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17-496: In the summer of 1875, then Governor-General of Grand Duchy of Finland (1866-1881) Count Nikolay Adlerberg (of Swedish noble descent), a frequent theatregoer, received Alexander II of Russia 's permission to build a Russian theatre for Russian minority living in Helsinki at that time. The building was designed by the engineer Colonel Pyotr Petrovich Benard, though probably on the basis of standardized drawings. The auditorium of

34-479: A Finnish nobility rank. Many of the governors-general were disliked by the Finnish population. The first man on the post, Georg Magnus Sprengtporten , resigned after only a year. Another, Nikolai Bobrikov , was assassinated in 1904 by the Finnish nationalist Eugen Schauman . On the other hand, several governors-general worked in a way that guaranteed the Finnish autonomy in face of the interests of ministers of

51-550: Is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a dead officer. It is assumed that he died during the Crimea War and moved to Helsinki, as the tiles of Alexander Theatre were moved there from Åland . 60°09′48″N 24°55′59″E  /  60.16333°N 24.93306°E  / 60.16333; 24.93306 This article about an opera house or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Governor-General of Finland The governor-general of Finland

68-640: The Finnish National Opera and Ballet moved to the Alexander Theatre, and remained in the premises until 1993. After the Finnish National Opera and Ballet moved to their newly built house, the Alexander Theatre got back its historical name and once again became a theatre venue. Since 1993, the theatre has been used for guest stage performances of various genres. The complex also houses different offices, rehearsal facilities, dance studios and different companies. The Alexander Theatre

85-624: The Grand Prince of Finland after 1802, was, from around 1580 to 1809, a title in use by most Swedish monarchs . Between 1809 and 1917, it was included in the title of the emperor of Russia , who was also the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Finland . Around 1580, King Johan III of Sweden , who had previously (1556–63) been the duke of Finland (a royal duke ), assumed the subsidiary title Grand Duke of Finland ( Swedish : Storfurste , Finnish : Suomen suuriruhtinas) to

102-588: The Swedish defeat in the war and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on 17 September 1809, Finland became in some aspects an autonomous grand duchy , as in an informal real union with the Russian Empire . The grand duke ruled Finland through his governor-general and a national senate appointed by him. Although no grand duke ever explicitly recognised Finland as a separate state in its own right,

119-441: The Swedish throne, with the exception of Charles IX , who listed Finns as one of the many nations over which he was the king during 1607–1611. As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, it was mainly used at formal occasions along with a long list of additional royal titles. The last Swedish monarch to use the title was Queen Ulrika Eleonora , who abdicated in 1720. In 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave

136-585: The emperor, who was not personally present in Helsinki , but resided in St Petersburg , just outside of Finnish borders. The governor-general was constitutionally the chairman of the Senate of Finland , the government in the autonomous grand duchy. The chairmanship he represented, with two votes in the Senate, belonged to the grand duke of Finland , a title held by the emperor of Russia . The governor-general

153-736: The imperial court. The governor-general between 1831 and 1855, Prince Menshikov , sojourned his entire term in St Petersburg, being simultaneously the Russian minister of navy . Gubernatorial duties in Helsinki were cared for by the deputy governor-general. For most of the term, in that position was general Alexander Amatus Thesleff  [ fi ; ru ] . Translation in Russian : Генерал-губернатор Финляндии , romanized :  general-gubernator Finlyandii Grand Duke of Finland The Grand Duke of Finland , alternatively

170-460: The matters in the eastern part of the country more or less according to his own best judgement. The best-known of these officials is Count Per Brahe the Younger , who served as Governor-General of Finland in the 17th century. His tenure, remembered as a period of reforms and progress in both economy and education, is referred to in Finnish as "kreivin aika" ("the count's era"). Over the centuries,

187-458: The phrase has taken on a new meaning and is now commonly used to describe something happening just in time, as in the expression " Tulit kreivin aikaan " ("You arrived at the perfect moment"). Translation in Swedish : Generalguvernör av Finland During the time when Finland was ruled by the Russian Empire as a grand duchy, the governor-general's position was permanent. He was viceroy of

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204-876: The theatre was decorated by the Saint Petersburg architect Jeronim Osuhovsky, and the Finnish artist Severin Falkman decorated the ceiling paintings, which contain twelve cupids reminiscent of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The theatre's technology was designed by Iosif Vorontsov ; the theatre itself was completed in October 1879, and in February 1880 it was named after Russian Tsar Alexander II . The grand opening occurred on 30 March 1880 with Charles Gounod 's Faust . In 1918

221-547: The title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later. During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, the four estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on 29 March 1809 to pledge allegiance to Emperor Alexander I of Russia , who had already earlier during the war adopted the title of grand duke (also translated as grand prince) of Finland to his long list of titles. Following

238-465: The titles of the king of Sweden , first appearing in sources in 1581 (though first used by Johan III in 1577). In those years, Johan was and had been in a quarrel with his eastern neighbour, Tsar Ivan IV of Russia ("the Terrible"), who had a long list of subsidiary titles as the grand duke of several ancient Russian principalities and provinces. The use of the title of grand duke on Johan's behalf

255-485: Was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a tsardom . Not only was Finland added, but Karelia , Ingria , and Livonia , all of which were along the Swedish–Russian border. It is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan. During the next 140 years, the title was used by Johan's successors on

272-539: Was the highest representative of the emperor and received his instructions directly from the imperial government in Saint Petersburg. Finnish citizenship was not required of the governor-general, contrary to all other highest positions such as senators and the minister-secretary of state . Most governors-general were Russians, men whom the emperor trusted as counterparts of potential Finnish separatism. Many of them, up to Baron Rokassovski  [ fi ; ru ] , however were also made Finnish subjects , by granting them

289-504: Was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland between 1809 and 1917. After the final abolition of the Duchy of Finland and related feudal privileges in the late 16th century, the king of Sweden sporadically granted most or all of Finland under a specially appointed governor-general, who took care of

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