Currently, Ingrians live. Indigenous peoples of Ingria

And Estonia. 2010 Census in Russian Federation 441 Ingrians were counted, mainly in Karelia and St. Petersburg. Ingrians are the old-timers of Ingria (Russian Izhora, German Ingermanlandia; the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus). In principle, they should be distinguished from the Finns themselves - later immigrants from various regions of Finland. But the Ingrians themselves have almost completely lost their ethnic identity and consider themselves Finns or assimilated by neighboring peoples. A number of slightly different dialects of the Ingrians belong to the eastern dialects of the Finnish language; Literary Finnish was also widespread. In the past, Ingrians divided themselves into two ethnic groups: Avramoiset and Savakot. The Finns call the Ingrians Inkerilaiset - residents of Inkeri (the Finnish name for Ingria).

Ingrian believers are Lutherans; in the past, there was a small group of Orthodox Christians among the Eurymeiset. The Savakots had widespread sectarianism, including “jumpers,” as well as various movements in Lutheranism (Lestadianism). The Finns appeared on the territory of Ingria mainly after 1617, when these lands were ceded to Sweden under the terms of the Peace of Stolbovo. A certain number of Finnish settlers existed here earlier, from the 14th century, after the conclusion of the Shlisselburg (Orekhovets) Peace Treaty. The main influx of Finnish colonists occurred in the mid-17th century, when the Swedes began to force local residents to accept Lutheranism and closed Orthodox churches. This caused a mass exodus of the Orthodox (Izhorian, Votic, Russian and Karelian) population to Russia. The empty lands were occupied by Finnish settlers.

Settlers from the immediate regions of Finland, in particular from the Euräpää parish, which occupied the northwestern part of the Karelian Isthmus, as well as from the neighboring parishes of Jäeski, Lapes, Rantasalmi and Käkisalmi (Kexholm), were called Eurämäset (people from Euräpää). Part of the Eurymeiset occupied the nearest lands of the Karelian Isthmus, the other settled on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland between Strelnaya and the lower reaches of the Kovashi River. A significant group of Eurymeiset lived on the left bank of the Tosna River and near Dudergof.

A group of immigrants from Eastern Finland (the historical region of Savo) is known as Savakot. Numerically, it prevailed over the Eurymeset. In the mid-18th century, out of 72 thousand Ingrians, almost 44 thousand were Savakot. The number of immigrants from other parts of Finland was insignificant before the 19th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the formation took place ethnic group Ingrians. This process accelerated after Ingria became part of Russia and the severance of ties with Finland. After Finland joined Russia, the influx of Finns into the territory of Ingria resumed, but was no longer as significant as before and the Finns did not mix with the Ingrians. In addition, the main flow of immigrants from Finland was sent not to Ingermanland, but to other regions of the Russian Empire.

Despite their great similarity in language, religion, and customs, Savakot and Eurymeiset developed for a long time in isolation from each other. The Eurymeiset considered the rest of the Finns to be late newcomers and refrained from marrying them. Evrymeiset women, who went to the Savakot village after marriage, tried to wear their traditional clothes and preserve in the minds of their children the concept of their maternal origin. The Ingrians generally remained isolated from the neighboring population - the Vodi, Izhora, and Russians.

The main occupation of the Ingrians was agriculture, which, due to the lack of land and poor soil, was unprofitable. Limited area pasture lands hampered the development of livestock farming. The forced three-field system persisted for a long time, which hampered the development of more intensive forms of crop rotation. Cereals were mainly rye, spring barley, oats, and industrial crops were flax and hemp, which were used for household needs (making nets, bags, ropes). In the 19th century important place took potatoes; in some villages it was grown for sale. Among the vegetable crops, cabbage went to the market, partly in pickled form.

On average, a peasant yard had 2-3 cows, 5-6 sheep, they usually kept a pig, and several chickens. Ingrians sold veal and pork at St. Petersburg markets and bred geese for sale. Among the St. Petersburg retailers, “Okhtenki” were typical, selling milk, butter, sour cream and cottage cheese (originally this name applied to the residents of the Ingrian villages near Okhten).

On the coast of the Gulf of Finland, the Ingrians had developed fishing (mainly winter fishing for herring); fishermen went out onto the ice with sleighs and board huts in which they lived. The Ingrians were engaged in various auxiliary work and waste trades - they were hired to cut wood, peeled bark for tanning leather, drove cabs, and in winter, cab drivers (“wakes”) worked part-time in St. Petersburg, especially during the Maslenitsa riding season. On the farm and traditional culture Ingrian peoples archaic features were combined with innovations that were part of daily life due to the proximity of the capital of the Russian Empire.

