Ingria

Coordinates: 59°38′N 29°18′E / 59.633°N 29.300°E / 59.633; 29.300
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Ingria (disambiguation).
"Izhora (region)" redirects here. For other uses, see Izhora (disambiguation).

Ingria
Izhora
Historical region
Ingria and its Lutheran parishes in the Russian Saint Petersburg Governorate, c. 1900[1]
Flag of Ingria
Flag
Coat of arms of Ingria
Coat of arms
Demonym
Area
 • Coordinates59°38′N 29°18′E / 59.633°N 29.300°E / 59.633; 29.300
Today part of Russia

Ingria (

Finnish immigrants who settled in the area in the 17th century, when Finland proper and Ingria were both parts of the Swedish Empire
.

Ingria as a whole never formed a separate state; however,

ethnic group, the Ingrians proper, Izhorians, are close to extinction together with their language. This notwithstanding, many people still recognize their Ingrian heritage.[2]

Historic Ingria covers approximately the same area as the Gatchinsky, Kingiseppsky, Kirovsky, Lomonosovsky, Tosnensky, Volosovsky and Vsevolozhsky districts of modern Leningrad Oblast as well as the city of Saint Petersburg.

The names of the region are: Finnish: Inkeri or Inkerinmaa; Russian: Ингрия, Ingriya, Ижора, Izhora, or Ингерманландия, Ingermanlandiya; Swedish: Ingermanland; Estonian: Ingeri or Ingerimaa.

History

Carta Marina
(1539).

In the

Slavic tribes rebelled under Vadim the Bold, but later asked the Varangians under Rurik to return and to put an end to the recurring conflicts between them.[3]

The Swedes referred to the ancient

jarls, such as Ragnvald Ulfsson, under the sovereignty of the Novgorod Republic
.

In the 12th century, Western Ingria was absorbed by the Novgorod Republic. There followed centuries of

Teutonic Knights as well. The Teutonic Knights established a stronghold in the town of Narva, followed by the Russian castle Ivangorod
on the opposite side of the Narva River in 1492.

With the consolidation of the

Eastern Orthodox. Ingria became a province of Sweden in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 that ended the Ingrian War, fought between Sweden and Russia. After the Swedish conquest of the area in 1617 the Ingrian Finns, descendants of 17th-century Lutheran emigrants from present-day Finland
, became the majority in Ingria. In 1710, following a Russian conquest, Ingria was designated as the Province of St. Petersburg.

In the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden formally ceded Ingria to Russia.

In 1927 the Soviet authorities designated the area as Leningrad Province. Deportations of the Ingrian Finns started in late 1920s, and Russification was nearly complete by the 1940s.

In the modern era, Ingria forms the northwestern anchor of Russia—its "window" on the Baltic Sea—with Saint Petersburg as its centre.

Swedish Ingria

Main article: Swedish Ingria

Although Sweden and Novgorod had fought for the Ingrian lands more or less since

Treaty of Stolbova (1617) after the Ingrian War of 1610–1617. Sweden's interest in the territory was mainly strategic: the area served as a buffer zone against Russian attacks on the Karelian Isthmus and on present-day Finland, then the eastern half of the Swedish realm; and Russian Baltic trade had to pass through Swedish territory. The townships of Ivangorod, Jama (now Kingisepp), Caporie (now Koporye) and Nöteborg (now Shlisselburg) became the centres of the four Ingrian counties (slottslän), and consisted of citadels, in the vicinity of which were small boroughs called hakelverk – before the wars of the 1650s mainly inhabited by Russian townspeople. The degree to which Ingria became the destination for Swedish deportees has often been exaggerated.[by whom?
]

Ingria remained sparsely populated. In 1664 the total population amounted to 15,000. Swedish attempts to introduce Lutheranism, which accelerated after an initial period of relative religious tolerance,[5] met with repugnance on the part of the majority of the

Äyräpää).[2][6]
The proportion of Lutheran Finns in Ingria (Ingrian Finns) comprised 41.1% in 1656, 53.2% in 1661, 55.2% in 1666, 56.9% in 1671 and 73.8% in 1695, the remainder being Russians,[6] Izhorians and Votes.[7] Ingermanland was to a considerable extent enfiefed to noble military and state officials, who brought their own Lutheran servants and workmen. However, a small number of Russian Orthodox churches remained in use until the very end of the Swedish dominion, and the forceful conversion of ethnic Russian Orthodox forbidden by law.[8]

Nyen became the main trading centre of Ingria, especially after Ivangorod dwindled, and in 1642 it was made the administrative centre of the province. In 1656 a Russian attack badly damaged the town, and the administrative centre moved to Narva.[2]

Russian Ingria

Map of Saint Petersburg Governorate in 1900

In the early 18th century the area was reconquered by Russia in the

Nyen, close to the Neva river's estuary at the Gulf of Finland, the new Russian capital Saint Petersburg
was founded in 1703.

Prince Menshikov as its first (and last) duke. In 1708, Ingria was designated a governorate (Ingermanland Governorate in 1708–1710, Saint Petersburg Governorate
in 1710–1914, Petrograd Governorate in 1914–1924, Leningrad Governorate in 1924–1927).

