The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelo-Finnish SSR; fi, ; rus, Каре́ло-Фи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, r=Karelo-Finskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika), also called Soviet Karelia or simply known as Karelia, was a
republic of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. It existed from 1940 until it was made part of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
in 1956 as the
Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The latter became the
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (ru ...
, a
federal subject of
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 ...
, on 13 November 1991.
History
The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic was established by the Soviet government on 31 March 1940 by merging the
KASSR with the
Finnish Democratic Republic. The latter was created in territory ceded by
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 ...
in the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
by the
Moscow Peace Treaty, namely the
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern R ...
and
Ladoga Karelia, including the cities of
Viipuri and
Sortavala.
Virtually the entire Karelian population of the ceded areas, about 422,000 people,
was evacuated to
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 ...
, and the territories were settled by peoples from other parts of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
Creating a new
Republic of the Union for an ethnic group that was not large in absolute terms, nor constituted anything close to a majority in its territory, nor had been a separate independent nation before its incorporation into the USSR, was unprecedented in the
history of the USSR
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
. Some later historians believe that the elevation of Soviet Karelia from an
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (within the
RSFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
) to an SSR was a political move as a "convenient means for facilitating the possible incorporation of additional Finnish territory" (or, possibly, the whole of Finland) into the USSR.
[''Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev''. Edited by Sergeĭ Khrushchev. Published by Penn State Press, 2007. . Page 871 (biographic note on O. Kuusinen)]
On Google Books
/ref>
In 1941, Finland liberated the territory that it had lost in 1940 and occupied most of the Karelian lands that had been within the USSR before 1940, including the capital Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The populati ...
(Petroskoi).[ In 1944, the Soviet Union recaptured the area. Soviet sovereignty was recognized by Finland in the Moscow Armistice and Paris Peace Treaty. The Finnish Karelians were evacuated to Finland again.
In September 1944, the ]Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern R ...
with Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...
(Viipuri) was transferred from the Karelo-Finnish SSR to the Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...
of the RSFSR, but Ladoga Karelia remained a part of the republic.
On 16 July 1956, the republic was incorporated into the Russian SFSR as the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. This move can perhaps be explained in the context of the general post-war improvement of Finno-Soviet relations,[ which also included such steps as the Soviets' return of the Porkkala Naval Base leased territory to full Finnish sovereignty (January 1956), and leasing Maly Vysotsky Island and the Soviet section of the Saimaa Canal (conquered by the USSR in 1940 and 1944) back to Finland (1963).
The abolition of the Karelian SSR in 1956 was the only case in the history of the USSR (1922–1991) of merging a member republic of the USSR into another republic. The ]state emblem of the Soviet Union
The State Emblem of the Soviet Union; be, Дзяржаўны герб СССР; kk, ССРО мемлекеттік елтаңбасы; lt, TSRS Valstybinis herbas; lv, PSRS valsts ģerbonis; et, NSVL riigivapp} was adopted in 1923 and was ...
had to be changed to reflect this, with one of the 16 ribbons symbolizing constituent republics removed. Soviet rouble banknotes bearing the emblem were also changed accordingly.
In the last days of the USSR, the Karelian ASSR became the Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (ru ...
, a subdivision of the Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia
North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographic ...
, on 13 November 1991.
Politics
The chairman of the Karelo-Finnish Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
(1940–1956) was a Finnish communist Otto Wille Kuusinen. In the republic, there was also a separate Karelo-Finnish Communist Party led in the 1940s by G.N. Kupriyanov.
Yuri Andropov served for some years as the first secretary of the republic's Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
branch, the Leninist Communist Youth League of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic.
Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet
Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars
The Council of People's Commissars was renamed the Council of Ministers in 1946.
See also
*Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
*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 ...
* Karelia (historical province of Finland)
* Karelian question in Finnish politics
*Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ...
*First Secretary of the Karelian Communist Party The First Secretary of the Karelian regional branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the position of highest authority in the Karelian ASSR (1923–1940, 1956–1991) in the Russian SFSR, and in the Karelo-Finnish SSR (1940–1956) of ...
References
{{Use mdy dates, date=May 2016
Former socialist republics
Republics of the Soviet Union
.
Eastern Bloc
History of Karelia
1940s in Finland
Winter War
States and territories established in 1940
States and territories disestablished in 1956
1940 establishments in the Soviet Union
1956 disestablishments in the Soviet Union