Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov (;  – ) was a Russian general and politician. He served as Governor-General of Finland and the from until his death, during the early reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and was responsible for promoting Russification policies in Finland. After his appointment as governor-general, he quickly became very unpopular and was assassinated by Eugen Schauman, a Finnish nationalist born in Kharkov.

Biography

Early life

Bobrikov's father, Ivan Vasileyvich Bobrikov (1798–1883), was a military physician who had risen to the status of a member of the scientific council of the military medical board. His mother was the Baltic German Alexandra Seeland.

Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov was born on January 15, 1839 in the village of Strelna near Saint Petersburg and attended the 1st Cadet Corps. Upon graduation, he became a lieutenant and served in the Russian Imperial Guard. After which he served in the Kazan Military District and as divisional chief-of-staff in Novgorod. He became a colonel in 1869. A year later he was transferred to Saint Petersburg for special duties in the imperial guard. This gave Bobrikov access to the imperial court. In 1878 he became a major general.

Bobrikov was married in Kazan in 1867 to Olga Petrovna Leontyeva. The couple had five children. After Olga's death in 1895 Bobrikov was married again to Elizabeth (Yelizaveta Ivanovna) Staël von Holstein, the daughter of a general. The couple had a daughter. Bobrikov's only surviving son Nikolay Nikolayevich Bobrikov (1882–1956) followed in his father's footsteps and was promoted to colonel. One of Bobrikov's sons-in-law was the Norwegian-born Finnish officer , who was later promoted to lieutenant general. Bobrikov was an energetic and capable man whose views were strongly Russian nationalistic.

Bobrikov's daughter Lionbow Bobrikoff-Holmsen (1880–1939) was a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court in Saint Petersburg. She married the Norwegian-born general of the Russian army Johannes Holmsen. In the early days of World War I, Holmsen was captured by the Germans but later got to live in Norway, where he died after the Russian Revolution. His spouse escaped over the border to Sweden with her children after the revolution. They later lived as refugees in London, Berlin and Paris. Lionbow Bobrikoff-Holmsen died in Paris on 23 January 1939.

Military career

thumb|right|[[Boris Kustodiev, Nikolay Bobrikov, 1902–1903]]

Nikolay Bobrikov was promoted to an officer after finishing cadet school in 1858. He later got a degree at the Nikolay general staff academy, after which he was appointed to the general staff of the Kazan military district. From 1867 he served as the chief of staff at the 22nd infantry division in Novgorod. In 1869 he was promoted to colonel.

Governor-General of Finland

thumb|right|A cartoon by on 30 September 1898 in the magazine ', showing Bobrikov at the start of his term as Governor-General of Finland, being given the Constitution of Finland to read.

In 1898, Emperor Nicholas II appointed Bobrikov as Governor-General of Finland as well as the .

Upon appointment, he introduced a Russification programme into the Grand Duchy of Finland, the 11 main points were:

  • Unification of the Finnish army.
  • Restricting the power of the Minister–Secretary of State.
  • Introducing of a special programme for dealing with cases common to the empire and the grand duchy.
  • Adoption of the Russian language as the official language of the Senate, education and administration.
  • Bringing the University of Helsinki and secondary schools under tighter control of the Russian authorities.
  • Allowing Russian citizens to hold offices in Finland.
  • Discontinuation of the Finnish markka.
  • Removal of the customs border between Finland and Russia, as well as merging the Finnish Customs into that of Russia.
  • Introduction of Russian newspapers into Finland to spread the official viewpoint of the Russian government.
  • Redesign of the festive celebrations of the Diet of Finland.
  • Redesign of the directive of the Governor-General of Finland.

Bobrikov quickly became very unpopular and hated in Finland as he was an adamant supporter of the curtailing of the grand duchy's extensive autonomy, which had in the late 1800s come into conflict with Russian ambitions of a unified and indivisible Russian state. In 1899, Nicholas II signed the "February Manifesto" which marked the beginning of the first "Years of Oppression" () from the traditional Finnish perspective. In this manifesto, the Emperor decreed that the Diet of the Estates of Finland could be overruled in legislation if it was in Russian imperial interest. Half a million Finns, considering the decree a coup against the Finnish constitution, signed a petition to Nicholas II, requesting to revoke the manifesto. The Emperor did not even receive the delegation bringing the petition.

<blockquote>Spångberg: "How does Your Highness find the Finns and conditions in Finland, better or worse than what you had expected?"

Bobrikov: "Neither. The view I had had earlier about this has generally strengthened. The internal order in Finland is excellent, and the Finns are a lawful and patriotic people, which I greatly respect, as I do the Senate and the Estates. But their point of view and mine differ in many parts. As soon as they come to realise that the Russian government means the best for them I will be convinced we will get along perfectly."

Spångberg: "How does the Finnish press do its duty?"

Bobrikov: "Not to my full satisfaction. I am a friend of the press, but the Finnish newspapers are accustomed to a way of speaking that I cannot accept, and they present views which I feel cannot do anything else than spread discomfort and cause damage. It is not the place of the press to comment negatively on the actions of the highest authorities."</blockquote>

Bobrikov and the February Manifesto

thumb|right|A protest against the [[February Manifesto at the Senate Square in Helsinki on 13 March 1899.]]

Bobrikov was involved in creating the February Manifesto, which became a cornerstone for systematic Russification of Finland. Because of this, the Finns gathered the Great Petition bearing the names of half a million Finns. The petition took Bobrikov by complete surprise and he was angry that such an act had been undertaken, he viewed the entire petition as illegal. After the publication of the manifesto Bobrikov said: "All people in Finland who are capable of thinking are satisfied with the Emperor's manifesto."

Russian peddlers and rumours of land redistribution

thumb|Russian fruit merchants at the [[Hakaniemi Market Square in Helsinki in 1907.]]

As Governor-General of Finland, Bobrikov sought to get the landless people and the poor in Finland on his side. However, the Finns did not trust Bobrikov's promises, but instead thought it was a plot. About 1000 to 2000 "laukkuryssäs" ("bag Russians"), meaning peddlers from White Karelia, circulated the country, spreading rumours of how excellently Russia had handled things for the landless people and for the farmers. They said that land redistribution for free would begin soon. These rumours started appearing more and more often since February 1899. To combat this, the labour movement, youth societies and students such as Eugen Schauman started educating people about what the circumstances in Russia were really like.