Page "Finnish Civil War" Paragraph 20

The reform of 1906 was a giant leap in the political and social liberalization of the common Finnish people.

The Russian royal family had been the most autocratic and conservative rulers in Europe, and the Finnish people had experienced it by way of the four Finnish estates.

While most of the nations of Western Europe had adopted bicameral parliaments by the end of the 19th century, in 1906 the Finns adopted a unicameral parliamentary system, and female citizens were included in universal suffrage.

All Finnish adults were given the right to vote, increasing the number of voters from 126, 000 to 1, 273, 000.

This soon produced around 50 % turnouts for the Social Democrats.