Karelia

Karelia(/kəˈriːlɪə,kəˈriːljə/;KarelianandFinnish:Karjala[ˈkɑrjɑlɑ];Russian:Каре́лия,romanized:Kareliya[kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə], historically Коре́ла,Korela[kɐˈrʲelʲə];Swedish:Karelen[kɑˈreːlen]) is an area inNorthern Europeof historical significance forRussia(including theSovietera),Finland, andSweden. It is currently divided between northwestern Russia (thefederal subjectsof theRepublic of KareliaandLeningrad Oblast) and Finland (theregionsofSouth Karelia,North Karelia, and the eastern portion ofKymenlaakso).
Various regions may be called Karelia.Finnish Kareliais a historical province of Finland and is now divided between Finland and Russia, often called justKarjalain Finnish. The eastern part of this chieflyLutheranarea was ceded to Russia after theWinter Warof 1939–40.
TheRepublic of Kareliais a Russian federal subject, includingEast Karelia, with a chiefly Russian Orthodox population.
Within present-day Finland,Karjalarefers to theregionsofSouthandNorth Karelia, although parts of historical Karelia also lie within the region ofKymenlaakso(east of theRiver Kymi),Northern Savonia(Kaavi,RautavaaraandSäyneinen), andSouthern Savonia(Mäntyharju).
Karelia stretches from theWhite Seacoast to theGulf of Finland. It contains the two largest lakes in Europe,Lake LadogaandLake Onega. TheKarelian Isthmusis located between theGulf of FinlandandLake Ladoga. The highest point of Karelia, the 576 metres (1,890 ft) highNuorunen, is located on the Russian side of theMaanselkahill region.
The border between Karelia andIngria, the land of the closely relatedIngrian people, had originally been theNeva Riveritself but later on it was moved northward into the Karelian isthmus to follow theSestra River(Russian:Сестра), today in theSaint Petersburgmetropolitan area, but in 1812–1940 the Russo-Finnish border.
On the other side ofLake Ladoga, theRiver Sviris usually thought of as the traditional southern border of Karelian territory whileLake Onegaand theWhite Seamark the Eastern border. TheRiver Kymimarks the historic western border of Karelian territory as it served as the boundary between theHäme Finnsand the Karelians during theMiddle Ages.The River Kymi is also said to have formed a boundary between the eastern and western cultural spheres by the beginning of theBronze Ageat the latest.In the North lived thenomadicSamis, but there were no natural borders except for large wooded areas (taiga) and thetundra.
In historical texts, Karelia is sometimes divided intoEast KareliaandWest Karelia,which are also calledRussian KareliaandFinnish Kareliarespectively.  The area to the north of Lake Ladoga which belonged to Finland beforeWorld War IIis called Ladoga Karelia, and the parishes on the old pre-war border are sometimes called Border Karelia.White Karelia(sometimes the Finnish or Karelian term "Viena Karelia", or in some English-language sources, "White Sea Karelia", is used) is the northern part ofEast KareliaandOlonets Kareliais the southern part.
Tver Kareliadenotes the villages in theTver Oblastthat are inhabited byTver Karelians.
During theEarly Middle Ages, settlers from western Finland mixed with the local population to form theKarelianethnic group. Possible migration from elsewhere may also have contributed to the Karelian ethnic composition.
Archeological evidence indicates that Karelian inhabitation was highest along the western shore ofLake Ladogaand theKarelian Isthmus, with multiple cemeteries and other archeological discoveries dating from AD 600 to AD 800. InSouth Karelia, the number of archeological discoveries from this time period is lower, though permanent inhabitation was nonetheless present.Lappee, South Karelia has been continuously inhabited for approximately 2,000 years. InNorth Karelia, only one archeological discovery from this time period has been found, dating to the eighth century. The considerably higher number of archeological discoveries in these regions from AD 800 to AD 1050 indicates that the Karelian population grew and expanded rapidly during this time.
Karelia was bitterly fought over by Sweden and theNovgorod Republicfor a period starting in the 13th-centurySwedish-Novgorodian Wars. TheTreaty of Nöteborg(Finnish: Pähkinäsaaren rauha) in 1323 divided Karelia between the two. Sweden received the southern portion of the Karelian Isthmus and most of South Karelia. The province of Swedish Karelia would include this territory, plus the region east of theKymi river, withViborg(Finnish: Viipuri) becoming the capital of the province. Novgorod received the northern portion of the Karelian Isthmus. North Karelia, Ladoga Karelia, and the northern portion of South Karelia fell under Novgorodian control.Käkisalmiserved as the main population center of this region.
In theTreaty of Stolbovoof 1617, large parts of Russian Karelia were ceded to Sweden. Conflicts between the new Swedish rulers and the indigenous population of these areas led to an exodus: thousands of Karelians, including the ancestors of theTver Karelians, emigrated to Russia.