The Ingrians lived in villages; their layout had no specific features. The dwelling consisted of one living room and a cold entryway. Chicken stoves were preserved for a long time. The stoves were ovens (like a Russian stove), but they were placed on a stone stove, as in Eastern Finland. A hanging cauldron was fixed above the pole. With the improvement of the stove and the advent of the chimney, pyramidal caps over the hearth became characteristic, into which a stove with a firebox was built. In the hut they made fixed benches along the walls, on which they sat and slept. The baby's cradle was suspended. Later the dwelling developed into a three-chamber building. When the dwelling was placed facing the street, the front hut was a winter hut, and the back one served as a summer dwelling. The Ingrians maintained a large family for a long time, for married sons separate rooms were added, which did not mean separating them from the family.

The men wore the same clothes as the surrounding Russian and Karelian population: cloth trousers, a linen shirt, a gray cloth caftan at the waist with wedges extending it from the waist. Festive high boots were also worn in the summer on major holidays - they served as a symbol of prosperity. Along with felt hats, city caps were also worn. Women's clothing differed between eurymeiset and savakot. Eurymeset clothing had local differences. The clothes of Ingrian women in Duderhof (Tuutari) were considered the most beautiful. Women's shirts had a chest slit on the side, on the left side, and in the middle of the chest there was a trapezoidal embroidered bib - recco. The incision was fastened with a round fibula. The sleeves of the shirt were long, with a cuff at the wrist. A sundress-type clothing was worn over the top - a blue skirt sewn to a bodice with armholes made of red cloth. The girl's head was tied with a cloth ribbon decorated with white beads and tin stripes. Women wore a junta on their heads - a small circle of white fabric, fastened to the hair above the forehead at the parting. Hair was cut, girls usually wore short hairstyles with bangs. On the Karelian Isthmus, among the Orthodox Evrymeyset, married women wore magpie-type headdresses with a richly embroidered headband and a small “tail” at the back. Here, girls braided their hair in one braid, and after getting married - in two braids, which were placed on the crown of the head like a crown.

In Tyur (Peterhof - Oranienbaum) married women also wore evrymeyset long hair, twisting them with a tight cord (suckeret) under towel headdresses. In Western Ingria (Koporye - Soykinsky Peninsula) hair bundles were not made; hair was hidden under a white towel headdress. Here they wore simple white shirts (without a recco bib) and skirts. The evrymeyset's apron was striped wool, and on holidays it was white, decorated with red cross stitch and fringe. Warm clothing was a white or gray cloth caftan and sheepskin coats; in the summer they wore “kostoli” - a hip-length linen caftan. The wearing of leggings sewn from linen (red cloth in winter) to cover the shins was preserved for a long time.

Savakot women had shirts with wide sleeves that were pulled up to the elbow. The shirt had a slit in the middle of the chest and was fastened with a button. The waist-length clothing was colorful skirts, often checkered. On holidays, a woolen or calico one was worn over an everyday skirt. With a skirt they wore either a sleeveless bodice or jackets that were fastened at the waist and at the collar. A white apron was required. Head and shoulder scarves were widely used. In some villages of Western Ingria, Savakot switched to wearing Russian-style sundresses. At the end of the 19th century, in many localities, eurymeiset began to switch to the Savakot type of clothing.

The basis of nutrition was sour soft rye bread, cereal porridge and flour. It is typical to eat both salted mushrooms and mushroom soups, and use flaxseed oil.

The Ingrian wedding ceremony retained archaic features. Matchmaking had a multi-stage nature with repeated visits of matchmakers, a visit by the bride to the groom's house, and the exchange of collateral. After the agreement, the bride went around the surrounding villages, collecting “help” for her dowry: she was given flax, wool, ready-made towels, and mittens. This custom, which dates back to the ancient traditions of collective mutual assistance, was preserved at the end of the 19th century only on the outskirts of Finland. The wedding was usually preceded wedding ceremony, and from the church the married couple left for their homes. The wedding consisted of celebrations in the bride’s house - “leaving” (laksiaiset) and the actual wedding “haat”, which was celebrated in the groom’s house.

In Ingria, many Finnish fairy tales, legends, tales, sayings, songs, both runic and rhymed, are collected, laments and laments are recorded. However, from this heritage it is difficult to single out Ingrian folklore itself. The Ingrians are characterized by songs with rhymed verse, especially round dances and swing songs, close in form to Russian ditties. Dance songs are known, in particular for rentuske - a square dance type dance.

