The Anjala League

Gustavus III, the 'theater king', declared war on Russia in the summer of 1788. His main goals were to reclaim the honor of the Swedish military, retake some land that had been lost to Russia in previous wars and perhaps most importantly - put a stop to the incessant Russian meddling in Swedish politics. At the time, Sweden had a magnificent fleet and a rather effective army, but most of the officers could be described as politicians rather than soldiers. The Swedish army began marching on St. Petersburg and won some minor battles despite the compact resistance from the officers. On August 12 a group of 112 Finnish noble officers formed the 'Anjala League' and opened up negotiations with the Russians, declaring the war to be illegal and probing for the possibility of an independent Finnish state. This event effectively ended all hopes of a Swedish victory since the king was in a poor position to execute the traitors and have them replaced.