The Republic of Karelia, Karjala or Karelia, is one of the republics of the Russian Federation situated in the northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of 172,400 square kilometres, with a population of 533,121 residents. Its capital is Petrozavodsk.
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
Music of Russia denotes music produced from Russia and/or by Russians. Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups, each with their own locally developed music. Russian music also includes significant contributions from ethnic minorities, who populated the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and modern-day Russia. Russian music went through a long history, beginning with ritual folk songs and the sacred music of the Russian Orthodox Church. The 19th century saw the rise of highly acclaimed Russian classical music, and in the 20th century major contributions by various composers such as Igor Stravinsky as well as Soviet composers, while the modern styles of Russian popular music developed, including Russian rock, Russian hip hop and Russian pop.
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.
Karelians are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely related to Finnish Karelians, who are considered a subset of Finns. This distinction historically arose from Karelia having been fought over and eventually split between Sweden and Novgorod, resulting in Karelians being under different cultural spheres.
Karelia is a historical province of Finland, consisting of the modern-day regions of South Karelia and North Karelia. Historical Karelia also extends to the regions of Kymenlaakso, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia (Mäntyharju).
East Karelia, also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy. It is separate from the western part of Karelia, called Finnish Karelia or historically Swedish Karelia. Most of East Karelia has become part of the Republic of Karelia within the Russian Federation. It consists mainly of the old historical regions of Viena and Aunus.
The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.
Greater Finland, was an irredentist and nationalist idea which emphasized the territorial expansion of Finland. The most common concept of Greater Finland saw the country as defined by natural borders encompassing the territories inhabited by Finns and Karelians, ranging from the White Sea to Lake Onega and along the Svir River and Neva River—or, more modestly, the Sestra River—to the Gulf of Finland. Some proponents also included the Torne Valley, Ingria, and Estonia.
The willow flute, also known as sallow flute, is a Nordic folk flute, or whistle, consisting of a simple tube with a transverse fipple mouthpiece and no finger holes. The mouthpiece is typically constructed by inserting a grooved plug into one end of the tube, and cutting an edged opening in the tube a short distance away from the plug.
The Karelian hot pot (British) or Karelian stew (US) is a traditional meat stew originating from the region of Karelia. It is commonly prepared using a combination of pork and beef, but elk or lamb can also be used. Along with the Karelian pasties (karjalanpiirakat), it is the most widely recognised Karelian food in Finland. In 2007, it was selected as the national dish of Finland by the readers of the Finnish tabloid Iltalehti. In similar poll organized by the ELO Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture in cooperation with the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners MTK and the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in autumn 2016, Karelian hot pot took second place, losing to rye bread.
The Karelian people's presence can be dated back to the 7th millennium BC–6th millennium BC. The region itself is rich with fish, lakes, and minerals, and because of that throughout history changed its holder, to this day divided between the Republic of Finland and the Russian Republic.
The East Karelian Uprising and the Soviet–Finnish conflict 1921–1922 were an attempt by a group of East Karelian separatists to gain independence from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. They were aided by a number of Finnish volunteers, starting from 6 November 1921. The conflict ended on 21 March 1922 with the Agreements between the governments of Soviet Russia and Finland about the measures of maintenance of the inviolability of the Soviet–Finnish border. The conflict is regarded in Finland as one of the heimosodat – "Kinship Wars".
Motora is a folk dance group from Eastern Finland, city of Joensuu. Motora is specialized in Karelian folk dance. Karelia is a frontier; it is partly in Finland, partly in Russia. The influences of eastern and western cultures can be seen in Motora's dance.
The Finnish military administration in Eastern Karelia was an interim administrative system established in those areas of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic (KFSSR) of the Soviet Union which were occupied by the Finnish army during the Continuation War. The military administration was set up on 15 July 1941 and it ended during the summer of 1944. The goal of the administration was to prepare the region for eventual annexation by Finland.
Čičiliusku is a puppet theatre company from the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The company performs in the Karelian language. The company was founded in 2005 at the initiative of Pekka Zaikov, who at the time was the head of the Department of the Karelian and Veps languages. Amongst those who founded the company were teachers, students and alumni of the Faculty of Baltic Finnic languages of the Petrozavodsk State University. A year later the company performed their first play, Kuin hukka vasikalla muamona oli.
The Juminkeko Foundation, or simply Juminkeko, is a Finnish organization founded in 1991. It runs Juminkeko, an eponymous information centre of the national epic Kalevala and Karelian culture located in Kuhmo, Finland. The centre was designed by the Finnish architects Mikko Heikkinen and Markku Komonen and was completed in 1999.
Karelians, also known as Finnish Karelians or Karelian Finns, are a subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people, traditionally living in Finnish Karelia. Karelians speak eastern dialects of Finnish: the South Karelian dialects are spoken in South Karelia, while the eastern Savonian dialects are spoken in North Karelia. The South Karelian dialects were spoken in the Karelian Isthmus prior to the Winter War. Karelians are traditionally Lutheran Christians.
