Republic of Karelia

Republic of Karelia
Республика Карелия (Russian)
—  Republic  —

Flag
Coat of arms
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Karelia
Coordinates: 63°49′N 33°00′E / 63.817°N 33.000°E / 63.817; 33.000Coordinates: 63°49′N 33°00′E / 63.817°N 33.000°E / 63.817; 33.000
Political status
Country Russia
Federal district Northwestern[1]
Economic region Northern[2]
Established June 27, 1923
July 16, 1956
November 13, 1991[3]
Capital Petrozavodsk
Government (as of August 2010)
 • Head[4] Artur Parfenchikov (acting)[5]
 • Legislature Legislative Assembly[6]
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[7]
 • Total 172,400 km2 (66,600 sq mi)
Area rank 20th
Population (2010 Census)[8]
 • Total 643,548
 • Rank 68th
 • Density[9] 3.73/km2 (9.7/sq mi)
 • Urban 78.0%
 • Rural 22.0%
Time zone(s) MSK (UTC+03:00)[10]
ISO 3166-2 RU-KR
License plates 10
Official languages Russian[11]
Official website

The Republic of Karelia (Russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, tr. Respublika Kareliya; IPA: [rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə kɐˈrʲelʲɪ(j)ə]; Karelian: Karjalan tazavalda; Finnish: Karjalan tasavalta; Veps: Karjalan Tazovaldkund) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic), located in the northwest of Russia. Its capital is the city of Petrozavodsk. Its population in 2010 was 643,548.[8]

The modern Karelian Republic was founded as an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR by the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) of June 27, 1923 and by the Decree of the VTsIK and the Council of People's Commissars of July 25, 1923 from the Karelian Labor Commune.

From 1940 to 1956, it was known as the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the union republics in the Soviet Union. In 1956, it was once again an autonomous republic and remains as part of Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Geography

The republic is in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the White and Baltic Seas. The White Sea has a shore line of 630 kilometers (390 mi). It has an area of 172,400 km2 (66,600 sq mi). It shares internal borders with Murmansk Oblast (north), Arkhangelsk Oblast (east/south east), Vologda Oblast (south east/south), and Leningrad Oblast (south/south west), and it also borders Finland; the borders measure 723 km. The main bodies of water next to Karelia are the White Sea (an inlet of the Barents Sea) to the north-east and Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga both shared with neighbouring Oblasts to the south. Its highest point is the Nuorunen peak at 576 m (1,890 ft).

Geological map of Scandinavia (in Norwegian)

Geology

As a part of the Fennoscandian Shield's ancient Karelian craton, most of the Republic of Karelia's surficial geology is Archaean or Paleoproterozoic, dated up to 3.4 billion years in the Vodlozero block. This area is the largest contiguous Archaean outcrop in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

Rivers

There are about 27,000 rivers in Karelia. Major rivers include:

Lakes

Largest cities of the Republic of Karelia
The Regions of North and South Karelia lie in Finland and the Karelian Republic in Russia. The Karelian Isthmus is now part of Leningrad Oblast.

There are 60,000 lakes in Karelia. The republic's lakes and swamps contain about 2,000 km³ of high-quality fresh water. Lake Ladoga (Finnish: Laatokka) and Lake Onega (Ääninen) are the largest lakes in Europe. Other lakes include:

Lakes Ladoga and Onega are located on the south of the republic.

National parks

Natural resources

The majority of the republic's territory (148,000 km², or 85%) is composed of state forest stock. The total growing stock of timber resources in the forests of all categories and ages is 807 million m³. The mature and over mature tree stock amounts to 411.8 million m³, of which 375.2 million m³ is coniferous.

Fifty useful minerals are found in Karelia, located in more than 400 deposits and ore bearing layers. Natural resources of the republic include iron ore, diamonds, vanadium, molybdenum, and others.

