FINLAND (Fin. Suornesimaa, land of lakes and marshes) is a grand duchy of Russia, lying between 59° and 70° n. lat., and between 21° and 33° e. long., is about 750 m. from n. to s., and has an average breadth of about 185 miles. According to the Russian census of 1851, the pop. was 1,636,915, and it has maintained a pretty constant rate of increase: in 1875 it was 1,912,647. The area of F. may be estimated at about 140,000 sq.m., of which nearly one third is occupied by marshes and lakes. The largest of these sheets of water, independently of lake Ladoga, which belongs partly to the Rus sian province of Olonetz, are lakes Puruvesi, Payane, Enara, and Saima; the last of these, which is about 180 m. in length, constitutes a portion of the system of water communication which has been established between the central parts of the country and the gulf of Finland. The lakes arc especially numerous in the s.w. of F., where they are. almost all united together by rivers and waterfalls, round the central lake of Pyhiljiirvi. The surface is a table-land, from 400 to 600 ft. above the level of the sea, with occasional higher elevations. There are, however, no mountain-ranges, and hence the rivers are unimpoitant; but in the n. the country is intersected by a sandy ridge known as the " Maanselkae," which merges, under the name of the Lapintunturit mountains,' into the great Lappo-Norwegian Alpine chain. The coast-line is generally low, but to the s. it is skirted by numerous rocky islands, separated from the land by narrow channels, difficult of navigation, but well adapted for purposes of defense against hostile attacks from the sea. The principal geological formations are friable granite, hard limestone, and slate. The forests of F. are still very abundant, although they have been recklessly cut down in many parts of the country for the sake of their ashes, which are used to stimulate the soil, whose natural poverty requires to be counteracted by frequent manuring. Pine and fir predominate, but birch, beech, oak, etc., thrive iu the s. parts of the country, where some good pasture-land is to be met with. Since the incorporation of F. with Russia, agriculture has declined, and fishing and cattle-breeding increased in importance. The exports from F. in 1873 amounted to 93,320,000 marks, equivalent to about £3,500,000. The most valuable are the products of the forests, as timber, pitch, potash, tar, and rosin; for the supply of grain is scarcely larger than the home demand, although at one time F. was regarded as the granary of Sweden for barley and rye. Few fruits ripen except hardy berries; and in the extreme n., vegeta tion is almost limited to mosses and liverworts. F. yields some copper, iron, lime, and slate, but it produces scarcely any salt, which constitutes one of the principal articles of import. Reindeer, wolves, elks, beavers, and various kinds of game abound; while the numerous lakes, and the adjacent gulfs, supply the inhabitants with an abundance of salmon, herring, and other fish. The climate is rigorous, and winter, which lasts severs
or eight months, is succeeded by a brief spring, which passes almost suddenly into a short but hot summer of six or seven weeks, succeeded in its turn by a rainy season, which ushers in the return of cold weather. In the n., the sun is absent during a part of Dec. and Jan., and almost perpetually above the horizon during the short summer. F. is divided into eight lmnes or governments—Nyland, Abo-Biornehorg, Tawastehuus, Wiborg, Kuopio, St. Michel, Wasa, Illeaborg, which are included in the 3 dioceses of Abo, Borgo, and Kuopio, and contain in all 214 parishes. The predominant form of religion is the Lutheran, but the Greek church has of late years been gaining ground.
The courts of law are held at Abo (the ancient capital), Wasa, and Wiborg; and there is one university, founded in 1640 at Abo, but removed to the present capital, Helsing fors, in 1829. The highest administrative authority is vested in the imperial senate for F., consisting of 18 members, nominated by the emperor, and presided over by the governor-general of Finland. The estimated revenue of F. in 1875 was 25,984,551 marks; the estimated expenditure was 25, 791,153 marks. The army numbers now only 679 men, but has the privilege of serving in distinct corps, without being incorporated in the general forces of the empire. The naval force also forms a distinct squadron, under its own national flag.
The early history of F. is shrouded in obscurity, and little is known of the people before the 12th c., when Eric the saint, king of Sweden, exasperated by their piratical inroads, undertook a crusade against them, and compelled them, by force of arms, to profess Christianity. The hold which the Swedes then acquired over the country was never wholly lost till 1809, when Sweden secured peace with Russia by the cession of all F. and the island of Aland; before that time, however, the Russians had at various epochs wrested portions of the Finnish territories from the Swedes, while F. had been for centuries the perpetual cause and scene of wars between the two nations. The Swedish lankuage had taken such deep root iu F., that the efforts of the Russian gov ernment to displace it in favor of the native Finnish, have hitherto met with only partial success, and in many parts of the country, the people still openly prefer their old masters. The inhabitants, who call themselves &tomes, and are denominated T.schudes by the Russians, have, however, no affinity of race with the Swedes, and may be regarded as differing from all other European nations, excepting the Lapps and the Fin markers, to whom they are very probably allied. See FINNS and FLNNISR LITERA 'TITRE. For further information, see Gerschau, Versuch einer Gesch. Finland (1821); Stockfleth, Bidrag til Kunds. om Finnerne i Norge; Topelius, Finland frcemstalldt i Teckning (1860); Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fur Erdkunde (vol. vi., 1871).