Imperial Russian splendour in Finland (1904)
Imperial Russian splendour in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1904 - the new Russian governor general, Prince Ivan Obolensky (1853-1910) with wife and retinue visiting Finnish nobleman and imperial master of the hunt Constantin Linder´s manor Kytäjä (Nääs). However, a look below the surface shows that tensions were boiling in the Grand Duchy. Obolensky´s predecessor, the hated general Nikolay Bobrikov, who was responsible for the Russification policy in Finland, had been assassinated.
As a result of the Finnish general strike in 1905, which was associated with the Russian revolution the same year, Finland´s old four-chamber diet was replaced by the unicameral parliament, the Eduskunta. (According to the Parliament Act of 1906, Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament). Governor general Obolensky supported the introduction of general suffrage, but he also had demanded strong measures against the strikers. In St. Petersburg Obolensky´s vacillation was not received well, and he was removed from Finland in November 1905 and retired from public office.
Neither was the future of Oblolensky´s host, Constantin Linder (1836-1908) a very good one. His policy of appeasement was very unpopular in Finland. He served briefly as Minister-Secretary of State for Finland in St. Petersburg, but had to retire after the general strike in 1905.
People in the picture:
Constantin Linder, the host, is the bearded man sitting in the upper row to the right, smoking a cigar. Prince Obolensky is the uniformed man with the cap in the middle. His wife Alexandra
(b. Topornin) is on his left side.
From a Finnish point of view, the most interesting man is Constantin Linder´s son Hjalmar (1862-1921), the man closest on the left. Hjalmar Linder, court chamberlain, lawyer, landowner, industrialist and donor, bought his father´s manor Kytäjä in 1907. In his time the manor, covering over 50000 hectares, was the largest privately owned land property in the Nordic countries. All in all Hjalmar had 64000 hectares of land (ab. 158000 acres), owned a pulp plant, saw mills and factories employing over 5000 people.
Hjalmar Linder was known for treating his employees well. They had an 8 hour work day, free access to medical care and paid sick leave already before these reforms were enacted as law.
When Linder returned to Finland after the 1918 Civil War (by some also called the War of Liberation), he found his properties intact. However, he was critical of the way the losing side
was treated. For this he was heavily criticised and even received death threats. Linder then sold his properties in Finland, and moved abroad. He donated his large art collection, including a Rembrandt and portraits by Reynolds and Raeburn, to the Finnish museum Ateneum and the Swedish Nationalmuseet, and made other art donations as well.
Linder´s last years were not happy. He lived in France and Algeria, but got in trouble with tax and other officials. He was found dead in his hotel room in Marseilles on June 2, 1921 (suicide).
The National Heritage Agency picture caption does not mention the name of the young lady in the middle of the picture. However, I think she is Hjalmar Linder´s half sister Kitty, who was
a great beauty. General, later president Gustaf Mannerheim, fell in love with her when they met during a hunting trip to Norway in the fall of 1918. Kitty´s letters show that Mannerheim
even wanted to marry her, but she did not agree. As a matter of fact, Kitty never married. That she was a beauty, even was clear for border officials looking at her passport (passports at the time did not yet have pictures). Kitty´s passport included a written characterization - it read: "arousingly beautiful" ...
Imperial Russian splendour in Finland (1904)
Imperial Russian splendour in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1904 - the new Russian governor general, Prince Ivan Obolensky (1853-1910) with wife and retinue visiting Finnish nobleman and imperial master of the hunt Constantin Linder´s manor Kytäjä (Nääs). However, a look below the surface shows that tensions were boiling in the Grand Duchy. Obolensky´s predecessor, the hated general Nikolay Bobrikov, who was responsible for the Russification policy in Finland, had been assassinated.
As a result of the Finnish general strike in 1905, which was associated with the Russian revolution the same year, Finland´s old four-chamber diet was replaced by the unicameral parliament, the Eduskunta. (According to the Parliament Act of 1906, Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament). Governor general Obolensky supported the introduction of general suffrage, but he also had demanded strong measures against the strikers. In St. Petersburg Obolensky´s vacillation was not received well, and he was removed from Finland in November 1905 and retired from public office.
Neither was the future of Oblolensky´s host, Constantin Linder (1836-1908) a very good one. His policy of appeasement was very unpopular in Finland. He served briefly as Minister-Secretary of State for Finland in St. Petersburg, but had to retire after the general strike in 1905.
People in the picture:
Constantin Linder, the host, is the bearded man sitting in the upper row to the right, smoking a cigar. Prince Obolensky is the uniformed man with the cap in the middle. His wife Alexandra
(b. Topornin) is on his left side.
From a Finnish point of view, the most interesting man is Constantin Linder´s son Hjalmar (1862-1921), the man closest on the left. Hjalmar Linder, court chamberlain, lawyer, landowner, industrialist and donor, bought his father´s manor Kytäjä in 1907. In his time the manor, covering over 50000 hectares, was the largest privately owned land property in the Nordic countries. All in all Hjalmar had 64000 hectares of land (ab. 158000 acres), owned a pulp plant, saw mills and factories employing over 5000 people.
Hjalmar Linder was known for treating his employees well. They had an 8 hour work day, free access to medical care and paid sick leave already before these reforms were enacted as law.
When Linder returned to Finland after the 1918 Civil War (by some also called the War of Liberation), he found his properties intact. However, he was critical of the way the losing side
was treated. For this he was heavily criticised and even received death threats. Linder then sold his properties in Finland, and moved abroad. He donated his large art collection, including a Rembrandt and portraits by Reynolds and Raeburn, to the Finnish museum Ateneum and the Swedish Nationalmuseet, and made other art donations as well.
Linder´s last years were not happy. He lived in France and Algeria, but got in trouble with tax and other officials. He was found dead in his hotel room in Marseilles on June 2, 1921 (suicide).
The National Heritage Agency picture caption does not mention the name of the young lady in the middle of the picture. However, I think she is Hjalmar Linder´s half sister Kitty, who was
a great beauty. General, later president Gustaf Mannerheim, fell in love with her when they met during a hunting trip to Norway in the fall of 1918. Kitty´s letters show that Mannerheim
even wanted to marry her, but she did not agree. As a matter of fact, Kitty never married. That she was a beauty, even was clear for border officials looking at her passport (passports at the time did not yet have pictures). Kitty´s passport included a written characterization - it read: "arousingly beautiful" ...