Climate

The Republic of Karelia is located in the Atlantic continental climate zone. Average temperature in January is −8.0 °C (17.6 °F) and +16.4 °C (61.5 °F) in July. Average annual precipitation is 500–700 mm.[12]

Administrative divisions

History

Historically, Karelia was a region to the northwest of Russia, east of present-day Finland, controlled by the Novgorod Republic. From the 13th century and onwards, various parts were conquered by Sweden, and incorporated into Swedish Karelia until they were lost to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721.

In 1920, the province became the Karelian Labour Сommune. In 1923, the province became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelian ASSR). From 1940, it was made into the Karelo-Finnish SSR, incorporating the Finnish Democratic Republic which nominally operated in those parts of Finnish Karelia that were occupied by the Soviet Union during the Winter War. Annexed territories were incorporated into Karelo-Finnish SSR, but after the Continuation War the Karelian Isthmus was incorporated into the Leningrad Oblast. Its status was changed back to an ASSR in 1956. During the Continuation War in 1941 Finland occupied large parts of the area but was forced to withdraw in 1944. Though Finland is not currently pursuing any measures to reclaim Karelian lands ceded to Russia, the "Karelian Question" is still a topic present in Finnish politics, but it has never been discussed officially.

The autonomous Republic of Karelia in its present form was formed on November 13, 1991.

Politics

Seat of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia

The highest executive authority in the Republic of Karelia is the Head of the Republic. The acting Head of the Republic is Artur Parfenchikov, who was appointed in February 2017.

The parliament of the Republic of Karelia is the Legislative Assembly comprising fifty deputies elected for a four-year term.

The Constitution of the Republic of Karelia was adopted on February 12, 2001.

Demographics

Early 20th-century photo of a bridge across the Shuya River

Population: 643,548 (2010 Census);[8] 645,205 (2002 Census);[13] 791,317 (1989 Census).[14]

Vital statistics

Average population (x 1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Fertility rates
1970 714 11,346 5,333 6,013 15.9 7.5 8.4
1975 723 12,748 6,086 6,662 17.6 8.4 9.2
1980 741 12,275 7,374 4,901 16.6 10.0 6.6
1985 770 13,201 8,205 4,996 17.1 10.7 6.5
1990 792 10,553 8,072 2,481 13.3 10.2 3.1 1,87
1991 790 8,982 8,305 677 11.4 10.5 0.9 1,62
1992 788 7,969 9,834 -1,865 10.1 12.5 -2.4 1,46
1993 782 7,003 11,817 -4,814 9.0 15.1 -6.2 1,30
1994 774 6,800 13,325 -6,525 8.8 17.2 -8.4 1,26
1995 767 6,729 12,845 -6,116 8.8 16.7 -8.0 1,24
1996 760 6,461 11,192 -4,731 8.5 14.7 -6.2 1,19
1997 753 6,230 10,306 -4,076 8.3 13.7 -5.4 1,15
1998 747 6,382 10,285 -3,903 8.5 13.8 -5.2 1,18
1999 740 6,054 11,612 -5,558 8.2 15.7 -7.5 1,12
2000 732 6,374 12,083 -5,709 8.7 16.5 -7.8 1,18
2001 725 6,833 12,597 -5,764 9.4 17.4 -7.9 1,25
2002 717 7,247 13,435 -6,188 10.1 18.7 -8.6 1,33
2003 707 7,290 14,141 -6,851 10.3 20.0 -9.7 1,32
2004 696 7,320 13,092 -5,772 10.5 18.8 -8.3 1,31
2005 686 6,952 12,649 -5,697 10.1 18.4 -8.3 1,24
2006 676 6,938 11,716 -4,778 10.3 17.3 -7.1 1,22
2007 667 7,319 11,007 -3,688 11.0 16.5 -5.5 1,28
2008 659 7,682 11,134 -3,452 11.7 16.9 -5.2 1,35
2009 651 7,884 10,599 -2,715 12.1 16.3 -4.2 1,58
2010 644 7,821 10,471 -2,650 12.1 16.2 -4.1 1,58
2011 641 7,711 9,479 -1,768 12.0 14.7 -2.7 1,60
2012 640 8,027 9,804 -1,777 12.6 15.4 -2.8 1,71
2013 636 7,553 9,285 -1,732 11.9 14.6 -2.7 1,65
2014 634 7,816 9,245 -1,429 12.3 14.6 -2.3 1,74
2015 631 7,731 9,648 -1,917 12.2 15.3 -3.1 1,76(e)

