Karelians

The Karelians are a Finnic people native to Karelia, a region divided between northwestern Russia and Finland. They have distinct Karelian language varieties and cultural traditions.

Karelia: A historical and geographic region in northwestern Russia and eastern Finland. The homeland that gives the Karelian people their name and spans today’s state border.
Treaty of Nystad: The 1721 treaty that ended the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia. It transferred eastern Karelia to Russia and helped establish a lasting political divide.
Elias Lönnrot: A Finnish physician and philologist who compiled the national epic Kalevala from oral poetry. His fieldwork in Karelia drew on Karelian and related oral traditions.
Karelian cuisine: The regional food traditions of Karelia, including rye pastries and fish dishes. Food traditions remain visible markers of Karelian heritage in both Finland and Russia.
Finns: A Finnic people chiefly associated with Finland and the Finnish language. Finns and Karelians share historical and linguistic ties but have distinct regional identities.
Karelian language: A Finnic language spoken chiefly in the Republic of Karelia and parts of Finland. Its dialects are a central marker of Karelian identity, though not all Karelians speak it.
Treaty of Tartu: The 1920 peace treaty that settled borders between Soviet Russia and Finland. It fixed a state border through historically connected Karelian areas.
Arhippa Perttunen: A Karelian rune-singer whose oral poetry was recorded by Elias Lönnrot in the nineteenth century. His songs became a major source for the Kalevala and its Karelian imagery.
Karelian pasty: A thin rye-crust pastry traditionally filled with rice, barley, or potato. This widely recognized Finnish Karelian food carries regional identity into everyday life.
Vepsians: A Finnic people native to areas around Lake Onega and the upper reaches of the Svir River in Russia. They are a neighboring Finnic people with a distinct language and history.

Linked from 1 page