When did Sweden join NATO?
Sweden formally became a NATO member on the 7th of March 2024, after months of delays caused by objections from Turkey and Hungary. The decision came in direct response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Questions about Sweden
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is Sweden's form of government?
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Legislative power is vested in the unicameral Riksdag, which has 349 members elected to four-year terms by proportional representation. The monarch, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf, holds only ceremonial and representative functions under the 1974 Instrument of Government.
How did the Swedish Viking Age shape Russia and Eastern Europe?
Swedish Vikings, known as the Rus, are believed to be the founders of Kievan Rus', the medieval state that preceded modern Russia and Ukraine. They traveled as far as Baghdad along Dnieper trade routes and some served in the Byzantine emperor Theophilos's personal bodyguard, the Varangian Guard. The Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi, trace back to these Rus people.
What caused the fall of the Swedish Empire?
The decisive blow came at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, where Russian forces under Tsar Peter the Great crushed a Swedish army already weakened by Cossack raids, scorched-earth tactics, and extreme winter cold. King Charles XII was later killed at the siege of Fredriksten fortress in 1718. Sweden was forced to cede large territories in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, losing an estimated 200,000 men over the course of the Great Northern War.
How many Swedes emigrated to the United States in the nineteenth century?
It is estimated that more than one million Swedes moved to the United States between 1850 and 1910. During the 1880s, over 1% of Sweden's population emigrated annually, driven by poverty and the inability of agricultural land to support a rapidly growing population.
Was Sweden truly neutral during World War II?
Sweden declared official neutrality but its neutrality has been disputed. The government allowed German troops to use Swedish railways, but also supported Norwegian resistance and in 1943 helped rescue Danish Jews from Nazi deportation. Diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues protected tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Both Swedes and outside observers have noted that Sweden could have done more to oppose the Nazi war effort.