Karelian question
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The Karelian question or Karelian issue (Finnish: Karjala-kysymys, Swedish: Karelska frågan, Russian: Каре́льский вопро́с) is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" (luovutettujen alueiden palautuskeskustelu, Swedish: debatten om tillbakalämningen av de avträdda territorierna) is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.
History
The Karelian question arose when
During the
After the
21st century
Karjalan Liitto is an interest group of Karelian evacuees which hopes that Karelia will once again become part of Finland at some point, but does not openly demand it. Some smaller groups, such as ProKarelia, continue to campaign for the peaceful return of Karelia. However, no serious political party has openly supported this goal, and Finnish politicians generally say there is no need for it, citing Finland's peace treaty with Russia. There are some individual politicians who support the return of Karelia, such as MEP Ari Vatanen, and two candidates in the presidential election of 2006: Timo Soini and Arto Lahti. Other candidates have stated that Finland has signed a peace treaty and should not campaign for the return of what are now Russian-developed territories.[12] During a debate prior to the 2012 presidential election Timo Soini reiterated his view that, if elected, he would advance the issue.[13]
Official opinions
Both Russia and Finland have repeatedly stated that no open territorial dispute exists between the two countries. Finland's official stance is that the borders may be changed through peaceful negotiations, although there is currently no need to hold open talks, as Russia has shown no intention of returning the ceded areas, or discussing the question. In 1994 Boris Yeltsin commented that the "seizure of Finnish Karelia" was an example of Stalin's totalitarian and aggressive politics.[14] Later in 1997 he stated that the matter was closed. In 2000 Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that such discussions may endanger Finnish–Russian relations, and in 2001 he said that "changing borders is not the best way to resolve problems", but that possible solutions would be "integration and cooperation".[15]
In 1998 Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari said that "Finland's official position is that it does not have territorial demands on Russia. However, if Russia wants to discuss returning the ceded areas, Finland is ready for that."[16] Several other politicians holding government office, such as the former foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja and prime minister Matti Vanhanen, have made statements along the same lines.[17][18]
When commenting on poll results on 18 January 2005, the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov stated that if Russia were to be asked to return the ceded areas, "the answer would be absolutely negative".[19]
Polls and popular opinion
The latest[
In a poll conducted by the newspaper Karjala and the research institute MC-Info Oy on 13 October 2005, 36% of Finns supported the return of ceded territories, compared to 51% who are opposed. In August 2005, a poll by
Many of the people who were born in Karelia and were evacuated want Karelia to become part of Finland. According to polls, older people (ages 65 and up) and young people (15-25) support the idea more strongly than the generation of their parents (25–65) who grew up during the
Problems and arguments
Price
One of the main reasons for opposing the return is the fear of the costs it would bring. According to another poll conducted by Helsingin Sanomat, 42% of Finns opposing the return list that as the most important single reason. The standard of living on the Russian side of the border is much lower than on the Finnish side.[citation needed] The GDP (PPP) per capita in Finland is about double that of Russia.
The costs of bringing Karelia to the same level with the rest of Finland have been researched only by supporters of the idea. According to a survey conducted by ProKarelia, the area has natural advantages that, under Finnish rule, would make it a centre of trade with Russia and industry and thus bring economic growth fast enough to solve the entire problem. According to both ProKarelian research and Arto Lahti's estimate, the price of return would be about 30 billion euro.[25][26][27]
Population
The area of Karelia ceded to Russia is inhabited mostly by people who moved there from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and their descendants. The fate of these people is a major issue in discussions of the return of Karelia to Finland. According to a poll by Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, 14% of people opposing return said their biggest concern was the tensions that could be caused by a larger Russian-speaking minority in Finland. As of 2004, there were about 370,000 Russians living in the region.[28]
If the inhabitants were allowed to stay in their homes, Finland would receive a few hundred thousand new Russian-speaking people with no experience of living in Finnish society. If services for them in their own language were to be provided, Finland would need many more officials capable of speaking Russian. In ProKarelia's vision, nearly half of the Russian population in Karelia would be estimated to choose to move to Russia,[29] and even more would leave if Finland paid their expenses for doing so.[25] However, most of the Russian-speaking population of Karelia were born there and have spent all their life in the region.
