The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Russia 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 ...

situated in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

of the country. The republic is a part of the

Northwestern Federal District Northwestern Federal District ( rus, Северо-Западный федеральный округ, p=ˌsʲevʲɪrə ˈzapədnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal districts of Russia. It ...

, and covers an area of , with a population of 533,121 residents. Its

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

. The modern Karelian Republic was founded as an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR, by the Resolution of the Presidium of the

All-Russian Central Executive Committee The All-Russian Central Executive Committee () was (June – November 1917) a permanent body formed by the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (held from June 16 to July 7, 1917 in Petrograd), then became the ...

(VTsIK) on 27 June 1923 and by the Decree of the VTsIK and the Council of People's Commissars of 25 July 1923, from the Karelian Labour Commune. From 1940 to 1956, it was known as the

Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelo-Finnish SSR), also called Soviet Karelia or simply known as Karelia, was a republic of the Soviet Union. It existed from 31 March 1940 until it was made part of the Russian SFSR on 16 July 1956 ...

, one of the

republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although ...

of 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 ...

. In 1956, it was once again made an autonomous republic and remained part of Russia following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991.

Etymology

"Karelia" derives from the name of the ethnic group —

Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic 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 ...

. The name "Karjala" has unknown origins, however, it is theorised that it may come from the Proto-Finnish word ''karja'', meaning "herd", which was borrowed from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

''harjaz'' ("army"); the ending ''-la'' means "earth".

Geography

The republic is in the northwestern part of Russia, between the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

and

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 ...

. The White Sea has a shoreline of . It has an area of . It shares internal borders with

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

(north),

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

(east/south-east),

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

(south-east/south), and

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 ...

(south/south-west), and it also borders

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, ...

(

Kainuu Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...

, Lapland,

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 ...

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. The easternmost corner of the region between ...

, and

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

); the borders measure 723 km. The main bodies of water next to Karelia are the White Sea (an inlet of the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

) to the north-east and

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego; , ; ; Livvi-Karelian language, Livvi: ''Oniegujärvi''; ) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of the Baltic ...

and Lake Ladoga both shared with neighboring Oblasts to the south. Its highest point is the

Nuorunen Nuorunen () is a peak in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It is the highest point of the Federal Subject. The peak is located in the Paanajärvi National Park, a protected area. Description Nuorunen is a high mountain located just south of t ...

peak at .

Geology

As a part of the

Fennoscandian Shield The Baltic Shield (or Fennoscandian Shield) is a segment of the Earth's crust belonging to the East European Craton, representing a large part of Fennoscandia, northwestern Russia and the northern Baltic Sea. It is composed mostly of Archean and ...

's ancient Karelian

craton A craton ( , , or ; from "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of contine ...

, most of the Republic of Karelia's surficial geology is Archaean or

Paleoproterozoic The Paleoproterozoic Era (also spelled Palaeoproterozoic) is the first of the three sub-divisions ( eras) of the Proterozoic eon, and also the longest era of the Earth's geological history, spanning from (2.5–1.6 Ga). It is further sub ...

, dated up to 3.4 billion years in the Vodlozero block. This area is the largest contiguous Archaean outcrop in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and one of the largest in the world. Since

deglaciation Deglaciation is the transition from full glacial conditions during ice ages, to warm interglacials, characterized by global warming and sea level rise due to change in continental ice volume. Thus, it refers to the retreat of a glacier, an ice shee ...

, the rate of

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

in the Republic of Karelia has varied. Since the

connected to the World's oceans uplift along the southern coast of

Kandalaksha Gulf The Kandalaksha Gulf (, , ) is located in the Republic of Karelia, and Murmansk Oblast in northwestern Russia. Forming the north-western corner of the White Sea, it is one of four large bays and gulfs of this sea, the others being the Onega Bay ( ...

has totaled 90 m. In the interval 9,500–5,000 years ago the uplift rate was 9–13 mm/ yr. Before the

Atlantic period The Atlantic in palaeoclimatology was the warmest and moistest Blytt–Sernander period, pollen zone and chronozone of Holocene northern Europe. The climate was generally warmer than today. It was preceded by the Boreal, with a climate similar ...

, uplift rate had decreased to 5–5.5 mm/yr, to then rise briefly before arriving at the present uplift rate is 4 mm/yr.

Rivers

There are about 27,000 rivers in Karelia. Major rivers include: *

Vodla River The Vodla (, ) is a river in the south-east of Republic of Karelia, Russia. The town of Pudozh is located along Vodla. The river is formed at the confluence of the rivers Sukhaya Vodla and Vama, two outflows of the Lake Vodlozero, a large freshw ...

('; ') *

Kem River The Kem (, ) is a river in Republic of Karelia, Russia. It starts from Lake Lower Kuyto and flows through a number of lakes into the White Sea. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . There is a cascade of 5 hydroelectric power plants. The tow ...

('; ') * Kovda River ('; ') * Shuya River ('; ') *

Suna River The Suna (, ) is a river in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. The length of the river is 280 km. The area of its basin is 7,670 km2.Vyg River ('; ')

Lakes

There are 61,000 lakes in Karelia. The total water surface of the lakes is 16.2 thousand km2 (10.3% of the territory), 17,8 thousand km2 (11.4% of the territory) if reservoirs are included.

('; ') and

('; ') are the largest lakes in

. Other lakes include: * Nyukozero ('; ') * Pyaozero ('; ') * Segozero ('; ') * Syamozero ('; ') * Topozero (') * Vygozero ('; ') The lakes Ladoga and Onega are located in the south of the republic.

