Editing Gulf of Finland (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Finland|History of Estonia|History of Saint Petersburg}}
Many ancient sites were discovered on the shores of the gulf dated to up to 9000 years old. Humans began to inhabit these places soon after the ice age glaciers retreated and the water level of the [[Littorina Sea]] lowered to reveal the land. Remains of about 11 [[Neolithic]] settlements were found since 1905 in the mouth of the river [[Sestra River (Leningrad Oblast)]]. They contain arrow tips and scrapers made of [[quartz]], numerous food utensils and traces of fire camps – all indicative of hunting rather than agricultural or [[animal husbandry]] activities.<ref name="Geologicheskie pamyatniki" />

The gulf coast was later populated by [[Balto-Finnic peoples|Finnic peoples]]. [[Estonians]] inhabited the region of the modern Estonia, [[Votians|Votes]] were living on the south of the gulf and [[Izhorians]] to the south of Neva River. [[Karelians|Korela]] tribes settled to the west of [[Lake Ladoga]].<!-- name "BRE" i.e according to the Great Russian Encyclopedia published in Russia in 2004: already in the 8th and 9th centuries, the banks of Neva and of the Gulf of Finland were populated not by Finnic tribes but [[East Slavs]] instead, in particular by [[Ilmen Slavs]] and [[Krivichs]].--> They were engaged in [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. From the 8th to the 13th century, the Gulf of Finland and Neva were parts of the waterway from [[Scandinavia]] to the [[Byzantine Empire]].

From the 9th century, the eastern coast of the gulf was controlled by [[Veliky Novgorod]] and was called ''Vodskaya Pyatina''. As a result of the 1219, crusade and the [[Battle of Lyndanisse|Battle of Lindanise]], northern Estonia became part of Denmark ([[Danish Estonia]]). In the 13th century, the city of Reval (Tallinn) ({{langx|la|Revalia}}) was established on the site of modern Tallinn, capital of Estonia. As a result of the [[Saint George's Night Uprising|Estonian uprising in 1343]], northern Estonia was taken over by the [[Teutonic Order]] and sold by Denmark in 1346. In 1559, during the [[Livonian War]], the [[Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek|Bishop of Ösel-Wiek]] in [[Old Livonia]] sold his lands to King [[Frederick II of Denmark]]. The Danish king gave the territory to his younger brother Magnus who landed on [[Saaremaa]] with an army in 1560.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Eastern Europe |last=Frucht |first=Richard  |year=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=1-57607-800-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C |page=70 }}</ref> The whole of [[Saaremaa]] became a Danish possession in 1573, and remained so until it was transferred to Sweden in 1645.<ref name="Strany and narody">Countries and Peoples: USSR. Baltic republics. Belarus. Ukraine. Moldova. – Moscow: Mysl, 1984.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania |last=Williams |first=Nicola|author2=Debra Herrmann |author3=Cathryn Kemp  |year=2003 |publisher=University of Michigan |isbn=1-74059-132-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJ8iAQAAIAAJ|page=190}}</ref>

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Finnish tribes on the north of the gulf were conquered by the Swedes who then proceeded to the Slavs. The first encounter is attributed to 1142 when 60 Swedish ships attacked 3 Russian merchant vessels. After a Swedish attack in 1256, the Russian army of [[Alexander Nevsky]] crossed the frozen gulf and raided the Swedish territories in the modern Finland. In 1293, the [[Vyborg Castle]] and city of [[Vyborg]] was founded by the Swedish [[marshal]] [[Torkel Knutsson]]. The castle was fought over for decades between Sweden and the [[Novgorod Republic]]. By the [[Treaty of Nöteborg]] in 1323, Vyborg was finally recognized as a part of [[Sweden]]. It withstood a prolonged siege by [[Daniil Shchenya]] during the [[Russo-Swedish War (1496–1499)|Russo-Swedish War of 1496–1499]]. The town's trade privileges were [[Royal charter|chartered]] by King [[Eric of Pomerania]] in 1403. Vyborg remained in Swedish hands until its capture by [[Peter the Great]] in the [[Great Northern War]] (1710).<ref name="hist">V. A. Ezhov [https://books.google.com/books?id=7GQdAAAAMAAJ ''Leningrad Oblast: a historical sketch''], Lenizdat, 1986 (in Russian)</ref>

In 1323, the [[Treaty of Nöteborg]] set the border between Sweden and Russia along the river Sestra. In the 15th century, the [[Izhorians|Izhorian]] lands of the Novgorod Republic were attached to the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]]. In 1550, [[Gustav I of Sweden]] founded a city on the site of modern [[Helsinki]].<ref name="GES">A. F. Treshnikov [https://books.google.com/books?id=27zCPQAACAAJ Encyclopedic Dictionary of Geography: Geographical names] – Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1983.</ref> As a result of the Russian defeat in the [[Ingrian War]] (1610–1617) and the [[Treaty of Stolbovo]] (1617) the lands on the Gulf of Finland and Neva River became part of the [[Swedish Ingria]]. Its capital Nyen was located in the delta of Neva River.<ref name="hist"/>