See also
- History of Karelia
- Continuation War
- Former eastern territories of Germany
- Greater Finland
- Interim Peace
- Irredentism
- Kaliningrad question
- Lapland War
- Moscow Armistice
- Moscow Peace Treaty
- Reunification
- Territorial changes of the Baltic states
- Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)
- Unification of Moldova and Romania
- Winter War
- Pan-Finnicism
References
- ^ Karjalan suomalaistilojen korvaukset Sodan jälkeeen. Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Reino Paju 9-15-2003. Retrieved 1-30-2008. (in Finnish)
- ^ Koskesta voimaa – maanhankintalaki. University of Tampere. Retrieved 1-30-2008. (in Finnish)
- ^ Kekkonen nosti Karjala-kysymyksen esiin 1968 Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine (Kekkonen raised Karelia question in 1968) (in Finnish)
- ^ Kekkonen kehottaa karjalaisia vaitioloon Archived 2007-10-17 at the Wayback Machine (Kekkonen suggest to be quiet) (in Finnish)
- ^ Saimaa Canal links two Karelias – This is Finland
- ^ Report: Unofficial offers by Russia in 1991 to return ceded Karelia to Finland - Helsingin Sanomat August 21, 2007
- ^ Koiviston Karjala-selvitys outo asia ulkopolitiikan sisäpiirille STT 15.08.2007 [1] (in Finnish)
- ^ Esko Aho: Karjalan palautus ei kuulosta uskottavalta. YLE Uutiset 16.08.2007 [2]
- ^ Venäläispoliitikko uhkaa haastaa Kainuun Sanomat oikeuteen YLE Uutiset 21.08.2007 [3] (in Finnish)
- ^ Koivisto: Venäjä ei tarjonnut Karjalaa Suomelle Helsingin Sanomat 23.8.2007 [4] (in Finnish)
- ^ HS: Fyodorov: Koivisto ja Väyrynen tiesivät Karjala-tunnusteluista 5.9.2007, accessed 13.3.2008 (in Finnish)
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland [5][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Soini keskustelisi Karjalan palauttamisesta Venäjän kanssa - MTV3.fi - Uutiset - Kotimaa". www.mtv3.fi. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Valtiosihteeri Jukka Valtasaaren puhe Karjalan Liitto ry:n seminaarissa 19.5.1998 Helsingissä Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. (Speech by valtiosihteeri Jukka Valtasaari. Finnish Foreign Ministry 1998-05-19. Retrieved 2015-08-15. (in Finnish)
- ^ Sergei Prozorov: Border Regions and the Politics of EU-Russian Relations, p. 4. January 2004 [6], Helsingin Sanomat 9/5/2001 "HS Foreign 4.9.2001 - Tones of reconciliation during Putin visit". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
- ^ Martti Ahtisaari. In press meeting, Kuopio 30 July 1998.
- ^ Tuomioja's reply to Risto Kuisma's question in Eduskunta [7][permanent dead link]
- YLE's "Pääministerin haastattelutunti" (Interview of the Prime Minister) on 21 November 2004
- ^ Vainio, Riitta: Provokaattoreita ja sovittelijoita, Helsingin Sanomat 21 August 2005. Accessed on 17 September 2019.
- ^ a b HS-Gallup: Selvä enemmistö ei halua Karjalaa takaisin
- ^ Karjalan Liitto and Taloustutkimus Archived 2007-06-23 at archive.today
- ^ "Eg. ProKarelia's article on 17 October 2005". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ Karjalan Liitto and Taloustutkimus, poll Archived 2007-06-23 at archive.today
- ^ Koivisto halusi vaientaa kokonaan keskustelun Karjalan palauttamisesta. (Koivisto wanted to silence discussion about returning Karelia) STT-IA 23 January 1998 "Kekkonen Ja Karjala". Archived from the original on 1998-02-24. Retrieved 2006-05-25. (in Finnish)
- ^ a b "ProKarelia's Reform". Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2006-05-25.
- ^ Karjalan palauttamisen lasketaan kannattavan Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Arto Lahti's lecture in Karjala seminar 23 August 2005 abridgement Archived 2016-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2004 Russian Census". Archived from the original on 2004-08-13. Retrieved 2006-05-25.
- ^ "ProKarelia". Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
External links
- Saimaa Canal links two Karelias, thisisFINLAND
- Helsingin Sanomat 3 March 2005. ProKarelia movement wants back ceded areas
- Sergei Prozorov: Border Regions and the Politics of EU-Russian Relations: The Karelian Question and the EU Logic of 'Border Deproblematisation' (PDF)
- Pertti Joenniemi. Ways of Managing Border Disputes in Present-Day Europe: The Karelian Question
- Mauri Rastas's news collection about returning of Karelia (in Finnish)
- Pre-war Finnish topographic maps of Karelia. E.g. Viipuri (Vyborg) map, 1937
Supporting organizations
Information also available in English:
- Karjalan Liitto
- ProKarelia Archived 2020-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Karelia Forum – Discussion forum concentrated in the Karelia question
Finnish only:
- Aluepalautus ry.
- Tarton Rauha ry.
- KareliaKlubi
- Kansalaisvetoomus, a petition for returning Karelia