Islands

White Sea coast: *

Oleniy Island Oleny Island (also spelt as Oleniy and Oleni) () is a single island in the Kara Sea just a few kilometers offshore, north of the coast of one of the arms of the Gyda Peninsula in North Siberia. It is covered with tundra and swamps and it is 53&nb ...

* Chernetskiye Island * Kamestrov Island * * Shuy Island * Kutulda Island * Perkhludy Island * Lesnaya Osinka Island * Kotkano Island * Vygnvolok Island * Tumishche Island *

Sum Island Sum most commonly means the total of two or more numbers added together; see addition. Sum can also refer to: Mathematics * Sum (category theory), the generic concept of summation in mathematics * Sum, the result of summation, the addition ...

* Razostrov Island * Sedostrov Island * Myagostrov Island * Zhuzhmuy Islands * In Lake Onega: * In Lake Ladoga: * * *

Mantsinsaari Island Mantsinsaari Island (also Mantsi, , ) is an island on the northeastern edge of Lake Ladoga, in the Salmi settlement, Pitkyaranta, Karelia. The island is nearly uninhabited.Vodlozero National Park Vodlozersky National Park () is a national park in the north of Russia, located in Onezhsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and Pudozhsky District in the Republic of Karelia. It was established April 20, 1991. Since 2001, the National Park has ...

* Kalevala National Park * Paanajärvi National Park

Natural resources

The majority of the republic's territory (, or 85%) is composed of state forest stock. The total growing stock of timber resources in the forests of all categories and ages is 807 million m³. The mature and over-mature tree stock amounts to 411.8 million m³, of which 375.2 million m³ is coniferous. Fifty useful minerals are found in Karelia, located in more than 400 deposits and ore-bearing layers. Natural resources of the republic include

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an ...

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

, and others.

Climate

The Republic of Karelia is located in the Atlantic

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

zone. The average temperature in January is and in July. Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is 500–700 mm.

Administrative divisions

The Republic of Karelia includes 18 administrative-territorial units, including: * 2 city okrugs * 5

municipal okrug An okrug is a type of administrative division in some Slavic-speaking states. The word ''okrug'' is a loanword in English, alternatively translated as area, district, county, or region. Etymologically, ''okrug'' literally means ' circuit', der ...

s * 11

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(including 3 national districts) There are 818 settlements in the Republic of Karelia, including: * 13 cities * 11

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

s * 794 settlements and villages

History

Middle ages

The Karelian people and culture developed during the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

in the region to the west of

. Karelians were first mentioned in Swedish sagas around the 10th century. Russians first mentioned Karelians in 1143, they called Karelians '' "Korela".''

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

's interest in Karelia began a centuries-long struggle with

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

(later

) that resulted in numerous border changes following the many wars fought between the two, the most famous of which is the Pillage of Sigtuna of 1187. In 1137 the oldest documented settlement was established, the modern-day city of Olonets (Aunus). Karelians converted to

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

in 1227. The Karelians' alliance with Novgorod developed into domination by the latter in the 13th century, when Karelia became a part of Novgorod under the name of Obonezhie pyatina as an autonomy. Later Karelia had anti-Novgorod

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

s in the 13th and 14th centuries. Later Karelia became a part of

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

when Novgorod was annexed in the second half of the 15th century.

Modern era

During the Great Northern War (1700–1721) the modern-day capital of Karelia, the city of Petrozavodsk, was founded as a cannon factory by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

19th century

On 9(21) September 1801

Olonets Governorate Olonets Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, extending from Lake Ladoga almost to the White Sea, bounded west by Finland, north and east by Arkhangelsk and Vologda, and south by Novgorod and ...

was created by order of Alexander I of Russia, Alexander I. After Russian emperor Alexander I of Russia, Alexander I became the Grand Duke of Finland following the Finnish War, he transferred Old Finland to the newly formed Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812. This move was regarded as a means of securing support of the Finnish nobility for the Russian emperor.

Early 20th century

In 1906, the Union of White Sea Karelians (Vienan karjalaisten liitto) was created. The Union's main goal was to improve the life of the common Karelians and additionally develop their own National identity, national identity. The union was temporarily dissolved in 1911 after series of repressions done by the local government. In 1917, the Kirov Railway, Murmansk Railroad was built, leading to the Karelian lands becoming more strategically important. This led much of intelligentsia to believe that the Russian tourism and Immigration into the region would rise, leading to further Cultural assimilation, assimilation of the Karelians to the Russian culture.

Civil War

During the Finnish Civil War, Finnish and the Russian Civil Wars the local peasantry rebelled against the new Soviet State due its ''Prodrazverstka'' policy, causing several squards of the "White movement, Whiteguard" to cross into the White Karelia, Karelian lands, where then was organized a government that later swiftly declared independence from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian Soviet Federative Republic, creating the Republic of Uhtua, Uhtua Republic. Later in 1920 Finnish forces occupied Olonets, creating another Olonets Government of Southern Karelia, puppet government, which then merged with the other Karelian state into the Karelian United Government, United Karelian Government. The regions were reclaimed by the Red Army later the same year, the Tartu peace was signed and the Karelian United Government was dissolved. As many other Ethnicity, ethnically :ru:Трудовая коммуна немцев Поволжья, non-Russian states within Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, RSFSR, the Karelia would receive autonomy within RSFSR, establishing the Karelian Labour Commune on 8 June 1920, which enjoyed a large de-facto autonomy approved by Vladimir Lenin, Lenin in early 1921. In 1921, an East Karelian uprising, uprising was started by the ''Forest Guerrillas'' in an attempt to gain control over Karelia yet again, but it was defeated by the Soviets shortly after. During the years of its existence, the Commune was actively educating the people, opening the schools and libraries as of the Likbez policy were open and maintained, the Commune was later expanded in 1923 by transferring the Kolezhemskaya, Lapinskaya, Navodnitskaya and many other posads from Arkhangelsk Governorate. In 1923, the Karelian Labour Commune became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic due its de-facto large autonomy, with the government of the region directly managing the local economy without having to pay its taxes to the RSFSR's state budget. The formal increase of the autonomy was first vetoed by People's Commissariat for Nationalities, People's Commissar for Nationalities of the RSFSR, but it was later accepted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

