Untitled - OUDL Home

Swedish navy had reasserted itself by a striking victory,both sides were glad enough to make peace (1790).Within little more than a year later Catherine had wonthe unstable Gustavus to secret alliance "for the restorationof European equilibrium [against Prussia and GreatBritain] and of the French monarchy."The French Revolution and the Napoleonic warscaused frequent shifts and changes in Russia's Balticpolicy, and in the end her final reckoning with Swedenover Finland. The two wars of 1741-43 and 1788-90had been waged there and on the sea, not in the Balticprovinces. In Russian eyes the continued dangersarising from the proximity of Finland to St Petersburgand the Swedish possession of the north coast of thegulf of Finland had been amply enough demonstrated.The peace of Tilsit (1807) between Alexander I andNapoleon marked down Sweden for inclusion in theContinental System and deprival of Finland.Separatist tendencies existed among the dominantSwedish upper class in Finland and had long been madeuse of by the Russians. One of the leading Swedish-Finnish renegades to Russia in 1788 led the way twentyyears later in the Russian acquisition of Finland with anautonomous status. It involved a brief war (1808-9),in which the Russians conquered the whole country.Sweden, who failed to concert any operations with aBritish expeditionary force under Sir John Moore, wascompelled to cede it, including the Aland islands.The long struggle between Russia and Sweden wascompleted. Ever since 1809 they have been at peace.During the last stages of Napoleon's downfall (1813-15)Russia and Sweden, with Bernadotte heir-presumptive,were even leagued together in the grand coalition againsthim. But the heritage of the past and Sweden's dislikeof Russian autocracy, and latterly Soviet communism,have perpetuated fear and suspicion of her colossusneighbour and have drawn her, in combination withother influences, to Germany or to England.After the Napoleonic period Russia had to measureherself in the Baltic mainly against England, until fromthe end of the nineteenth century the German empire270