Georg Magnus Sprengtporten

Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten
Personal details
Born	(1740-12-16)16 December 1740 Porvoo, Kingdom of Sweden
Died	13 October 1819(1819-10-13) (aged 78) Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Relations	Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (brother)

Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) was a Finland-Swedish politician, count, baron, and general of the infantry. Sprengtporten is a controversial figure in the histories of Sweden, Finland, and Russia. In Sweden, he is viewed as a traitor for defecting to the Russian court. In Finland, opinions about him are divided because he betrayed Sweden but also contributed to Finland's independence from Sweden as a patriot. In Russia, he is seen as a statesman who played a key role in establishing the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

Early life

Sprengtporten was born in Porvoo (Borgå), Uusimaa (Nyland), Kingdom of Sweden (now Finland).

After Sprengtporten's father, Magnus Wilhelm Sprengtport, passed away when he was four years old, his mother, Elsa Katarina Ulfsparre af Broxvik, appealed to Adolf Frederick of Sweden to enroll Sprengtporten in the Royal Cadet School in Stockholm. The King granted her request in 1752.

The Royal Cadet School was closed down after four years because the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates held differing political views. Sprengtporten left the cadet school as a non-commissioned officer and was transferred to Viapori Fortress in Finland. There, he served under the command of Count Augustin Ehrensvärd.

During the Pomeranian War, he served as an adjutant at the military headquarters of Count Axel von Fersen. He was then transferred to an elite military group led by his younger brother, Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten. Sprengtporten fought courageously and was wounded twice, ultimately earning a promotion to Captain.

After the war, Sprengtporten was unable to secure a permanent position in the army. He carried out intelligence and mapping tasks throughout Sweden to develop new military tactics. In 1770, he was promoted to the rank of Major.

In 1772, King Gustav III carried out a coup d'état. Sprengtporten supported the Revolution of 1772 and took control of Viapori Fortress, persuading soldiers to join Gustav III's side. As a result, Gustav III promoted Sprengtporten to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and the following year, he was promoted to Colonel. Sprengtporten later became the Commander of the Savo Brigade.

Sprengtporten modernised the eastern military forces and introduced new military tactics and equipment for soldiers. He even personally funded weapons for the units. Sprengtporten's military theories were ahead of their time, and his officers and subordinates admired him. However, King Gustav III did not like Sprengtporten's active measures.

Sprengtporten requested King Gustav III to establish a new cadet school in Savo, and the request was accepted. The Haapaniemi Military School was opened in Kuopio in 1780 and later moved to Rantasalmi. This military school laid the foundation for the Hamina Cadet School.

Sprengtporten was offended in 1778 because King of Sweden Gustav III did not invite him to the Riksdag of the Estates.

Sprengtporten requested permission from the King to travel abroad and gain new military knowledge. The permission was granted, and Sprengtporten visited Russia, Poland, Prussia, and France. He received a warm welcome in Russia, which left him with positive memories. In France, he was able to meet Ambassador Benjamin Franklin and gain new ideas.

American Republican Ideals for Finland

For the next two years he was in the French service. He desired to join the American Revolutionary War to fight against the English rule, but due to French confusions, he was not dispatched to North America. Spengtporten's animosity towards Gustav III deepened due to financial difficulties. He was promised ranks, salaries, and pensions, which he never received, leaving him penniless upon his return to Finland. In 1781, he returned to Finland and once again found himself without any official duties.

Due in part to contacts with Benjamin Franklin who was there contemporaneously he conceived of the idea of separating the grand duchy from Sweden. Sprengtporten's concept of a separate state was not original, as Empress of Russia Elizabeth proposed a new Kingdom of Finland in 1742. Franklin did not see Sprengtporten's idea as a realistic plan. This aim was first approached through the Walhalla-orden subversive secret society and scheming with the king's brother, Charles XIII of Sweden. This scheming was apparently stillborn, as Charles informed his brother of the schemers' approaches.

Constitution for the Confederation of Finland

In early 1786, a new plan was created for an independent Finland. Sprengtporten drafted a constitution for the Federation of Finland. The creator did not believe that Finland could defend itself against Russia, as the country had been occupied twice in the 18th century. Sprengtporten accused Sweden of exploiting Finland, comparing it to England's exploitation of its colonies. The idea was to create a new state with the support of Russia. Sprengporten presented the plan to the Russian ambassador in Holland, who then forwarded it to Catherine the Great.

Sprengtporten joined the opposition in the Riksdag of the Estates in 1786, which displeased the King's supporters. Like his brother he also came to the conclusion that his services had not been adequately appreciated, and the flattering way in which he was welcomed by the Russian court during a visit to Saint Petersburg in 1786 still further incensed him against the perceived ingratitude of his own sovereign.

Russian Empire and the Grand Duchy of Finland

Count, General Georg Magnus Sprengtporten by Berndt Godenhjelm.