After the Likbez policy was fulfilled, the Republic now shifted its goal from educating the people to expanding the production and electrifying the Republic according to the GOELRO plan. The first steps were the creation of Mevezegorsky and Pudozsky tree-cutting factories, the OAO Kondopoga, Kondopoga Paper Factory, and the launch of the Kem and the Uhta Hydroelectricity, hydroelectrostations. In the 1930s, the goal yet again shifted, now to improving the cultural and physical development and well-being of the locals by creation of many free clinics and hospitals, "Houses of Physical Culture", Theaters etc. Sandarmokh 008 2892

Many of the Finns who fled to Karelia were detained and most likely shot during The Great Purge of 1937, with the Karelian ethnic Finns' population dropping to 21%. Karelia has one of the biggest burial sites of Stalinist purges in Russia, Sandarmokh, where possibly thousands of victims were executed.

Winter War

During the Winter War, a Soviet Finnish Democratic Republic, puppet government was created in occupied territories. The Finnish Democratic Republic was to incorporate most of Finland's pre-war territories plus some western parts of the KASSR. Some members of the FDP government were also members of the KASSR government. After the Moscow Peace Treaty territories of the Karelian Isthmus were transferred to the newly created Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic. After the evacuation of Finnish Karelia, the new territories were left unpopulated, so migrants from Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Belarus, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukraine, Russia, and other Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics moved in. To this day, this area has one of the lowest percentages of Karelian and Finnish populations in the Republic.

World War II

After the beginning of Eastern Front (World War II), World War II, mass rallies were held on the territory of the republic, at which the inhabitants of Karelia declared their readiness to stand up for the defense of the Soviet Union. Workers of the Onega Tractor Plant wrote “We will work only in such a way as to fully meet the needs of our Red Army. We will double, triple our forces and crush, destroy the Wehrmacht, German fascists". On 24 June 1941, after the German army crossed Zapadnaya Dvina, President of Finland, Finnish president Risto Ryti announced declaration of war on the Soviet Union. The Finnish Army, Finnish army crossed the Soviet border on 1 July. Soon after the evacuation of border regions began, On 3 July, a republican evacuation commission was created. At its first meeting, it was decided to evacuate children under 14 out of Petrozavodsk. The same decision also refers to the evacuation of 150 families of leading party and Soviet workers in Karelia. Those residents who could work had to remain in the harvest and defense work. By September the Finnish army already reached Petrozavodsk and captured Olonets. Petrozavodsk offensive began on 20 September. To protect the city, the 7th Army (Soviet Union), 7th Army under the command of General Kirill Meretskov, K.A. Meretskov was directly subordinated to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. On 30 September, the position of the defenders of the city deteriorated sharply. The Finnish army managed to break through Soviet defenses and cut the highway to Kondopoga in the area of the Sulazhgorsky brick factory. In the south Finns came close to the city outskirts. On 1 October, due to the threat of encirclement, an order was received from the command to withdraw the main units defending the city. The fighting near Petrozavodsk allowed the authorities to evacuate most of the civilian population and a significant part of the production capacities. In total, more than 500 thousand people were evacuated from the republic to the east. Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk University was temporarily relocated to Syktyvkar. Konclagers

After the capture of Petrozavodsk, the capital of Soviet Karelia was transferred first to Medvezhyegorsk, then to Belomorsk. Less than 90 thousand people remained in the occupied territory, half of which are representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples: Karelians, Vepsians, and Finns. Finnish military administration in Eastern Karelia, The Finnish administration has officially recognized them as a "Heimosodat, kindred" population. The rest received the status of "unrelated" people. Most of them have been put into East Karelian concentration camps, concentration camps, along with communists and people who could not speak Finnish or Karelian. Former prisoners of the camps recalled that the staff often treated them more harshly than was supposed to according to the instructions. According to them, the Finns, in the presence of children, shot prisoners and beat women, children, and the elderly. One of the prisoners told the Finnish historian Helga Seppel that before leaving Petrozavodsk, the invaders shot several young people for unknown reasons. During the occupation, Petrozavodsk was renamed to Petrozavodsk, Äänislinna. Only a few territories of the K-FSSR managed to escape the Finnish occupation: the Belomorsky District, Belomorsky, Loukhsky District, Loukhsky, Kemsky District, Kemsky, Pudozhsky District, Pudozhsky okrugs, as well as part of the Medvezhyegorsk, Medvezhiegorsky, Tungudsky and Kalevalsky District, Ukhta okrugs. By 1942, about 70 thousand people lived here. After the end of the Siege of Leningrad Soviet army was ordered to liberate Karelia. On 21 June 1944 Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive, Svir-Petrozavodsk operation started. On 27 June the Finnish army left Petrozavodsk. By August the Soviet army reached pre-war borders. Then the Soviet army got pushed back again and had to end the war with the help of pressure from its allies in the Moscow Armistice.