Russia reclaimed the eastern part of the gulf as a result of the victory in the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–1721). On 16 May 1703, [[Saint Petersburg]] was founded in the mouth of Neva River, not far from Nyen, and in 1712 it became the capital city of Russia. To protect the city from the Swedish fleet, the Kronshlot fortress was built on an artificial island near the Kotlin Island in May 1704. By 1705, five more such forts were built nearby composing the city [[Kronstadt]]. These fortifications, nicknamed by the contemporaries "the Russian [[Dardanelles]]", were designed to control the Gulf waterway.<ref>{{Cite book|author = Lisaevich, Irina Ignatyevna|title = Domenico Trezzini|publisher = Lenizdat|year = 1986|pages = 20–26}}</ref>

In 1710, the cities of [[Petergof|Peterhof]] and [[Lomonosov, Russia|Oranienbaum]] were founded on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. On 27 July 1714, near the [[Hanko Peninsula]], the Russian Navy won the [[Battle of Gangut]] – a decisive victory over the Imperial Swedish Navy.<ref name="BRE">[[Great Russian Encyclopedia]]. "Russia". 2004</ref> The Russo-Swedish war ended in 1721 by the [[Treaty of Nystad]], by which Russia received all the lands along the Neva and the Gulf of Finland, as well as [[Estonia|Estland]], [[Swedish Livonia]] and western part of the [[Karelian Isthmus]], including Vyborg. However, Finland was returned to Sweden.<ref name="Sinhronicheskie tablitsy">Lurie, F.M. ''Russian and world history in the tables: Synchronic table.'' – SPb.: Caravelle, 1995.</ref> The [[Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)|war]] resumed in (1788–1790), and the [[Battle of Hogland]] occurred on 6 July 1788 near the island [[Gogland]]. Both the battle and the war were relatively minor and indecisive, with the outcome of Russia retaining its territories.<ref name="BRE" />

[[File:Memorial Rusalka, Tallinn, Estonia, 2012-08-12, DD 07.JPG|thumb|The [[Russalka Memorial]] (by [[Amandus Adamson]], 1902) was erected by the [[Tallinn Bay]] in memory of a [[Russian monitor Rusalka|Russian warship which sank in 1893]] in a storm in the Gulf of Finland]] 
The next [[Finnish War|Russo-Swedish war]] was fought in (1808–1809). It ended with the [[Treaty of Fredrikshamn]] giving the Russia rights on the territory of Finland and [[Åland]]. A newly established [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] in 1809 received broad autonomy from Russian Empire, and [[Old Finland|Western Karelia]] was returned to Finland.<ref>David Kirby (2006) A concise history of Finland. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-53989-0}}</ref> On 6 December 1917, the [[Parliament of Finland]] promulgated the [[Finnish Declaration of Independence]]. Western Karelia was annexed by the Soviet Union after the [[Winter War]].<ref name="BRE" />

Estonia declared independence in 1918, and in 1918–1920 fought a successful [[Estonian War of Independence|war of independence]] against Soviet Russia. Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II; however the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and was ultimately reoccupied in 1944 by, and annexed into, the USSR as an administrative subunit (Estonian SSR). Estonia regained independence in 1991.

In March 1921, the [[Kronstadt rebellion]] by sailors was put down by the Red Army. The Gulf of Finland had several major naval operations during World War II. In August 1941, during the [[Soviet evacuation of Tallinn|evacuation of the Baltic Fleet]] from Tallinn to Kronstadt, German forces sank 15 Russian military vessels, (5 [[destroyer]]s, 2 [[submarine]]s, 3 [[guard ship]]s, 2 [[minesweeper]]s, 2 [[gunboat]]s and 1 [[Motor Torpedo Boat]]) as well as 43 transport and support ships. Several ships still remain on the gulf bottom near Cape Juminda, and a monument was raised there in memory of those lost in the events.<ref>Platonov, A.V. [http://militera.lib.ru/h/platonov_av/03.html Tragedies of the Gulf of Finland]. Penguin Books, Saint Petersburg: Terra Fantastica, 2005</ref>

In 1978, construction was started on the [[Saint Petersburg Dam]] aiming to protect Saint Petersburg from the [[Floods in Saint Petersburg|frequent floods]]. The work was halted at 60% completion in the late 1980s, due to the financial problems related to the breakup of the Soviet Union; it was resumed in 2001 and is – as of August 2011 – complete.<ref name="SPb Entsiklopediya" /><ref name="Damba">[http://www.spb-projects.ru/showpage.php?id=600 Dam. A Complex of protection measures of Saint Petersburg against Flood]. Spb-projects.ru. Retrieved on 2011-08-14.</ref>