Ladoga Karelia (, , , Карельское Приладожье, ''Karelskoje Priladožje'' or Северное Приладожье, ''Severnoje Priladožje'') is a historical region of

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

, currently largely in Russia. Today, the term refers to the part of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

in the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

comprising the south-west part of the Republic, specifically

Lakhdenpokhsky District Lakhdenpokhsky District (; Finnish and Karelian: Lahdenpohjan piiri) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in the southwest of the rep ...

Pitkyarantsky District Pitkyarantsky District (; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in the southwest of the republic. The area of the district is . Its a ...

and Sortavala District. This region is on the northern littoral of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

, which borders Olonets Karelia to the East,

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

(

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

) to the south-west and the

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

region of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

to the west.

History

When state formation first began in the region, Ladoga Karelia belonged to the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

; thereafter it came under Russian rule, as part of

Kexholm County Kexholm County (, ) was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1721, when the southern part was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Nystad. The capital of the county was Kexholm (), which today is Priozersk. History The coun ...

. Along with Kexholm County, Ladoga Karelia was transferred to Sweden through the

Treaty of Stolbovo The Treaty of Stolbovo (; ) was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. History After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from ...

in 1617. Sweden lost Ladoga Karelia to Russia in the

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

in 1721, after which the area became part of the Viborg Governorate, also known as

Old Finland Old Finland (; ; ) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), and which were united as the Vyborg Governorate in 1744. During the Finnish War ...

. Following the Russian conquest of the rest of Finland, this so-called "Old Finland" was united, under the name

Viborg Province Viipuri Province was a historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the province was Vyborg Governorate, which was established in 1744 from territories ceded by the Swedish Empire to Russia in 1721 ( Treaty o ...

, with the newly constituted

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

in 1812. The Ladoga Karelia was then divided into Central Karelia and Border Karelia. The area remained part of Finland following its independence from Russia in 1917. Ladoga Karelia was fought over by Finland and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the 1939–40

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

(ended with the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

) and the 1941–44

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. Following these conflicts, only small parts of Ladoga Karelia remained in Finland. Some form part of the South Karelia region: the Finnish parts of

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia regions of Finland, region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town ce ...

Saari Saari means ''island'' in Finnish and may refer to *Saari (name) *Saari, Finland, a former municipality *Saari, Estonia, a village *Saari language in Cameroon *Tarujen Saari, a Finnish folk-rock group *''Saari Bhool Hamari Thi'', a 2013 Pakistani d ...

and Uukuniemi municipalities are now part of Parikkala municipality; the former Simpele municipality is now part of the current

Rautjärvi Rautjärvi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in the South Karelia regions of Finland, region of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . More than half of ...

municipality. Meanwhile, Kolkka, the westernmost part of the former Korpiselkä municipality that remained in Finland, was joined to

Tuupovaara Tuupovaara (''Kovero'' until 1913) is a list of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland, located in the provinces of Finland, province of North Karelia. It was consolidated, together with Kiihtelysvaara, into the municipa ...

municipality, which in turn is now part of

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

and

province.

Central Karelia

The historic region of Central Karelia () was divided into the following municipalities and hundreds (''kihlakunnat''): * Harlu ( Sortavalan kihlakunta) * Jaakkima ( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) * Kurkijoki ( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) * Lahdenpohja ( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) * Lumivaara ( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) *

( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) *

Ruskeala Ruskeala (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a settlement) under the subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions, administrative jurisdiction of the city of federal subject significance, town of republic sign ...

( Sortavalan kihlakunta) *

( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) * Simpele ( Kurkijoen kihlakunta) *

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

* Sortavalan maalaiskunta, including Valamo ( Sortavalan kihlakunta) * Uukuniemi ( Sortavalan kihlakunta) Hiitola was also sometimes read as belonging to Ladoga Karelia. Pälkjärvi belonged to the parish of

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi (, ) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The easternmost point of Finland ...

and thus to the county of

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

. Because of its geographical position and historical background, however, it could also be connected to Laatokan Karjala.

Border Karelia

In Border Karelia (), the majority language was Karelian and most of the people were Orthodox Christians. Most Karelians in the area spoke South Karelian (''suvikarjala'', not to be confused with the southeastern dialects of Finnish), while Livvi was spoken in Salmi and the Hyrsylä salient of Suojärvi. The historic region of Border Karelia was divided into the following municipalities (all belonging to Salmin kihlakunta): *

Impilahti Impilahti (; ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finnish border, about west of Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the R ...

* Korpiselkä * Salmi * Soanlahti * Suistamo * Suojärvi

References

{{reflist Geography of Karelia Geography of Finland Historical regions Fennoscandia

History

Central Karelia

Border Karelia

Further reading

References