Post-war

After the end of World War II, the Karelian Isthmus was incorporated into the

and the city of Alakurtti (rural locality), Alakurtti was transferred to

. After Finlandization, normalization of diplomatic relations between USSR and Finland the status of the Karelo-Finnish SSR was changed back to the Karelian ASSR in 1956. After this Karelian, Veps, and Finnish languages began a decline in usage due to the lack of support from the state and lack of education. The transformation of the KFSSR into the Karelian ASSR was supposed to show that the USSR did not have aggressive goals against Finland. In 1978, a Korean Air Lines Flight 902, Korean Air Lines Boeing 707-321B was shot down over Murmansk Oblast and landed near Louhi.

Present-day

*In August 1990 KASSR declared its sovereignty as an autonomous part of the Russian Federation, and later changed its name to the Republic of Karelia in 1991. *In 2004 Veps National Volost was transferred to Prionezhsky District. *In 2006 an ethnic conflict and later riot started in Kondopoga after a fight between locals and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian immigrants led to 2 deaths. This caused an exodus of Muslims from Karelia. *In 2011 a RusAir Flight 9605, plane crashed near the village of Besovets killing 47 people.

Politics

Petrozavodsk 06-2017 img71 Karelian Parliament building

The highest executive authority in the Republic of Karelia is the Head of the Republic. The acting Head of the Republic is Artur Parfenchikov, who was elected in February 2017 and later 2022 Karelia head election, re-elected in 2022. The parliament of the Republic of Karelia is the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, Legislative Assembly comprising fifty deputies elected for a four-year term. The Constitution of the Republic of Karelia was adopted on 12 February 2001.

Legislature

The Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia is a permanent representative and the only legislative body of state power in the Republic of Karelia. Since 2016, it consists of 36 deputies elected by the inhabitants of the republic according to a mixed electoral system: 18 deputies according to party lists (proportional system), and 18 in single-member districts (majority system) based on universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The term of office of deputies of one convocation is five years. The 7th convocation was :ru:Выборы в Законодательное собрание Республики Карелия (2021), elected in September 2021 and will last until 2026. Of the 36 deputies, 22 are from United Russia, 4 from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, 2 from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, 4 from A Just Russia, 2 from Yabloko, 1 from New People (political party), New People, and 1 from the Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice, Party of Pensioners. :ru:Шандалович, Элиссан Владимирович, Elissan Shandalovich (United Russia) was elected Chairman. Igor Zubarev (United Russia) was elected representative of the Legislative Assembly in the Federation Council.

Executive

Petrozavodsk 06-2017 img57 Karelian Government building

Executive power is exercised by: * The Head of the Republic of Karelia – the highest official of the Republic of Karelia * the :ru:Правительство Республики Карелия, Government of the Republic of Karelia, headed by the Head of the Republic – the permanent supreme executive body of state power of the Republic of Karelia * other executive authorities The Head of the Republic is elected by the republic's inhabitants on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The term of office is 5 years and one person cannot hold office for more than two consecutive terms. The current head of the republic is Artur Parfenchikov (appointed by President Vladimir Putin on 15 February 2017; on 10 September 2017, he was elected in the 2017 Karelia head election, elections from the United Russia party). Alexander Rakitin has been appointed as the representative in the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council.

Representatives in the Federal Assembly

Like every Federal subjects of Russia, federal subject, Karelia has two representatives in the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council: one from the legislative assembly and one from the republic's government.

Political parties

As of 1 March 2010, seven Russian political parties had their branches in the Republic of Karelia: United Russia, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Patriots of Russia, A Just Russia, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Yabloko, and Right Cause. The socio-political movement of the Russian People's Democratic Union also has its own branch.

Demographics

''Population'':

Settlements

Vital statistics

Ethnic groups

According to the 2021 Census, ethnic Russians make up 86.4% of the republic's population, ethnic

5.5%. Other groups include Belarusians (2.0%), Ukrainians (1.2%), Finnish people, Finns (0.7%), Vepsians (0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Languages

Currently Russian is the only official language of the republic. Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Veps, and Finnish language, Finnish have been officially recognized languages of the republic since 2004, and they are ''de jure'' supported by the government. In early 2000s Karelian and Veps language nests were created in Petrozavodsk, Kalevala, Russia, Kalevala, Tuksa and Shyoltozero, Sheltozero, but were later shut down. Now native languages of Karelia have little support from the government. Finnish was the second official language of Karelia from the creation of the Karelian Labour Commune up until the

. Thereafter there were suggestions to raise Karelian as the second official language, but they were repeatedly turned down.

Religion

The Karelians have traditionally been Russian Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox. Lutheranism was brought to Karelia during Ingrian War, Sweden's conquest of Karelia and was common in regions that then belonged to Finland. Nowadays Lutherans can be found in most big settlements but they remain a minority. Catholics have one parish in Petrozavodsk. The Petrozavodsk Jews, Jewish Religious Community was registered in 1997. Karelian Muslims were organized into Karelian muftiate in 2001. According to a 2012 survey, 27% of the population of Karelia adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% are nondenominational Christianity, unaffiliated Christians, and 1% are members of Protestantism, Protestant churches. In addition, 44% of the population declared to be "spiritual but not religious", 18% is atheism, atheist, and 8% follow other religions or did not answer the question.