Ethnic groups

According to the 2010 Census,[8] ethnic Russians make up 82.2% of the republic's population, ethnic Karelians 7.4%. Other groups include Belarusians (3.8%), Ukrainians (2%), Finns (1.4%), Vepsians (0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Ethnic
group		 1926 census 1939 census 1959 census 1970 census 1979 census 1989 census 2002 census 2010 census1
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Russians 153,967 57.2% 296,529 63.2% 412,773 62.7% 486,198 68.1% 522,230 71.3% 581,571 73.6% 548,941 76.6% 507,654 82.2%
Karelians 100,781 37.4% 108,571 23.2% 85,473 13.0% 84,180 11.8% 81,274 11.1% 78,928 10.0% 65,651 9.2% 45,570 7.4%
Belarusians 555 0.2% 4,263 0.9% 71,900 10.9% 66,410 9.3% 59,394 8.1% 55,530 7.0% 37,681 5.3% 23,345 3.8%
Ukrainians 708 0.3% 21,112 4.5% 23,569 3.6% 27,440 3.8% 23,765 3.2% 28,242 3.6% 19,248 2.7% 12,677 2.0%
Finns 2,544 0.9% 8,322 1.8% 27,829 4.2% 22,174 3.1% 20,099 2.7% 18,420 2.3% 14,156 2.0% 8,577 1.4%
Vepsians 8,587 3.2% 9,392 2.0% 7,179 1.1% 6,323 0.9% 5,864 0.8% 5,954 0.8% 4,870 0.7% 3,423 0.5%
Others 2,194 0.8% 20,709 4.4% 29,869 4.5% 20,726 2.9% 19,565 2.7% 21,505 2.7% 25,734 3.6% 16,422 2.7%
1 25,880 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[15]

Languages

Currently Russian is the only official language of the republic. Karelian, Veps and Finnish are officially recognized languages of the republic since 2004, and their survival is promoted.[16] Finnish was the second official language of Karelia from the Winter War 1940 (annex of Finnish territories) up until the 1980s,[17] when perestroika began. Thereafter there were suggestions to raise Karelian as the second official language, but they were repeatedly turned down.[16]

Religion

Religion in Karelia (2012)[18][19]

  Russian Orthodox (27%)
  Unaffiliated Christian (2%)
  Protestant (1%)
  Spiritual but not religious (44%)
  Atheist (18%)
  Other or undeclared (8%)

The Karelians have traditionally been Russian Orthodox. Lutheranism was brought to the area by the Finnish immigrants during Sweden's conquest of Karelia and was common in regions that then belonged to Finland. Some Lutheran parishes remain in Karelia.

According to a 2012 survey[18] 27% of the population of Karelia adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% are unaffiliated generic Christians, and 1% are members of Protestant churches. In addition, 44% of the population declared to be "spiritual but not religious", 18% is atheist, and 8% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[18]

Economy

Karelia's gross regional product (GRP) in 2007 was 109.5 billion rubles.[20] This amounts to 151,210 rubles per capita, which is somewhat lower than the national average of 198,817 rubles.[21] The Karelian economy's GRP in 2010 was estimated at 127733.8 million rubles.

