November Manifesto

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The November Manifesto was issued by Tsar Nicholas II on November 4, 1905 and reversed the measures of the February Manifesto of 1899 and brought about numerous reforms in the Grand Duchy of Finland .

prehistory

→ Main article : History of Finland

On February 15, 1899, the Tsar issued the so-called February Manifesto by ordinance , which significantly restricted Finnish autonomy in matters that also affected the interests of the entire empire. Massive resistance immediately formed in Finland. Within ten days, 520,000 signatures were collected on a large petition sent to the tsar, which the tsar did not accept. The next worsening of the conflict was initiated by the conscription law passed by the Tsar in 1901 against the resistance of the Finnish autonomous organs. The law abolished the separate Finnish armed forces and made the citizens of Finland compulsory military service in the army of the Russian Empire. The Finnish constitutionalists organized passive resistance, and in 1902 a large number of conscripts did not obey the draft.

The implementation of the conscription law was suspended in 1905. In the meantime, however, Governor General Bobrikov, who had been granted extensive rulership rights by the so-called dictatorship decree in 1903, had taken numerous repression measures. The repression in turn led to a radicalization of some constitutionalists, who switched from passive resistance to activism. At the height of the conflict, Bobrikov was shot dead by Eugen Schauman on June 16, 1904 in the Senate House .

The year 1905 was marked by the unrest of the Russian Revolution , which also affected Finland. Meanwhile, the founded in 1899, had Social Democratic Party of Finland , the universal suffrage taken up the cause. In April 1905 the Reichstag again discussed the question of voting rights, but the reform failed this time too. On October 29, 1905, the workers decided on a general strike , which was viewed with goodwill by conservative circles because of the smoldering constitutional crisis.

manifest

In November, the politically weakened tsar gave in. The February Manifesto and the laws based on it were repealed with the November Manifesto and a parliamentary reform was carried out on the basis of universal and equal suffrage. The new Finnish parliament consisted of only one chamber with 200 members. For the first time in Europe, women were also given the right to vote . The new order of the Reichstag gave parliament the form it has in its main features to this day. However, the powers of parliament in relation to the tsar were not expanded.