Economy

Karelia's economy is based on forestry, mining, tourism, agriculture, fishing and Pulp and paper industry, the paper industry. Despite being 0,4% of Russia's population, 65–70% of all Russian trout is grown in the Republic, 26% of Iron ore, iron ore pellets, 20% of paper, 12% of wood pulp and cellulose. Karelia's gross regional product (GRP) in 2007 was 109.5 billion rubles. The Karelian economy's GRP in 2010 was estimated at 127733.8 million rubles. Karelia's GRP in 2021 was 176 billion rubles. This amounts to 291,841 rubles per capita, which is lower than Economy of Russia, national average. The largest companies in the region include Karelsky Okatysh mine, Karelsky Okatysh ($ of revenue in 2021), Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill ($ of revenue in 2021), OAO Kondopoga ($ of revenue in 2021). In the structure of the gross regional product in 2017, the main types of economic activity were:mining – 17.6%; manufacturing industries – 16.9%; transportation and storage – 11.8%; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles – 9.8%; public administration and military security; social security – 8.7%. A fast fibre-optic, fiber-optic cable link connecting Finnish Kuhmo and Karelian Kostomuksha was built in 2007, providing fast telecommunications.

Budget sector

In 2022, the republic's budget received 75 billion 198 million rubles of revenue. At the same time, expenses amounted to 82 billion 202 million rubles. Tax revenues make up the majority of budget revenues and in 2008 amounted to 64% of operating income. The tax concentration is relatively high: the 10 largest taxpayers, mainly industrial enterprises, provided about 38% of all tax revenues in 2008.

Industry

Forestry

The forest and wood processing sector dominates industrial activity in Karelia. A large number of small enterprises carry out timber logging whereas pulp and paper production is concentrated in five large enterprises, which produce about a quarter of Russia's total output of paper. Three largest companies in the pulp and paper sector in 2021 were: OAO Kondopoga (sales of $), Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill ($) and OAO Pitkjaranta Pulp Factory, RK-Grand (''Pitkäranta'' Pulp Factory) ($). The timber industry complex of Karelia produces 28% of the republic's industrial output.

Mining

Karelia is a region with a lot of natural resources, including metals such as gold, silver, platinum, copper and palladium. In 2007, extractive industries (including extraction of metal ores) amounted to 30% of the republic's industrial output. There are about 53 mining companies in Karelia, employing more than 10,000 people. One of the most important companies in the sector is Karelsky Okatysh mine, AO Karelian Pellet, which is the 5th largest of Russia's 25 mining and ore dressing enterprises involved in ore extraction and iron ore concentrate production. Other large companies in the sector were OAO Karelnerud, Mosavtorod State Unitary Enterprise, and Pitkjaranta Mining Directorate State Unitary Enterprise.

Energy

As of 2021, there were 29 Power station, powerplants, of them 21 were Hydroelectricity, hydroplants and 8 Thermal power station, thermal power plants.

Agriculture

Due to Karelia's climate, only 1,2% of the land is used for farming. Most of the farmland is located on podzol. 20 agricultural organizations employing 2.3 thousand people. Animal husbandry is the leading branch of agriculture in the Republic, the main areas of which are dairy cattle breeding, pig breeding, broiler poultry farming, and fur farming. Annually agricultural enterprises of the region produce up to 59 thousand tons of milk. Based on its natural and climatic conditions, the plant growing industry is focused on the production of feed for livestock, the bulk of potatoes and vegetables are grown in small forms of management.

Fishing

Fishing enterprises of Karelia produced 91.9 thousand tons of aquatic biological resources in 2021. In the Barents Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, 89.9 thousand tons of aquatic biological resources were caught, of them 34.6 thousand tons of cod and haddock, 34.1 thousand tons of blue whiting, 18 thousand tons of mackerel and 1.1 thousand tons of Northern Shrimp, northern shrimp. 306 tons of fish were caught in the White Sea and 612 tons of kelp and fucus were harvested. The catch of freshwater fish amounted to 1.1 thousand tons.

Tourism

Karelia is popular for International tourism, international and domestic tourism. Traditional, active, Cultural tourism, cultural and Ecotourism, ecological types of tourism are popular among tourists. Karelia attracts ecotourists with its nature and wilderness and low population density. During the summer water tourism is also popular among many tourists. Cultural tourism is also a big part of Karelia's tourism economy. The region attracts many tourists with its wooden architecture, local culture, and traditions. Karelia also has the first Russian Destination spa, health resort – Martial Waters (1719).

Foreign trade

The economy of Karelia is export-orientated. By the volume of exports per capita, Karelia is among the leading regions of Russia. More than 50% of manufactured products (and up to 100% in several industries) are exported. The Republic's main export partners in 2001 were Finland (32% of total exports), Germany (7%), Netherlands (7%), and the United Kingdom (6%). Main export products were lumber (over 50%), iron ore pellets (13–15%) paper and cardboard (6–9%) and sawn timber with (5–7%). Many of Karelia's companies have received investments from Finland.

Transportation

Railroad

Karelia is a strategically important railroad region due to the fact that it connects Murmansk with the rest of Russia by Kirov Railway, which was Electrified (rail), electrified in 2005. There are also railways connections with Finland in Värtsilä (Russia), Värtsilä and Kostomuksha, but they are not electrified. Most of Karelia's railway lines are served by the Petrozavodsk Railway Division, Petrozavodsk branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway, which is one of the largest budget-forming enterprises of the Republic. All Karelian district capitals are connected by railroad, except for the Kalevalsky district and Prionezhsky district. In total, Karelia has 1915 km of railways.

Water communications

Water communications connect Karelia with the Barents Sea, Barents, Baltic Sea, Baltic, Black Sea, Black, White and Caspian Seas. White Sea–Baltic Canal, White sea-Baltic Canal was built in the 1930s to connect the Baltic and White seas. The 227 km long canal was built by the prisoners. Even though it has 19 Lock (water navigation), locks, the canal cannot pass vessels with a Draft (hull), draft of more than 5 meters. The canal is a part of the Volga–Baltic Waterway, Volgo-Baltic Waterway. There are also Inland port, river ports on the coast of the White Sea, there were plans to upgrade them to Port#Seaport, ocean ports but they were deemed too expensive.

