the Diet of Finland by a unilateral edict from the emperor was seen as a breach of constitution. According to the Finns, Nicholas II also broke his imperial oath, where he had promised to protect the laws of Finland. From the Russian point of view, the Finnish constitution could not override the autocracy of the emperor.
Although the February Manifesto narrowed the autonomy of Finland, it has gained a reputation bigger than its actual content throughout history. The only law directly enacted by the manifesto was the 1901 law of military conscription in Finland, which discontinued the military of Finland and forced the Finnish people to undergo military conscription in the military of Russia. The February Manifesto was first temporarily repealed by the November Manifesto in 1905 and then permanently by the March Manifesto in 1917.
Content of the manifesto and its fundamental statutes
According to the fundamental statutes of the February Manifesto, the enactment of a new law in Finland could only be initiated by a Russian minister or a Finnish minister-secretary after negotiation with a Russian minister, or alternatively by the Governor-General of Finland through them. The Diet of Finland would only have an advisory role: the governor-general, the minister-secretary, the Senate of Finland and the Diet of Finland could each give their statement about the law proposal, however the Diet of Finland could only do so in the case of a law requiring normal review. As well as this, when the Russian State Council was discussing laws concerning Finland, the discussion could be attended by the Governor-General of Finland, the minister-secretary, and especially invited Finnish senators. Neither the manifesto or its fundamental statutes ever defined which matters were considered state legislation in Finland. This left open the possibility that any law whatsoever could be declared as such.Background
Finnish constitution and imperial era
When Finland was annexed to Russia in 1809, Emperor Alexander I gave an imperial oath to the Finns at the Diet of Porvoo, where he promised to retain the religion, the constitution, the privileges of the estates and their "constitutional" rights. He also mentioned this at his speech at the inauguration of the diet. Alexander I never further explained which specific laws he meant when he spoke of constitutional laws or the constitution. During the following years and decades, it gradually became an established interpretation in Finland that this meant the Swedish Instrument of Government of 1772 and the Union and Security Act of 1789, except for some points in conflict with the new situation. This led to the conclusion that although the emperor was an autocrat in Russia, in Finland he had agreed to a position of a constitutional ruler, who had no right to decide on certain matters without approval from the diet. These interpretations were later disputed in Russia. In practice however these constitutional laws were taken into action in the Finnish administration.For a long time, the Finns took for granted that the emperors had committed to constitutional rule in Finland, as each emperor had given an imperial oath to Finland upon inauguration, renewing the promises made by Alexander I. None of the emperors had however specifically mentioned Finland's constitution until Alexander II confirmed the new dietary order in 1869, whose introduction mentioned that the emperor would retain the rights according to the 1772 form of government and the Union and Security Act. The exact constitutional laws were not specified in the imperial oaths even after this. Some historians have later questioned whether Alexander I or any of his successors ever really thought himself to be bound by the Finnish constitution or whether they simply saw themselves as having made voluntary allowances, which they could later unilaterally revoke. The Russian way of governmental thinking was different from the Swedish-Finnish one and was based on an autocratic tradition, where the ruler was above the laws.
Before the Diet of Finland was founded in 1863, some laws were enacted by imperial order, which would have required acceptance from the diet under Finnish constitution, such as ending the execution of capital punishment in 1826 and the law giving the Orthodox right to hold public offices in 1827.
State legislation before the February Manifesto
From 1808 to 1898 about 200 laws and decrees were enacted, with identical content in the Russian and Finnish decree collections. As there was no separate order of state legislation, enactment of congruent laws was directed by the 1826 state secretary directive, according to which enacting Russian laws in Finland would happen through the Minister-Secretary and his decision, as well as the 1891 amendment, according to which the Minister-Secretary should request a statement from the corresponding Russian minister for all Finnish laws concerning the interests of Russia. The role of the Diet of Finland was never mentioned in these decrees at all. However, as the diet started regularly assembling in 1863, it became a de facto standard that the decisions of the diet were not overridden in enacting laws, which fit together with the Finnish idea of constitutional law.Before 1863 it was easier for Russia to have its way in Finnish legislation, as the Minister-Secretary generally considered the Russian point of view first. The introduction of the Diet of Finland made the situation more complicated. Most of the uniform laws between Finland and Russia before the February Manifesto had already been enacted before 1863. According to the interpretation used by the Finns, state legislation was a kind of contract between states, which was taken into force only if the diet accepted them voluntarily. This interpretation was not accepted in Russia, but until 1899 conflicts could be avoided by negotiating different points of views about the content of individual laws.
Russian unification goals
In the 19th century Russia sought to unify its realm, especially by Russifying the frontier lands. In Finland, unification was hindered by the local autonomy and constitutional laws, so they would have to be either discontinued or redefined. There had been a common codification, meaning a unification of laws and edicts, under planning already since 1826. The original idea was to extend it to Finland already in 1835, but Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov, the governor-general at the time, had stopped it. In the 19th century, the Russian government used a lot of resources towards the codification of laws, and a special codification department was founded in the state council. Finns viewed the codification very suspiciously, as they feared it would lead to unification of Finnish legislation with that of Russia. The Finns were especially interested in the codification of constitutional laws, as that would allow the Grand Duchy of Finland to have its own form of government and gain Russia's recognition.The birth of the February Manifesto was a natural result of the politics the old and patriotic Russian Slavophiles and Pan-Slavists had towards conquered lands, with their most important goal being a strong and unified Russia. The Russian conservatives resisted change and sought to strengthen the autocratic system. The Russian zapadniks, meaning politicians geared towards renovation, opposed the conservative politics seeking to replace the old and autocratic system with a more democratic and liberal state. They viewed Finland as their model, which made the conservatives want to unify Finland closer with the parent country and abolish Finland's autonomy. In the years after the January Uprising in Congress Poland the Slavophiles and Pan-Slavists replaced the reformists and gained access to influential key positions. The Russo-Turkish War further increased the influence of the Pan-Slavists. However, in his final years Alexander II felt it necessary to keep the enthusiasm of the Pan-Slavists down. Russification of the Baltic countries was made by making the Russian language the standard language of official matters. Next, the Pan-Slavists and Slavophiles sought to abolish Finland's special position, just as the Baltic German historian Carl Schirren had previously predicted.