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Karelian women in Sammatus.

The Karelians is a name used to denote two related, yet different ethnic groups of Finnic-language speakers. The so called "Russian Karelians" inhabit the Russian Republic of Karelia. The "Finnish Karelians" live in eastern Finland. During the Second World War many Finnish Karelians were forced to leave the Karelian provinces that Finland had to cede to the Soviet Union. They and their descendants are now integrated in the population of present-day Finland. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

At least since the 13th century, the two groups have had different histories, cultures, religions, identities and languages. They should not to be thought as members of the same ethnic group.

[edit] History

Since the 13th century the Karelians have lived in the tension between the East and the West, between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism, later Lutheranism. Some Karelians were christianized and subdued by Sweden, others by Novgorod or Russia. Thus Karelia was split into two different and often hostile groups. The Kingdom of Sweden held Western Karelia and Karelian Isthmus but Central, Northern and Eastern Karelia were under the Russian rule. In the 17th century the tension between the Lutheran Swedish government and Orthodox Karelians triggered a mass migration from Swedish Karelia into the region of Tver in Russia, forming the Tver-Karelian minority. People from Savonia moved to Karelia in large numbers. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic—from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[1]—is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Tvers coat of arms depicts grand ducal crown placed on a throne. ... Savonia, Savolax or Savo, is a historical province in the south of Finland. ...

By 19th century the cultural and lingual differences between Finns and Karelians were so thin that several linguists including Elias Lönrot went of Central and Eastern Karelia to gather folklore that Finns seemed to have partially lost by that time. Since that time however the differences seem to have grown as Finns boosted their identity whereas the East Karelians were struggling to preserve their cultural and lingual heritage.

When Finland gained its independence in 1917 only a small fraction of the Orthodox Karelians lived in the Finnish Karelia. The lands were mainly populated by Finnish Karelians of Lutheran background. Finland lost most of this area to the Soviet Union in World War II, when over 400,000 people were evacuated over Finland's new border from the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia and, to a lesser degree, from the main part of East Karelia that had been held by Finland 1941–1944. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Finnish Karelia, historically also Swedish Karelia or Carelia, is a historical province divided today between eastern Finland and northwestern Russia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Evacuation of Finnish Karelia was the resettlement of the population of Finnish Karelia into Finland from the territory ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union. ... The Karelian Isthmus is the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. ... This article is about Karelia, the land of the Karelians, in its broadest meaning. ... East Karelia and West Karelia with borders of 1939 and 1940/1947. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Finnish Karelians are Finns. The main dialectical division among the Finns, that between the East Finnish and West Finnish dialects, defines the Savonians and the Finnish Karelians as East Finnish. East Finnish culture and language are chiefly vested in the Savonians and the Karelians. ... Savonia, Savolax or Savo, is a historical province in the south of Finland. ...

The Russian Karelians, living in the Republic of Karelia, are nowadays rapidly being absorbed into the Russian population. This process began several decades ago. For example, it has been estimated that even between the 1959 and 1970 Soviet censuses, nearly 30 percent of those who were enumerated as Karelian by self-identification in 1959 changed their self-identification to Russian 11 years later.^[1]

Many of the evacuees have emigrated, mainly to Sweden, to Australia and to North America. A large share of the over 70,000 Finnish war children that were evacuated from Finland, chiefly to Sweden and Denmark, came from Karelian families that had lost their homes due to the Winter War. A fifth of these children remained abroad and many more re-emigrated later. A memorial statue in Hanko, Finland, commemorating the thousands of emigrants who left the country to start a new life in the United States Emigration is the act and the phenomenon of leaving ones native country or region to settle in another. ... North American redirects here. ... During World War II some 70,000 war children were evacuated from Finland to Scandinavia, chiefly to Sweden. ... Combatants Finland Soviet Union Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft[1][2] 1,000,000 men 6,541 tanks [3] 3,800 aircraft[4][5] Casualties 26,662 dead 39,886 wounded 1,000 captured[6] 126,875 dead...

