Finland and the good Tsar Photo

Photographer’s Note

It comes as a surprise to see the statue of Russian Tsar Alexander II at the Senate Square of Helsinki, before the white Lutheran Cathedral.
Finland in fact fought a bitter war with Russia in 1939-1940 and had to surrender part of its territory and industrial capacity to Russia.

Tsar Alexander II is however known as a good Tsar for Finland.
The monument to Alexander II "The Liberator" at the Senate Square in Helsinki was erected in 1894, 13 years after the assassination of Alexander II. At that time, Finland was still a Russian province. The date "1863" refers to the reopening of the Diet of Finland. This monument, expressing the Finns' gratitude to this Tsar, survived unharmed through many later periods of tension and war with Russia under various of its later regimes.

In 1863 Alexander II re-established the Diet of Finland and initiated several reforms increasing Finland's autonomy from Russia including establishment of its own currency, the Markka. Liberation of enterprise led to increased foreign investment and industrial development.

Finally, the elevation of Finnish from a language of the common people to a national language equal to Swedish opened opportunities for a larger proportion of the society. Alexander II is still regarded as "The Good Tsar" in Finland.

These reforms could be seen as results of a genuine belief that reforms were easier to test in an underpopulated, homogeneous country, than the in whole of Russia. They may also be seen as a reward for the loyalty of its relatively western-oriented population during the Crimean war and during the Polish uprising. Encouraging Finnish nationalism and language can also be seen as an attempt to dilute ties with Sweden.

nazirbadar, Amaz, alvaraalto, fanni, feather, bukitgolfb301, Vasa, chinchini, AiresSantos, JonteW, kLe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

nazirbadar (219) 2009-09-03 9:30

Hello Paul ,
What a beautiful picture you have posted.
Picture with very very very strong composition.
The way the people are giving sense of scale,
and the light and the shadows,everything is just marvelous.
This picture have come out so beautifully only because
of your great ability as a photographer.
Regards
Nazir

alvaraalto (5305) 2009-09-03 13:11

Dag Paul,

Deze foto roept fijne herinneringen op. Dezelfde strak blauwe lucht, dezelfde prachtige kerk. Alleen waren er toen nog geen digitale camera en moet ik het doen met een enigszins verkleurde dia.

groet Rob

fanni (9037) 2009-09-03 13:26

Hello Paul,
this very good composition is really interesting! I like this close-up view of the famous cathedral: you managed to find an excellent POV to include all these "objects" in one image - with a very good balance of colours, light, shadows and - details :)
Best regards,
Elena

PS. I've seen this cathedral "in real life", too, when I was in Helsinki, and I even took some photos, but it was back in '98 and '99, and the photos are not of good quality :(

jhm (83786) 2009-09-04 3:03

Dag Paul,

U vond in Finland ook mooie locaties, dit is een bijzonder geslaagde foto.
Zeer hoog kwaliteit, hoge scherpte en zeer mooi om naar te kijken.
Prachtig foto werk, bedankt.

Prettig weekend,
John.

ifege (2073) 2009-09-04 3:07

Beautiful Paul - great colour and POV
Regards
Ian

Amaz (7914) 2009-09-04 3:09

Excellent shot, Paul!!
Fantastic composition and amazing colours!!!
Weel, the relations between Finland and Russia were very peculiar!!

On another hand, Simo Häyhä, the best militar sniper of all times, had the highest recorded number of objectives in the Winter War (agression of USSR against Finland). - Some 705 assailants!!!

Your picture is obviously very peaceful and nice!!!

My congrats!!!

All the best!!

feather (50560) 2009-09-04 4:10

Both the imposing cathedral and the equally imposing statue combine well. Good exposure on all the whites in strong light. Excellent sharpness and clean lines.
Kath

jurek1951 (26176) 2009-09-04 13:22

Hi Paul,
Nice presentation of another angle of this beautiful architecture of this building , good perpective and details, beautiful colors and very well taken and done.
Georg

john1 (2583) 2009-09-04 13:28

Bonsoir Paul,

Excellent composition et trés bon cadrage.
Les details et la lumière sont trés jolie.
Une merveilleuse présentation du palis.
Un bon week end.
John

guitianmiranda (3880) 2009-09-04 15:35

Interesting POV, usually this building is in a beautiful contrast with the blue sky as here.

You can see my own here from last summer.

Best regards Paul

bukitgolfb301 (5144) 2009-09-04 16:21

Hello my dear Paul

Well considerate and appropriate framework indeed.
Very colorful coordination/ balance is splendid too.
Sharpness due to deep exposure is marvelous.
Congratulation on your masterpiece.
Thanks for sharing and best regards,
Have a solid weekend !
Takero

Vasa (6665) 2009-09-05 2:25

Bonjour Paul,

dernierement tu n'es jamais a la maison et tu semes les belles traces avec ton Fuji. Ici, un detail de Helsinki tres bien realise. Tres fier de tes visites aussi.

Amicalement

Branko

chinchini (27931) 2009-09-05 5:28

Bonjour Paul,
Très bon cadrage de la cathédrale même si j'aurais préféré voir un peu plus du bas. L'image a un très bon piqué qui permet d'apprécier la finesse des détails. Toutefois, à mon avis le blanc est trop bleuté.
Amicalement !
Pierre

bobocortis (14146) 2009-09-05 7:02

Bonsoir Paul.
Les lignes rectilignes de cette edifice mettent en valeur son imposance.
Les petites figures humaines sont l'echelle de grandeur.
Le plan rapproché meilleure la profondeur.
Bien vu.
Amicalement, Bobo.

AiresSantos (43270) 2009-09-05 23:47

Hi Paul
Wonderful architecture in this magnificent picture.
Great details and fine colours
Very well handled the light
Have a nice Sunday
Aires

Uhu (7478) 2009-09-08 3:43

Oh yeah, we neighbors are always so nice to each other, don't we?
As always, in relationship between these particular neighbors - Russia and Finland - are so many different angles.
It's nice that this is a history now.
Now it's just a good business and lot of tourism.
Which are nice.
Great photo - so you was there too! Quite a Nordic trip you had - Russia, Finland...

ophelcia (5504) 2009-09-09 7:57

This is my favourite place in Helsinki, especially the stairs underneath...
Well shown square, everything is here what should be on the postcard:)
Gosia

JonteW (182) 2009-10-16 4:21 [Comment]

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kLe (2041) 2009-10-29 15:47

Very good note, though after reading it, we can not consider a surprise that the Finns erected this statue. This man did a lot for the autonomy and the independence of Finnland.
I like the composition of the photo in which there are three parts clearly defined. To the left the groups of statues with the one of Alexander II, to the right, the street lamp and all the rest is the white church. The squared format of the photo is also a success.