Highways

Automobile R21 highway (Russia), highway R-21 "Kola" crosses Karelia and connects Murmansk Region and Murmansk seaport with St. Petersburg and Moscow. European route E105, E105 European highway also goes through Karelia. Other highways connect with Finland in Louhsky district Värtsilä and Kostomuksha. Many of Karelian roads are still Road surface, unimproved.

Air transportation

Petrozavodsk Airport is the only working airport in Karelia as of 2022. There are other airports, such as Kalevala or Kostomuksha, but they are not used or used by Aerial firefighting, firefighters.

Healthcare

In 2023, the incidence of cancer in Karelia amounted to 648 cases per 100,000 population. This is 88 more than in 2022. According to Olga Ruotselainen, Deputy head of the Karelian Ministry of Health, today more than 20,000 people with a diagnosis of oncology are registered. Women in Karelia most often suffer from breast cancer. Cancer of other skin growths is in second place, and colon cancer is in third place. Among men, the most common type of oncology is prostate cancer, second being cancer of the bronchi, trachea, lung, and third being skin cancer. The healthcare system of the Republic of Karelia has 24 hospital institutions (republican and district hospitals), 5 dispensaries, the Republican Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS, AIDS and Infectious Diseases, the Republican Blood Transfusion Station, 3 maternity and childhood care institutions, 10 outpatient clinics, 5 special type healthcare institutions, 7 social service institutions, 18 district social protection institutions, the autonomous educational institution of secondary vocational education of the Republic of Karelia Petrozavodsk Basic Medical College. The regional target program Improvement of the Demographic Situation of the Republic of Karelia for the period 2008–2010 and up to 2015 has been adopted.

Culture

Karelia is very culturally diverse region that was influenced by Finno-Ugric, Slavs, Slavic and Scandinavian culture, Scandinavian cultures. The main unifying factor in the formation of the culture of the region was the Orthodox religion. A lot is being done in the Republic of Karelia today to support the interests of more than 100 nationalities inhabiting it, including Karelians, Veps and Finns. More than 60 national public associations have been registered: unions, congresses, popular movements, autonomies, friendship societies, cultural societies. There is a regional target program Karelia – the Territory of Consent, a republican target program State support of Karelian, Vepsian and Finnish languages, a public council has been established to coordinate the implementation of these programs.

Literature

Karelia is sometimes called "the songlands", as Karelian poems constitute most of the Karelo-Finnish epic ''Kalevala'' and many of Bylina, Russian Bylinas were documented in Pudozh. The written literature of Karelia was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1930s Karelian and Veps languages gained a writing system, but during the Stalinist repressions many books in Veps and Karelian were burned and cultural figures were deported. After the creation of the Karelian Labour Commune many American Finnish, American and Finnish Canadians, Canadian finns moved to Karelia and began creating new literature. Many Karelians could understand Finnish so some authors, such as one of the most famous Karelian writers Antti Timonen, started to write in Finnish. Writers of the Republic of Karelia are united in public organizations: * Karelian regional branch of the Union of Writers of Russia * Karelian Writers' Union * Representation of the Union of Russian Writers in Karelia * Union of Young Writers Northern Lights

Art

Karelian art history begun with Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea, Petroglyphs, which were created around 6,500 years ago. They became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2021. Icon painters were the first professional artists of Karelia. Karelia has become a source of inspiration for many famous artists of the 19th–20th century such as: Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and Nicholas Roerich, N. K. Roerich. The formation of professional painting in Karelia is associated with the name of the People's Artist of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, KFSSR V. N. Popov (1869–1945). In 1934, the Union of Artists of the Autonomous Karelian SSR was established, the first chairman of which was elected Yu. O. Rautanen, since 2010, the Karelian branch of the Union of Artists of Russia. As part of the Karelian department, there is an Association of Young artists and Art Historians. File:Шишкин И. И. (1891) На севере диком.jpg, Ivan Shishkin, ''In the Wild North...'' (1891) File:Archip Iwanowitsch Kuindshi 008.jpg, Arkhip Kuindzhi, ''Ladoga'' (1873) File:Поморяне. Вечер (Рерих, 1907).jpg, N. K. Roerich, ''Pomors, Evening'' (1907)

Architecture

Karelia is famous for its wooden architecture. Karelian architecture developed under the strong influence of Russian architecture, Novgorod architecture. Examples of Karelian architecture are collected in the Kizhi Pogost Museum. Later Karelian architecture was influenced by Finns, especially after the creation of the Karelian Labour Commune.

