1 January

At the turn of the century, Finland has 2,713,000 inhabitants.

23 January

The Estates convene to meet for statutory parliamentary sessions – in his throne speech, the Governor-General warns the Diet against intervening in matters of general national significance.

15 April

The World’s Fair in Paris opens. Finland’s pavilion, which exhibits Finnish architecture and art, arouses widespread international interest. The exposition is open until the end of November and attracts 50 million visitors.

15 June

The Senate Transport Commission declares that Finnish stamps will be replaced by Russian ones.

20 June

Nicholas II, Grand Duke of Finland, signs a language manifesto on the use of the Russian language in administrative matters.

2 July

An imperial decree restricts freedom of assembly: meetings dealing with social, scientific or economic issues must be approved in advance by the Governor-General.