Georg Magnus Sprengtporten Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten , or " Göran Magnus Sprengtporten " as he preferred to call himself , ( December 16 , 1740 - October 13 , 1819 ) was a Swedish , Finnish and Russian politician , younger brother of Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten . Early life . Sprengtporten was born in Porvoo ( Swedish : " Borgå " ) , Uusimaa ( Swedish : " Nyland " ) , Kingdom of Sweden ( now Finland ) . He entered the army and rose to the rank of captain during the Seven Years ' War . He assisted his brother in the revolution of 1772 , and in 1775 was made a colonel and brigadier of the Savolax brigade in east Finland . Here he distinguished himself greatly as an organizer and administrator . The military school which he founded at Haapaniemi ( then Tuhkaniemi ) , Kuopio ( August 1 , 1780 until May 1 , 1781 when it was moved to Haapaniemi estate in Rantasalmi , where it operated until a transfer to Hamina in 1819 ) subsequently became a state institution ( Hamina Cadet School ) . 1779 - 81 . Like his brother he also came to the conclusion that his services had not been adequately appreciated , and the flattering way in which he was welcomed by the Russian court during a visit to Saint Petersburg in 1779 still further incensed him against the perceived ingratitude of his own sovereign . For the next two years he was in the French service , returning to Finland in 1781 . Due in part to contacts with Benjamin Franklin who was there contemporaneously he conceived of the idea of separating the grand duchy from Sweden . This aim was first approached through the Walhalla - orden subversive secret society and scheming with the kings brother , Charles XIII of Sweden . This scheming was apparently stillborn , as Charles informed his brother of the schemers approaches . 1786 . The chosen Plan B then , was to erect it as an independent state under the protection of Russia . During the Riksdag of 1786 he openly opposed Gustav III of Sweden , at the same time engaging in a secret and treasonable correspondence with the Russian ministers with the view of inducing them to assist his plans for an independent Finland by force of arms . 1788 - 1808 . In the following year , at the invitation of Catherine II of Russia , he formally entered the Russian service . When the Russo - Swedish War of 1788 - 1790 began , Sprengtporten received the command of a Russian army corps directed against Finland . He took no direct part in the Anjala conspiracy but urged Catherine to support it more energetically . His own negotiations with his fellow countrymen , especially after Gustav III of Sweden had brought the treacherous army officers of the Anjala conspiracy back to their allegiance , failed utterly . Nor was he able to serve Russia very effectively in the field for he was seriously wounded at the battle of Porrassalmi 1789 . At the end of the war , indeed , his position was somewhat precarious , as the High Court of Turku condemned him as a traitor , while Catherine regarded him as an incompetent impostor who could not perform his promises . For the next five years , therefore 1793 - 1798 , he thought it expedient to quit Russia and live at Teplice in Bohemia . He was re - employed by the emperor Paul of Russia who , in 1800 , sent him to negotiate with Napoleon concerning the Maltese Order and the interchange of prisoners . After Paul ’ s death Sprengtporten was again in disgrace for seven years , but was consulted in 1808 on the eve of the outbreak of hostilities with France . On December 1 , 1808 he was appointed the first Russian Governor - General of Finland with the title of count , but was so unpopular that he had to resign his post the following year . Retirement . The last ten years of his life were lived in retirement . Sprengtporten died in Saint Petersburg in 1819 . Other . Georg Magnus Sprengtporten ' s Memorial stones are located in Harbour park ( Satamapuisto ) of Kuopio , near the place where his military school was originally located . While staying in Teplice , Sprengtporten was in regular contact with the Count Waldstein ' s librarian , Giacomo Casanova . Their correspondence has been saved and is well known to scholars .