Music

Kantele is the most famous traditional Karelian musical instrument. In Kalevala the mage Väinämöinen makes the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant Pike (fish), pike and a few hairs from Hiisi's stallion. In 1933, the Karelian State Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra was founded. The orchestra belonged to the Karelian Radio and Television, part of the Ministry of Culture of Karelia. However, since 1997, the orchestra has been a part of the Karelian State Philharmonic Society. In 1935, the Karelian Folk Segozer Choir (Padans), the Karelian Folk Olonets Choir Karelian birch (:olo:Karjalan koivu, ) was founded. In 1936, the National Song and Dance Ensemble of Karelia (), the Veps Folk Choir, and the Karelian Folk Petrovsky Choir were founded. The Pomeranian Folk Choir (Medvezhyegorsk) was founded in 1937, and the Karelian Folk Vedlozersky Choir () was founded in 1938. In 1937, the Union of Karelian Composers was founded. In 1938, the Petrozavodsk Music College (now the Petrozavodsk Music College named after K. E. Rautio) was opened. In 1939, the Symphony Orchestra of the Karelo-Finnish State Philharmonic was founded. In 1967, the Petrozavodsk branch of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Leningrad State Conservatory (now the Petrozavodsk Glazunov State Conservatory) was opened. In 1973, Honored Artist of the Republic of Karelia L. P. Budanov founded the Karelia-Brass ensemble. Throughout the years, many Karelian, Russian, Veps, Finnish and Pomor dialects, Pomor choirs were created, such as the Karelian choir "Oma pajo" in 1990, which is still active. There are more than twenty children's music schools in the republic, including: * Petrozavodsk Children's Music School No. 1 named after Sinisalo (opened in 1918). The school is the organizer of the international competition «Onega Wave», the international festival of the Barents region Northern Lights, the festival of music of the Nordic countries «Sankta Lucia». * Olonets Children's Music School (opened in 1952) * Belomorsk Children's Music School (opened in 1955) * Kondopoga Children's Music School (opened in 1957) * Petrozavodsk Children's Music and Choral School (opened in 1966) * G. A. Vavilov Kostomukshi Children's Music School (opened in 1977) * Petrozavodsk Children's Music School named after G. V. Sviridov (opened in 1983) * Children's Art School of Petrozavodsk named after M. A. Balakirev (opened in 1991) Musical groups: Sattuma family ensemble, Leo Sevets, Santtu Karhu & Talvisovat, Myllärit, Drolls (Russian early music ensemble), Drolls Early Music Ensemble, WaTaGa.

Museums

Federal

* Kizhi Pogost, State Historical, Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve "Kizhi"

Republican

* National Museum of the Republic of Karelia * Museum of the Karelian Front in Belomorsk * Lonin Museum of Veps Ethnography (branch) * Marcial Waters Museum (branch of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia) * Valaam Monastery, Valaam Research, Church-Archaeological and Natural Museum-Reserve * Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia * Museum of the History of Public Education of the Republic of Karelia File:Kizhi churches.jpg, Kizhi State Historical, Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve File:Petrozavodsk 06-2017 img54 Lenin Square.jpg, National Museum of the Republic of Karelia File:Artmuseum of Republic of Karelia.JPG, Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia File:Veps museum.JPG, Lonin Museum of Veps Ethnography File:Валаам (106).JPG, Valaam File:St. Peter’s church in Martsialnyje vody 09.jpg, Church of the Apostle Peter in Marcial Waters

District and city

* Regional Museum of the Northern Ladoga Region (Sortavalsky district) * Olonets National Museum of Karelians-Livviks named after N. G. Prilukin * Pudozhsky Local History Museum named after A. F. Korablev * Medvezhegorsky District Museum * Pitkyaranta Museum of Local Lore named after V. F. Sebin * Belomorsky Regional Museum of Local Lore Belomorsky petroglyphs * Kemsky Regional Museum of Local Lore Pomorie * Kondopoga City Museum of Local Lore * Cultural and Museum Center of Kostomuksha * Segezha Museum Center * Kurkiek Regional History Center * Museum of Industrial History of Petrozavodsk (opened in 2011)

Private, departmental, enterprise museums

* Center for Fire Prevention Propaganda and Public Relations at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Karelia (Petrozavodsk) * Maritime Museum Polar Odyssey (opened on the territory of the Maritime Historical and Cultural Center, Petrozavodsk) * Children's Museum of Local Lore (Palace of Creativity of Children and Youth, Petrozavodsk) * Museum of the History of the Solomenskiy Timber Mill named after L. V. Serkina * Post Office Museum * School Museum of Local Lore Karelian hut Kotkozersky rural socio-cultural complex (Olonetsky District, Olonetsky district, village Kotkozero) * Museum of the History of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Karelia (Petrozavodsk) * Historical and demonstration hall of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Karelia * Museum of Precambrian Geology of the Institute of Geology KarSC RAS * Museum of the recent (in one of the workshops of the former Onega Tractor Plant)

Theaters

* Musical Theater of the Republic of Karelia * National Theatre of Karelia, National Theater of the Republic of Karelia * State Puppet theater, Puppet Theater of the Republic of Karelia * Drama Theater of the Republic of Karelia "Creative Workshop" * Non-state author's theater "Ad Liberum"

Theater companies

* Čičiliusku, a puppet theatre company File:Музыкальный театр Карелии.jpg, Musical Theater of the Republic of Karelia File:Petrozavodsk 06-2017 img19 Karelian National Theatre.jpg, National Theater of the Republic of Karelia File:Puppet theater.Petrozavodsk.jpg, State Puppet Theater of the Republic of Karelia File:Петрозаводск.Филармония..jpg, Drama Theater of the Republic of Karelia "Creative Workshop" File:Петрозаводск, Музыкальная школа им. Синисало (2).jpg, Non-state author's theater "Ad Liberum"

Movie

In 1973, there were 16 cinemas in the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR. In 2009, the Ministry of Culture (Russia), Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation developed a digital film screening program in cities with a population of less than 500 thousand people, new cinemas were built in shopping malls. Today, out of 13 cities of the republic, cinemas are operating in all cities except Lakhdenpokhya, Lahdenpohya. Only the "Karelfilm" film studio, located in Petrozavodsk, is engaged in film production in Karelia.