[edit] Language

The Karelian language is closely related to the Finnish language, and particularly by Finnish linguists seen as a dialect of Finnish, although the variety spoken in East Karelia is usually seen as a proper language. [1] The dialect spoken in the South Karelian region of Finland belongs to the South Eastern dialects of the Finnish language. The dialect spoken in the Karelian Isthmus before World War II and the Ingrian dialect were also part of this dialect group.[2] The dialect that is spoken in North Karelia is considered to be one of the Savonian dialects.[3] The Karelian language is a variety closely related to Finnish, with which it is not necessarily mutually intelligible. ... Finnish ( , or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% as of 2006[3]) and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ... The Region of South Karelia is a region (maakunta / landskap) of Finland. ... The Karelian Isthmus is the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Ingria may be seen represented in the easternmost part of the Carta Marina (1539) Ingria (Finnish: , Russian: , Swedish: , Estonian: ) is a historical region, now situated mostly in Russia, comprising the area along the basin of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipsi in the... The Region of North Karelia is a region (maakunta / landskap) in eastern Finland. ... Savonia, Savolax or Savo, is a historical province in the south of Finland. ...

[edit] Religion

The Russian Karelians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Most Finnish Karelians are Lutherans. Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ...

[edit] Demographics

Significant enclaves of Karelians exist in the Tver oblast of Russia, resettled after Russia's defeat in 1617 against Sweden — in order to escape the peril of forced conversion to Lutheranism in Swedish Karelia and because Russians promised tax deductions. Olonets is the only city in Russia where the Karelians form a majority (60% of the population). Tvers coat of arms depicts grand ducal crown placed on a throne. ... Oblast (Czech: oblast, Slovak: oblasÅ¥, Russian and Ukrainian: , Belarusian: , Bulgarian: о́бласт) refers to a subnational entity in some countries. ... Population transfer is a term referring to a policy by which a state, or international authority, forces the movement of a large group of people out of a region, most frequently on the basis of their ethnicity or religion. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. ... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... Map showing the parts Karelia is traditionally divided into. ... The towns coat of arms was promulgated by Catherine the Great in 1781. ...

[edit] Culture

Karelian culture and language was a major inspiration for the Fennoman movement, and the unification of East Karelia with independent Finland (Greater Finland) was a major political issue in 20th century Finland. The Fennomans were the most important political movement in the 19th century Grand Duchy of Finland. ... East Karelia and West Karelia with borders of 1939 and 1940/1947. ... The current borders of modern-day Finland are light blue. ...

[edit] References

1. ^ Barbara A. Anderson and Brian D. Silver, "Estimating Russification of Ethnic Identity among Non-Russians in the USSR," Demography 20 (November, 1983): 461-489.

[edit] See also

• Sami
• Kola Norwegians
• Tornedalians
• Ingrians
• Skogfinner
• Sweden Finns
• Finland-Swedes
• Kvens
• Kalevala

The Sami people (also Sámi, Saami, Lapps, sometimes also Laplanders) are the indigenous people of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. ... The Kola Norwegians were Norwegian settlers along the coastline of the Russian Kola Peninsula. ... The Tornedalians or Tornedalian Finns are members of Finnic peoples, traditionally speaking Meänkieli (which is widely considered to be a Finnish dialect). ... Ingrians refer to the Finnic people that before the foundation of Saint Petersburg inhabited Ingria (east and south of the Gulf of Finland) Ingrian Finns (Lutherans) Izhorians (Orthodox) Categories: Finnic peoples ... Grue in Hedmark county, eastern Norway is the center for the Finnskogen minority culture Finnskogen (Forest of the Finns) is an area of Norway situated in the county of Hedmark, named so because of immigration of Finnish people in the 17th century, the so-called Skogfinner (Forest Finns). The core... Sweden Finns (Ruotsinsuomalaiset in Finnish, Sverigefinnarna in Swedish) are a Finnish speaking minority in Sweden. ... Finland-Swedish is a variety of Swedish. ... Kvens (kveeni in Kven language / Finnish; kvener in Norwegian) are a Norwegian ethnic minority descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... The Kalevala is an epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian folklore in the 19th century. ...

[edit] External links

• Russian Karelians (The Peoples of the Red Book)
• Many Karelias (Official Virtual Finland page)