In the same year, at the invitation of Catherine the Great of Russia, he formally entered the Russian service.

Catherine the Great promoted him to the rank of Major General and Chamberlain in the Imperial Court. Sprengtporten received a substantial financial gift from the empress, which allowed him to reorganize his life.

Sweden, as a former European superpower, sought revenge against Russia for losses in the Great Northern War and the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743, leading King Gustav III to initiate a surprise war. When the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 began, Sprengtporten devised a military strategy for the Russian army, which the army largely followed. He participated in the Battle of Porrassalmi in 1789, where he sustained serious injuries.

He took no direct part in the Anjala conspiracy but urged Catherine the Great to support it more energetically. His own negotiations with his fellow countrymen, especially after Gustav III of Sweden had brought the treacherous army officers of the Anjala conspiracy back to their allegiance, failed utterly. Nor was he able to serve Russia very effectively in the field for he was seriously wounded at the battle of Porrassalmi 1789. At the end of the war, indeed, his position was somewhat precarious, as the High Court of Turku condemned him as a traitor.

After the war, Russia's geopolitical focus was elsewhere from the western border, and Sprengtporten's services were not required. Sprengtporten was badly wounded in the war, and he sought medical treatments in different parts of Europe. For the next five years, between 1793–1798, he thought it expedient to leave Russia and live at Teplice in Bohemia. Sprengtporten befriended Giacomo Casanova after meeting him at a spa.

He was re-employed by the emperor Paul of Russia in 1798. Emperor Paul promoted Sprengtporten in the rank of General of the Infantry. Emperor Paul sent him to negotiate with Napoleon concerning the Maltese Order and the interchange of Russian war prisoners in Holland in 1800. Emperor Paul was assassinated in 1801. The new Emperor Alexander I was aware of the assassination plan beforehand, which made it difficult for Sprengtporten to approach Alexander I because he was an ally of the assassinated Emperor.

Sprengtporten presented Emperor Alexander I with a comprehensive plan in 1805 to establish the Kingdom of Poland and an independent Finland.

Sprengtportent was consulted in 1808 on the eve of the outbreak of the Finnish War. Sprengtporten devised a modern and proficient war plan to conquer Finland. Although Alexander I offered him a military role in the conquest of Finland, he refused the offer. Instead, Sprengtporten served as an advisor to Count Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Buxhoevden, who acted as the supreme commander. The Russian army conquered Finland within a few months.

Sprengtporten argued with von Buxhoevden, who sought to make Finland a Russian province. Instead, Sprengtporten advocated for Finland's independence or at least autonomy, leading to his resignation from the advisory role.

Sprengtporten lobbied the Russian Imperial Court vigorously, and Russia agreed to organise the Diet of Finland in Porvoo. Emperor Alexander I approved the plan, with support from Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev.

On 1 December 1808 he was appointed the first Russian Governor-General of Finland with the title of Count.

Retirement

Georg Magnus Sprengporten in his final days.

The last ten years of his life were lived in retirement. He supported important Finnish individuals who worked for the Russian court. Sprengtporten never gained the friendship of Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, who was the Chairman of the Committee for Finnish Affairs. Sprengtporten resided on Vasilyevsky Island in Saint Petersburg during the winter and at his Hietala Estate near Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, during the summer. Sprengtporten died in Saint Petersburg in 1819.

Family

Sprengtporten was married three times: to Anna Elisabeta Glansenstierna (died 1785), Anna Charlotte d'Aumale (divorved in 1797), and Varvara Samysk (died in 1850).

Anna Elisabeta Glansenstierna's parents were Lieutenant Colonel Lorenz Glansenstierna and Vendela Eleonora Torwigge. Countess Anna Charlotte d'Aumale's parents were Count Jacques Paul d'Aumale and Jacqueline Cornelia de Geer. Countess Varvara Samyski's father was Privy Councillor, Count Nikolai Samyski.

He had two children, Gustaf Wilhelm Sprengtporten and Magnus Wilhelm Sprengtporten.

Titles

• Russia Count (1809)
• Russia Baron (1788)
• Russia Chamberlain (1786)
• Sweden Baron (1770)

Honours

• Russia Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky Knight (1801)
• Russia Order of Saint Anna 1st Class (1801)
• Russia Order of Saint John of Jerusalem Grand Cross (1800)
• Sweden Order of the Sword Knight (1761)

Memorial stones

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten's Memorial stones are located in Harbour park (Satamapuisto) of Kuopio, near the port of Kuopio and near the place where his military school was originally located. While staying in Teplice, Sprengtporten was in regular contact with the Count Waldstein's librarian, Giacomo Casanova. Their correspondence has been saved and is well known to scholars.

External links

• Sprengtporten, Georg Magnus. The National Biography of Finland. (in English)