Mass media

In 1957, the Karelian branch of the Union of Journalists of the USSR (now the Karelian branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia) was organized. In different years, the union was headed by F. A. Trofimov, A. I. Shtykov, K. V. Gnetnev, V. N. Kiryasov, V. A. Tolsky, N. N. Meshkova, A.M. Tsygankov. In 1960–1990, the creative work of the best republican journalists was awarded the annual prize named after Konstantin Eremeev, K. S. Eremeev. Currently, every year on the eve of the Day of the Russian Journalist, the Union of Journalists of Karelia awards two special prizes: "For skill and dignity" and "For openness to the press".

Newspapers

Source: * ''Karelia''. It is published three times a week. Founder: Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, Legislative Assembly, Government of the Republic of Karelia. * ''TVR-Panorama'' weekly newspaper. Founders: Publishing house PetroPress and Karelian TV company Nika. * Weekly newspaper ''Karelian Province''. * Weekly newspaper ''Moskovskij Komsomolets in Karelia''. Founder: CJSC Editorial Office of the newspaper ''Moskovskij Komsomolets''. * Weekly newspaper ''Komsomolskaya Pravda in Karelia''. Founder: Publishing house Komsomolskaya Pravda. * Weekly newspaper ''Arguments and facts in Karelia''. Founder: ''Argumenty i Fakty, Arguments and Facts''. * Weekly newspaper ''Youth Newspaper of Karelia''. Founder: OAO Kondopoga, JSC Kondopoga (Kondopoga pulp and Paper Mill). * ''Petrozavodsk University'' weekly newspaper. Founder: Petrozavodsk State University. * ''Leninskaya Pravda''. It is published twice a month. Founder: Karelian Republican Organization of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Communist Party. * ''The Voice'' is published twice a month. Founder: Association of Trade Union Organizations of Karelia. * ''Lyceum'' with an appendix-insert ''My Newspaper +''. It is published once a month. Founder: State institution of the Republic of Karelia Publishing House». * Newspaper ''Karelian sport''. It is published once a month. Founder and publisher: publishing house Majestic. * Weekly newspaper advertisements: ''The Bear'', etc. The Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, Legislative Assembly, the Government and the Periodika publishing house produce four newspapers in national languages: * newspaper ''Karjalan Sanomat'' (''Karelian News'') in Finnish language, Finnish * newspaper ''Kodima'' (''Native land'') in Vepsian language, Vepsian and Russian language, Russian languages together with the regional organization Union of Karelian People: * newspaper ''Oma Mua'' (''Native Land'') in the Livvikov dialect of the Karelian language; * newspaper ''Vienan Karjala'' (''White Sea Karelia'') in the Karelian dialect of the Karelian language. Newspapers are published in the districts of Karelia: ''Kostomuksha News'', ''Prionezhye'', ''Olonia'', ''Novaya Kondopoga'', ''Belomorskaya Tribune'', ''Ladoga-Sortavala'', ''Kalevala News'', ''Pudozhsky Vestnik'', ''Suoyarvsky Vestnik'', ''Circumpolar'', ''Soviet White Sea'', ''Novaya Ladoga'', ''MuezerskLes'', ''Call'', ''Our life'', ''Trust'', ''Dialogue''.

Magazines

* ''Sever'' – a monthly literary, artistic, socio-political magazine in Russian. Founder: the Government of Karelia. * ''Carelia'' (''Karelia'') – a monthly literary and artistic magazine in Finnish, Karelian (Livvikov and Karelian dialects proper), Vepsian languages. Founders: Ministry of National Policy and Relations with Religious Associations of Karelia, Ingria, Ingermanland Union of Finns of Karelia, Union of Karelian People, Vepsian Culture Society, ''Periodika'' publishing house. * ''Kipinä'' (''Sparkle'') – monthly children's illustrated magazine in Finnish. Founders: The Ministry of Education of Karelia and the publishing house Periodika. * ''Industrial Bulletin of Karelia'' is a periodical specialized magazine in Russian.

Radio

Nine radio stations are located in

: * Radio Karelia (State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company «Karelia») * Russkoye Radio, Russian Radio on Onego * AvtoRadio, Avtoradio-Petrozavodsk * Radio Yunost Petrozavodsk. The radio station is part of the holding of All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, VGTRK * Road Radio. It is part of the media holding Nika * Our Radio. Part of the media holding Nika * Europe Plus Petrozavodsk * Retro Fm on Onego * Second Wave Three radio stations broadcast in Kostomuksha: * FM radio station of JSC Karelsky Okatysh mine, Karelian okatysh * Local radio * Kostomuksha city radio edition Radio Kostomukshi

Television

On 29 April 1959, the television center and the Petrozavodsk Television Studio came into operation. Regional TV companies: * Branch of VGTRK GTRK Karelia * Autonomous institution of the Republic of Karelia RTK Sampo
Nika
(LLC TC NKM) * TNT-Onego (LLC RIA TV6 Moscow-Petronet) The TV channel GTRK Karelia has daily news releases ''Viestit – Karjala'' in Finnish.

Online editions

According to a sociological study of the regional media market conducted in October 2013, the largest share of the media of the Republic of Karelia in terms of the number of published materials belongs to online publications – 77.3%. * Official portal of state authorities of the Republic of Karelia * Online magazine ''Republic'' * Online newspaper ''Karelia'' * Online newspaper ''Stolitsa na Onego'' * Karelinform * Center for Political and Social Research and others.

Holidays

Along with Public holidays in Russia, Russian holidays, Karelia has its official public holidays as well as unofficial holidays. Republic Day 2022 in Karelia

Official

Religious

= Cultural

Notes

References

Sources

External links

*
Official website of the Republic of Karelia
*

– various information about Karelia {{DEFAULTSORT:Karelia, Republic of Republic of Karelia, States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in Russia Fennoscandia Republics Republics of Russia