Karelia (Russian Federation)

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Autonomous republic in the northwest of the Russian Federation, bordering on Finland to the west; area 172,400 sq km/66,550 sq mi; population (1997) 780,000. The capital is Petrozavodsk. The republic is extensively forested with numerous lakes, of which Ladoga and Onega are the largest in Europe. Industries include fishing, timber, chemicals, coal, and mineral and stone quarrying.

History
From the 12th century Karelia belonged to the Novgorod Republic; the southwest of the region was contested by Swedes and Russians until 1721, when Karelia was annexed to Russia by Peter the Great as part of the grand duchy of Finland. In 1917 part of Karelia was retained by Finland when it gained its independence from Russia. The remainder became an autonomous region in 1920 and an autonomous Soviet republic in 1923. Following the Russo-Finnish conflicts of 1939–40 and 1941–44, Finland ceded 46,000 sq km/18,000 sq mi of Karelia to the USSR. Part of this territory was incorporated in the Russian Soviet Republic and part in the Karelian autonomous republic in 1956. A movement for the reunification of Russian and Finnish Karelia emerged in the late 1980s.

Red represents the blood of Jesus. Effective date: c. 1862. >>