In 1870, printing started of the first Finnish-language newspaper in Ingria, Pietarin Sanomat. Before that Ingria received newspapers mostly from Viborg. The first public library was opened in 1850 in Tyrö. The largest of the libraries, situated in Skuoritsa, had more than 2,000 volumes in the second half of the 19th century. In 1899 the first song festival in Ingria was held in Puutosti (Skuoritsa).[2]

By 1897 (year of the

Petrograd
).

From 1868 Estonians began to migrate to Ingria as well. In 1897 the number of Estonians inhabiting the Saint Petersburg Governorate reached 64,116 (12,238 of them in Saint Petersburg itself); by 1926 it had increased to 66,333 (15,847 of them in Leningrad).

As to

Peace Treaty of Tartu (1920).[2]

Estonian Ingria

Finnish Defense Forces, during the Continuation War. Giving their oath to Finland in Karelian Isthmus
, 27 April 1944.

Under the Russian-Estonian Peace Treaty of Tartu of 1920, a small part of West Ingria became part of the Republic of Estonia. In contrast to other parts of Ingria, Finnish culture blossomed in this area, known as Estonian Ingria [ru; et]. This was to a large extent due to the work of Leander Reijo (also Reijonen or Reiju) from Kullankylä [fi] on the new border between Estonia and the Soviet Union, who was called "The King of Ingria" by the Finnish press. Finnish schools and a Finnish newspaper were started. A church was built in Kallivieri [fi] in 1920 and by 1928 the parish had 1,300 people.[9][10]

In 1945, after the

Russian SFSR and incorporated into the Leningrad Oblast. Since Estonia reclaimed its independence in 1991, this territory has been disputed. As Russia does not recognize the Treaty of Tartu, the area currently remains under Russian control.[citation needed
]

Soviet Ingria

Finnic settlements in Western Ingria throughout the 20th century

After the 1917

Republic of North Ingria (Finnish: Pohjois-Inkerin tasavalta) declared its independence from Russia with the support of Finland and with the aim of incorporation into Finland. It ruled parts of Ingria from 1919 until 1920. With the Russian-Finnish Peace Treaty of Tartu
it was re-integrated into Russia, but enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy.

At its height in the 1920s, there were about 300 Finnish language schools and 10 Finnish language newspapers in Ingria.[11]

The

Finnic peoples living there, but Ingrian Finns formed the majority in the districts along the Finnish border.[6]

In the early 1930s the

Luga River.[2]

In 1928

kulaks (independent peasants) from North Ingria, were deported to East Karelia, the Kola Peninsula as well as Kazakhstan
and Central Asia.

The situation for the Ingrian Finns deteriorated further when in the fall of 1934 the

Tatars.[2][6]

In 1937 Lutheran churches and Finnish and Izhorian schools in Ingria were closed down and publications and radio broadcasting in Finnish and Izhorian were suspended.

Both Ingrian Finnish and Izhorian populations all but disappeared from Ingria during the Soviet period. 63,000 fled to Finland during World War II, and were required back by

enemies of the people".[2][6][12]
The remainder, including some post-Stalin returnees (it was not until 1956 that some of the deported were allowed to return to their villages), were outnumbered by Russian immigration.

The 1959 census recorded 1,062 Izhorians; in 1979 that number had fallen to 748, only 315 of them around the mouth of the

Soviet census of 1989, there were 829 Izhorians, 449 of them in Russia (including other parts of the country) and 228 in Estonia.[2]

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Following the

Russophone
minority in Finland.

After the

Saint-Petersburg, started referring to their home region as Ingria instead of Leningrad Oblast. There has also seen surge in usage of the term Ingria in local culture. A popular Russian rapper Oxxxymiron wrote and posted on his youtube channel a song which features such phrases as "Ingria will be free" and "There are white snow and blue river on our flag
".

See also

References

  1. ^ Based on Räikkönen, Erkki. Heimokirja. Helsinki: Otava, 1924.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kurs, Ott (1994). "Ingria: The broken landbridge between Estonia and Finland". GeoJournal 33.1, 107–113.
  3. ISBN 978-04-04-05230-0
    .
  4. ISBN 978-95-17-46433-8
    .
  5. ^ A. Pereswetoff-Morath, "'Otiosorum hominum receptacula': Orthodox Religious Houses in Ingria, 1615–52", Scando-Slavica, vol. 49, 2003.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Matley, Ian M. (1979). "The Dispersal of the Ingrian Finns".
    JSTOR 2497223
    .
  7. ^ Inkeri. Historia, kansa, kulttuuri. Edited by Pekka Nevalainen and Hannes Sihvo. Helsinki 1991.
  8. ISBN 978-07-73-47671-4
    .
  9. ^ Johannes Angere, Kullankylä (1994) Swedish magazine Ingria. (4), pages 6–7
  10. ^ Johannes Angere, Min hemtrakt (2001) Swedish magazine Ingria (2), pages 12–13.
  11. ^ "Inkerinsuomalaisten kronikka", Tietoa Inkerinsuomalaisista (Information about Ingrian Finns), archived at the Wayback Machine, 13 February 2008 (in Finnish)
  12. ^
    S2CID 32917643
    .

Further reading
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ingria.
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