Karelian is a Finnic language spoken mainly in the Russian Republic of Karelia. Linguistically, Karelian is closely related to the Finnish dialects spoken in eastern Finland, and some Finnish linguists have even classified Karelian as a dialect of Finnish, though in the modern day it is widely considered a separate language. Karelian is not to be confused with the Southeastern dialects of Finnish, sometimes referred to as karjalaismurteet in Finland. In the Russian 2020–2021 census, around 9,000 people spoke Karelian natively, but around 14,000 said to be able to speak the language. There are around 11,000 speakers of Karelian in Finland.
Uusimaa is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, along with the surrounding metropolitan area, are both contained in the region, and Uusimaa is Finland's most populous region. The population of Uusimaa is 1,734,000.
Kari Kyösti Väänänen is a Finnish actor and director. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by Aki Kaurismäki, and belongs to the list of his "trusted" stable of actors.
Pekka and Pätkä is the name of several comedy films produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus in the 1950s in Finland, based on the popular Finnish comic characters Pekka Puupää and Pätkä, who can be said to be the Finnish version of Stan and Ollie.
Olavi Uusivirta is a Finnish rock/pop singer, songwriter and actor.
Antti Yrjö Hammarberg, professionally known as Irwin Goodman, was a Finnish rock and folk singer. He started as a protest song singer in the folk boom of the mid-1960s; his humorous songs, often mocking the authorities, became favorites of the Finnish people; Goodman singalike contests are still held by some pubs for entertainment.
Martti "Masa" Elis Niemi was a Finnish actor, comedian, musician and entertainer. He is best known from his role as Pätkä in the Pekka and Pätkä films.
Jorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.
Lasse Erik Pöysti was a Finnish actor, director, theatre manager and writer. He was born in Sortavala.
Paula Julia Vesala is a Finnish singer-songwriter, actress, and playwright. She was one of two singers and main lyricist in the pop rock duo PMMP along with Mira Luoti. Her solo career began in 2015 under the stage name "Vesala". She has composed songs for other well-known Finnish artists such as Vesa-Matti Loiri, Jenni Vartiainen, and Antti Tuisku.
Finnish is a Finnic language of the Uralic language family, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland, alongside Swedish. In Sweden, both Finnish and Meänkieli are official minority languages. Kven, which like Meänkieli is mutually intelligible with Finnish, is spoken in the Norwegian counties of Troms and Finnmark by a minority of Finnish descent.
Teppo Turkki, a native of Finland has been working with his visions and insights into the future of many aspects of information society, culture, media and our daily lives. He is also a specialist for development of ICT, culture industries and economics and change in the societies in East Asia, especially in Japan and Korea. He works as the head of the Finland’s Trade and Innovation Office Finpro. In this post, he is effectively the de facto representative of Finland in Taiwan.
Ritva Valkama-Palo was a Finnish actress. She was known for her comic roles and appeared in theatres, films and on television.
Kristin "Krista" Siegfrids is a Finnish singer and television presenter. She represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with her entry "Marry Me". Siegfrids' debut album, named Ding Dong!, was released in May 2013. As a television presenter, she hosted Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu from 2016 to 2020.
Sami Henrik Hedberg is a Finnish stand up comedian and actor. Hedberg became famous after winning the Get up, stand up competition on Sub TV in 2005. This victory caused him to become one of the most popular stand up comedians in Finland. Hedberg has his own company, The Showhouse OY, founded in 2005.
Tor Börje Lampenius was a Finnish actor, director and singer. He made an extensive career in the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki. His most notable roles included the lead role in Death of a Salesman and the role of Freddy in the Finnish version of the musical My Fair Lady. Lampenius has recorded a number of hits and starred in movies both in Finland and in Sweden. In 2000, Lampenius was granted, by the Organization of Finnish Theatres, the Badge of the Golden Federation.
Anna Taina Aleksandra Kortelainen is a Finnish scholar, art historian and non-fiction writer.
Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the Pekka and Pätkä films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self-taught accordion player.
Piia Irmeli Ristikankare was a 15-year-old girl from Piikkiö, Finland who disappeared on 7 October 1988. Her disappearance is among the most famous unresolved disappearance cases in Finland.
Mika Petteri Aaltola is a Finnish political scientist and director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has gained media attention during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he follows and regularly comments on. Aaltola holds a doctorate in social sciences. He works as docent at Tampere University, and was a part-time professor at Tallinn University. He ran as an independent candidate for President of Finland in the 2024 presidential election.
