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Parts of Lake Ladoga (Nevajärvi in Finnish) used to belong to Finland. The eastern part of Finland close to Ladoga is part of the greater Ladoga eco-system. Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe.
Parts of Lake Ladoga (Nevajärvi in Finnish) used to belong to Finland. The eastern part of Finland close to Ladoga is part of the greater Ladoga eco-system. Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe.
Used to belong to Sweden* (Sweden annexed Karelia in 17th century), and before that the place was inhabited by a mix of Finno-Ugric, Baltic, Russian tribes, and even vikings. The modern Finland as a country comes from when Tsar Alexander I consolidated all Finnish parts of the Russian Empire and Swedish Empire into Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian empire and moved the capital from Turku to Helsingfors (renamed Helsinki because Russians didn't like Swedes at the time).
Used to belong to Sweden* (Sweden annexed Karelia in 17th century), and before that the place was inhabited by a mix of Finno-Ugric, Baltic, Russian tribes, and even vikings. The modern Finland as a country comes from when Tsar Alexander I consolidated all Finnish parts of the Russian Empire and Swedish Empire into Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian empire.
Parts belonged to Finland 1917 to 1940. And again from 1941 to 1944.
Last edited by Northwindsforever; 08-15-2014 at 09:05 AM..
Parts belonged to Finland up to 1940. And again from 1941 to 1944.
Yes, but before that they belonged to Russia, and before that to Sweden, and before that to Russia, and before that to Sweden. Sweden and Russia fought over Karelia for like 600 years, since 1200s. I think the pope even issued crusades against the Russians to conquer Karelia.
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Originally Posted by Davy-040
What you see in the picture is Russia, what most people call Russia is the "Last Russian Empire".
Actually, Russia is even smaller than you indicated (The original Russian lands to the East end at Murom). Russia started off as just another small European state (both in population and land area), but they ended up being the only successful one out of all of the other Europeans at empire building (conquering, holding on, and integrating regions). Probably even more successful than Rome itself.
Actually, Russia is even smaller than you indicated (The original Russian lands to the East end at Murom). Russia started off as just another small European state (both in population and land area), but they ended up being the only successful one out of all of the other Europeans at empire building (conquering, holding on, and integrating regions). Probably even more successful than Rome itself.
It's expensive and strategically challenging to maintain overseas colonies. Russia had one, but always struggled to maintain a supply line to it. Just after they gave up and sold it to the US, gold was discovered there. (Alaska)
Used to belong to Sweden* (Sweden annexed Karelia in 17th century), and before that the place was inhabited by a mix of Finno-Ugric, Baltic, Russian tribes, and even vikings. The modern Finland as a country comes from when Tsar Alexander I consolidated all Finnish parts of the Russian Empire and Swedish Empire into Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian empire and moved the capital from Turku to Helsingfors (renamed Helsinki because Russians didn't like Swedes at the time).
The whole city and fortress of Viborg was founded by Sweden in the 13th century. The Karelian isthmus was as Finnish as Finnish can be. Yes, there was a purge, all Orthodox Karelians were encouraged (deported) to Tver or someplace. The people in the region were pragmatic, they didn't care much about ancestry or religion, but eventually the protestant militants did their job.
In 1940 when the Karelian territories Finland lost it was like 99% Finnish, and not connected anyway to Russia. The people were resettled, some 20% of the total population, and these days those territories are only Russian.
The whole city and fortress of Viborg was founded by Sweden in the 13th century. The Karelian isthmus was as Finnish as Finnish can be.
And before Vyborg was founded, it was controlled by Novgorod, and before that by the vikings.
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Yes, there was a purge, all Orthodox Karelians were encouraged (deported) to Tver or someplace. The people in the region were pragmatic, they didn't care much about ancestry or religion, but eventually the protestant militants did their job.
Yes, in fact at the time there were more Karelians living in Russia than there were in Swedish Karelia...
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In 1940 when the Karelian territories Finland lost it was like 99% Finnish, and not connected anyway to Russia. The people were resettled, some 20% of the total population, and these days those territories are only Russian.
In 1940, the larger East Karelia was still part of Russia (since 1617). What you are calling "Karelia" or "Finnish Karelia" is only part of it. In fact, it was the Russians who even made Karelia "Finnish", in the 19th century, to make a buffer between them and Sweden. A lot of town names in Finland were renamed under Russians to their Finnish names away from their Swedish names (e.g. Helsingfors -> Helsinki, Viborg -> Viipuri, etc). The strategy of tsar Alexander was to create a country between Russia and Sweden, and call it Finland. All Finnish nationalists at the time were very pro-tsarist (this was before attempted Russification of course).
I love winters in Russia! I'd never experienced a real winter, having lived only on the West Coast, USA.
I'll take "West Coast USA" any time; you can have Russian winter all for yourself thank you very much.
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One of the fun things about winter in Russia is wearing fur.
Again - used to do that when I was young; then I've learned about traps, about some Chinese stripping critters of their skin while they are still alive on some farms - no more fur for me, ever, sorry.
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Also, depending on the part of the country, winters can be gloriously sunny! Cold, but bright and sunny.
That much is true,even in Moscow winters are often like that. Plus dry air, which makes all the difference. I find the US winters more dreary because of all the humidity on top of cold.
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The difficult part is if you're in an area that gets below -25 or -30 Celcius. It's hard to force yourself to go outside, and it's hard to breathe. I don't know how people manage to go to work every day in those conditions, in the far north.
That part is completely out of my competence, but I know people do that. They are still alive somewhere in Ural and Surgut, - I can attest to that, since I talk to them from time to time on the internet.
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