TheTreaty of Nystad(Finnish: Uudenkaupungin rauha) in 1721 betweenImperial Russiaand Sweden ceded a portion of Karelia to Russia. TheTreaty of Åboin 1743 between Sweden and Russia then ceded South Karelia to Russia. After Finland had been occupied by Russia in theFinnish War, parts of the ceded provinces (Old Finland) were incorporated into theGrand Duchy of Finlandin 1812. In 1917,Finland became independentand the border was confirmed by theTreaty of Tartuin 1920.
Finnish partisans were involved in attemptsto overthrow theBolsheviksin Russian Karelia (East Karelia) in 1918–21, as in the failedAunus expedition. They also wanted to incorporate the rest of Karelia into Finland and cooperated with the short-livedRepublic of Uhtua. These mainly private expeditions ended after the signing of the Treaty of Tartu. After the end of theRussian Civil Warand the establishment of theSoviet Unionin 1922, the Russian part of Karelia became the KarelianAutonomous republic of the Soviet Union(ASSR) in 1923.
At the beginning of theSecond World Warin 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, thus starting theWinter War. TheTreaty of Moscow, signed in 1940, handed a large portion ofFinnish Kareliato the Soviet Union, and over 400,000 people had to be relocated within Finland. During theContinuation Warof 1941-1944, Finland took back territory ceded in 1940, and also invaded and occupied much of East Karelia. Finland was forced out of these regions in 1944. After the war, Soviet expansion caused considerable bitterness in Finland, which lost its fourth biggest city,Viipuri, its industrial heartland along theriver Vuoksi, the eastern portion of theSaimaa canalthat connected central Finland to theGulf of Finland, and access to the fishing waters ofLake Ladoga(Finnish: Laatokka). One eighth of its citizens became refugees with no chance of return. The whole population from the areas ceded to the Soviet Union was evacuated and resettled in other parts of Finland. The present inhabitants of the former Finnish parts of Russia, including the city of Vyborg/Viipuri and theKarelian Isthmus– are post-war immigrants or their descendants.
The former Karelian ASSR was incorporated into a newKarelo-Finnish SSRfrom 1941 to 1956, but then it became an ASSR again. Karelia was the only Soviet republic that was "demoted" from an SSR to an ASSR within theRussian SFSR. In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ASSR became theRepublic of Karelia.
The portion ofViipuri Provincethat remained within Finland following the Second World War was renamedKymi Province, and kept this name from 1945 to 1997. The eastern part of this province is now theregionofSouth Karelia, while the western portion is part ofKymenlaakso.
Karelia is politically divided between Finland and Russia. TheRepublic of Kareliais afederal subject of Russiaformed in 1991 from theKarelian ASSR. TheKarelian Isthmusbelongs to theLeningrad Oblast. The Finnish side consists of parts of the regions (maakunta) ofSouth Karelia,North KareliaandKymenlaakso.
There are some small groups of Finns campaigning for closer ties between Finland and Karelia: for instance, in theKarjalan Liitto(Karelian League) andProKarelia.
On the Finnish side, the area is Finnish-speaking. TheSouth Karelian dialectsof theFinnish language(closely related to the Karelian language) are spoken in South Karelia. The easternSavonian dialectsare spoken in North Karelia, part of the group of dialects spoken in Eastern and Central Finland.
Ingrian Finnishdialects are spoken in Ingria, which is an area around St. Petersburg, between the Estonian border and Lake Ladoga.Ingrian Finnssettled in the region in the 17th century after the Swedish conquest of the area. The settlers spoke Karelian and Savonian dialects of Finnish. The older inhabitants of the Ingria, the Ingrians, have their own language which is related to the Karelian language and the south-eastern dialects of Finnish.
Kareliansevacuated from the part of Finnish Karelia ceded to Russia were resettled all over Finland. Today about one million people in Finland can trace their roots in the area ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II. In Finland, about 5,000 people speak the Karelian language.
Russian Karelia is a regular destination for international tourism due to its unique architectural, cultural and historical sites such asKizhiandValaam.The region is visited by tourists in both summer and winter when possible activities include riding in a sled behind a dog team and running from thebanyato an ice hole and back. Summer hikers can visit theKivach waterfallor the Demon's Chair plateau.
InSouth Karelia,Lappeenrantais a popular destination for Russian tourists, with 1.5 million visiting annually.ImatrankoskiinImatrahas been a tourist attraction since the late 18th century, when the Empress of RussiaCatherine the Greatvisited the site in 1772.
Koli National ParkinNorth Kareliabegan receiving tourists whenKarelianismbecame a major trend. Koli was a source of inspiration for numerouspaintersandcomposerssuch asJean Sibelius,Juhani AhoandEero Järnefelt, who in turn contributed to Karelianism through their work.Koli gainednational parkstatus in 1991.
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