Industry

Industrial activity in Karelia is dominated by the forest and wood processing sector. Timber logging is carried out by a large number of small enterprises whereas pulp and paper production is concentrated in five large enterprises, which produce about a quarter of Russia's total output of paper.[22] Three largest companies in the pulp and paper sector in 2001 were: OAO Kondopoga (sales of $209.4 mln in 2001), Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill ($95.7 mln) and OAO Pitkjaranta Pulp Factory ($23.7 mln).[12]

In 2007, extractive industries (including extraction of metal ores) amounted to 30% of the republic's industrial output.[20] There are about 53 mining companies in Karelia, employing more than 10,000 people.[23] One of the most important companies in the sector is AO Karelian Pellet, which is the 5th largest of Russia's 25 mining and ore dressing enterprises involved in ore extraction and iron ore concentrate production. Other large companies in the sector were OAO Karelnerud, Mosavtorod State Unitary Enterprise and Pitkjaranta Mining Directorate State Unitary Enterprise.[12]

Processing industries contributed 56,4% of the overall production in 2007. The latter figure includes pulp-and-paper (23.6%), metals and metal-working (7.9%), woodworking (7.1%), foodstuffs (5.8%) and machine-building (3.9%). Production and distribution of electricity, natural gas and water made up 13.6% of the region's output.[20]

Transportation

Railroad

There is a federal railway (see Murmansk Railway) across Karelia that connects Murmansk Region with St. Petersburg, Moscow, the center of Russia and with Finland. The railroad crosses Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga.

Karelia has a relatively well developed network of transport infrastructure. Water communications connect Karelia with the Barents, Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas through the system of rivers, lakes and canals. A federal railway (see Murmansk Railway) and automobile highways cross Karelia and connect Murmansk Region and Murmansk sea port with St. Petersburg, Moscow, the center of Russia and with Finland. Regular airline service connects Petrozavodsk with Joensuu and Helsinki in Finland.[24] A fast fibre-optic cable link connecting Finnish Kuhmo and Karelian Kostomuksha was built in 2007, providing fast telecommunications.[20]

Foreign trade

The Republic's main export partners in 2001 were Finland (32% of total exports), Germany (7%), Netherlands (7%) and the United Kingdom (6%).[12] Main export products were lumber (over 50%), iron ore pellets (13–15%) paper and cardboard (6–9%) and sawn timber with (5–7%). Many of Karelia's companies have received investments from Finland.[12]

Culture

View of the old town of Kem in 1916, photograph by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

Karelia is sometimes called "the songlands" in the Finnish culture, as Karelian poems constitute most of the Karelo-Finnish epic Kalevala.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
  2. ↑ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
  3. ↑ "Карельский государственный архив новейшей истории. Путеводитель". Приложение "Административно-территориальное устройство Республики Карелия". 2003.
  4. ↑ Constitution, Article 46.
  5. ↑ Official website of the Republic of Karelia. Artur Olegovich Parfenchikov
  6. ↑ Constitution, Article 32
  7. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  9. ↑ The density value was calculated by dividing the population reported by the 2010 Census by the area shown in the "Area" field. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox is not necessarily reported for the same year as the population.
  10. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  11. ↑ Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Republic of Karelia". Russia: All Regions Trade & Investment Guide. CTEC Publishing LLC. 2003.
  13. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  14. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ http://www.perepis-2010.ru/news/detail.php?ID=6936
  16. 1 2 Karelian, Vepps, and Finnish languages have got the state support in the Republic of Karelia The Official Web Portal of the Republic of Karelia (2004)
  17. ↑ http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20020129IE17
  18. 1 2 3 Arena - Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia. Sreda.org
  19. ↑ 2012 Survey Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 24-09-2012.
  20. 1 2 3 4 The Republic of Karelia in 2007 Helsinki School of Economics
  21. ↑ Валовой региональный продукт на душу населения Федеральная служба государственной статистики
  22. ↑ Regional characteristics. Republic of Karelia Helsinki School of Economics
  23. ↑ "Mining industry of the republic has summed up its work in the first six months of the year". Republic of Karelia. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  24. ↑ The Republic of Karelia

Sources

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