Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...

, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

to the east.

History

On September 1, 1997, the

Mikkeli Province The Mikkeli Province ( fi, Mikkelin lääni, sv, S:t Michels län) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after the city of Mikkeli. Parts of the province were transferred to the Central Finland Province in 1960. I ...

, the Kuopio Province and

Northern Karelia Province The Province of North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjalan lääni, sv, Norra Karelens län) was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997. It was established in 1960 when it was separated from the Province of Kuopio. In 1997 it was reunited with Kuop ...

were joined to form the new Eastern Finland Province. All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration. Eastern Finland State Provincial Office had branch offices in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 ...

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. T ...

, and

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

Regions

Eastern Finland was divided into three regions: *

North Karelia North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) 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 Finl ...

(''Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen'') *

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the ...

(''Pohjois-Savo / Norra Savolax'') * Southern Savonia (''Etelä-Savo / Södra Savolax'')

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Eastern Finland was divided into 54

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in 2009. *

Enonkoski Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population. History Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that i ...

* Heinävesi * Hirvensalmi * Iisalmi * Ilomantsi *

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of ...

* Juankoski * Juuka * Juva * Kaavi * Kangasniemi * Karttula * Keitele * Kerimäki *

Kesälahti Kesälahti ( sv, Kesälahti, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Kitee on 1 January 2013. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population ...

Kitee Kitee ( sv, Kides) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that a ...

* Kiuruvesi *

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The po ...

* Lapinlahti * Leppävirta *

Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality 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 municipality is unilingually Finnis ...

* Liperi * Maaninka *

Mäntyharju Mäntyharju (, literally 'Pine Ridge') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The coastline is almost . The population densit ...

* Nilsiä * Nurmes * Outokumpu * Pertunmaa * Pieksämäki * Pielavesi *

Polvijärvi Polvijärvi (; literally "knee lake") is a municipality 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 . Neighbouring municip ...

* Punkaharju *

Puumala , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = , area_land_km2 = , area_water_km2 = , area_rank = , population_as_of = , population_footnotes = , population_total = , population_density_km2 = , population_rank = , demographics_type1 = , demograph ...

* Rantasalmi * Rautalampi * Rautavaara *

Ristiina Ristiina (; in Swedish also known as ''Kristina'') was a municipality of Finland. It was founded in 1649 and it was named after Kristina Stenbock, the wife of Governor General and Count Per Brahe. From the beginning of the year 2013 is a part of M ...

* Rääkkylä *

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mikke ...

Siilinjärvi Siilinjärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia, north of the city of Kuopio, which largely surrounds Siilinjärvi. Another neighbour municipality with Kuopio is Lapinlahti. The name, in Finnish, apparently trans ...

Sonkajärvi Sonkajärvi (; formerly known as ''Rutakko'') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia region, north of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

* Sulkava * Suonenjoki * Tervo *

Tohmajärvi Tohmajärvi () is a municipality 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 municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ne ...

* Tuusniemi * Valtimo *

Varkaus Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna. ...

* Varpaisjärvi * Vesanto * Vieremä

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

* Anttola *

Eno Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics * "Eno", a song by X-Wife from '' Rockin' Rio EP'' Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories busine ...

* Haukivuori * Jäppilä * Kangaslampi *

Kiihtelysvaara Kiihtelysvaara is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2005 it was consolidated, together with Tuupovaara, with the city of Joensuu. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The ...

Mikkelin mlk Mikkelin maalaiskunta (abbreviated ''Mikkelin mlk'', sv, Sankt Michels landskommun) is a former municipality of Finland located in the modern region of Southern Savonia. Together with Anttola, it was consolidated with the town of Mikkeli in ...

* Pieksämäen mlk * Pieksänmaa * Pyhäselkä * Savonranta * Tuupovaara * Vehmersalmi * Virtasalmi * Värtsilä

Governors

Pirjo Ala-Kapee Pirjo Anneli Ala-Kapee-Hakulinen (born 25 March 1944) is a Finnish politician who was the minister of education in the fourth cabinet of prime minister Kalevi Sorsa from 1986 to 1987. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she was also a mem ...

1997–2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Eastern Finland was composed of the arms of Savonia and

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

References

External links

Eastern Finland State Provincial Office
- Official site
Video about travelling in Koli area

Pielis.ru — По Восточной Финляндии и дальше ...
{{Coord, 62, N, 28, E, type:adm1st_region:FI, display=title Provinces of Finland (1997–2009) States and territories established in 1997 States and territories disestablished in 2009