The Lutheran Church promoted early literacy. Gradually, secular primary schools emerged in Finnish-speaking parishes. At the end of the 19th century there were 38 Finnish schools in Ingria, including three in St. Petersburg. Rural libraries, which arose in parish centers from the mid-19th century, also contributed to maintaining knowledge of the Finnish language. In 1870, the first newspaper in Finnish, Pietarin Sanomat, was published in St. Petersburg.

The teaching of Finnish in schools was discontinued in 1937. In 1938, the activities of Lutheran church communities were banned. Back in the late 1920s, during dispossession, many Ingrians were deported to other regions of the country. In 1935-1936, a “cleansing” of the border areas of the Leningrad region from “suspicious elements” was carried out, during which a significant part of the Ingrians were evicted to Vologda region and other regions of the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, about two-thirds of Soviet Finns ended up in the occupied territories and, at the request of the Finnish authorities, were evacuated to Finland (about 60 thousand people). After the conclusion of the peace treaty between the USSR and Finland, the evacuated population was returned to the USSR, but did not receive the right to settle in their previous places of residence. As a result, over several decades, the Ingrians were almost completely assimilated into larger ethnic groups.

Faces of Russia. “Living together while remaining different”

The multimedia project “Faces of Russia” has existed since 2006, talking about Russian civilization, the most important feature of which is the ability to live together while remaining different - this motto is especially relevant for the countries of the entire post-Soviet space. From 2006 to 2012, as part of the project, we created 60 documentaries about representatives of different Russian ethnic groups. Also, 2 cycles of radio programs “Music and Songs of the Peoples of Russia” were created - more than 40 programs. Illustrated almanacs were published to support the first series of films. Now we are halfway to creating a unique multimedia encyclopedia of the peoples of our country, a snapshot that will allow the residents of Russia to recognize themselves and leave a legacy for posterity with a picture of what they were like.

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"Faces of Russia". Ingrians. 2011

FINNS-INGERMANLANDANS, St. Petersburg Finns, people in the Russian Federation, subethnic group of Finns. The population in the Russian Federation is 47.1 thousand people, including in Karelia - 18.4 thousand people, in the Leningrad region (mainly Gatchina and Vsevolozhsk districts) - about 11.8 thousand people, in St. Petersburg - 5, 5 thousand people. They also live in Estonia (about 16.6 thousand people). The total number is about 67 thousand people. According to the 2002 Population Census, the number Ingrian Finns living in Russia is 300 people.

The language (a number of slightly different dialects) belongs to the eastern dialects of the Finnish language. Literary Finnish is also widely spoken. Self-name - Finns (suomalayset), inkerilaiset, i.e. residents of Inkeri (Finnish name for Izhora land, or Ingria - the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus, Germanized name - Ingria).

Believing Ingrian Finns are Lutherans. In the past, there was a small group of Orthodox Christians among the Eurymeiset. The Savakots had widespread sectarianism (including “jumpers”), as well as various pietistic movements (Lestadianism).

The mass resettlement of Finns to the territory of Ingria began after 1617, when these lands, under the terms of the Stolbovo Treaty, were ceded to Sweden, which at that time included Finland. The main influx of Finnish colonists occurred in the mid-17th century, when the Swedish government began to force the conversion of local residents to Lutheranism and close Orthodox churches. This caused a mass exodus of the Orthodox (Izhorian, Votic, Russian and Karelian) population to the southern lands that belonged to Russia. The empty lands were quickly occupied by Finnish settlers. Settlers from the nearest regions of Finland, in particular from the parish of Euräpää and its neighboring parishes in the north-west of the Karelian Isthmus, were called eurymeiset, i.e. people from Euryapää. The Savakot ethnographic group, formed by settlers from Eastern Finland (the historical lands of Savonia), was more numerous: in the mid-18th century, out of 72 thousand Ingrian Finns, almost 44 thousand were Savakots. The influx of Finns into the territory of Ingria also occurred in the 19th century. The Ingrian Finns had little contact with the indigenous population of this region.

At the end of the 1920s and 30s, many Ingrian Finns were deported to other regions of the country. During the Great Patriotic War, about 2/3 of the Ingrian Finns ended up in the occupied territories and were evacuated to Finland (about 60 thousand people). After the conclusion of the peace treaty between the USSR and Finland, the evacuated population was returned to the USSR, but did not receive the right to settle in their previous places of residence. Since the late 1980s, a movement has developed among Ingrian Finns to restore cultural autonomy and return to their old habitats.

N.V. Shlygina

Finnish is spoken by the Baltic-Finnish subgroup of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic family. Dialects are divided into Western and Eastern groups. The modern literary language is based on Western dialects with the inclusion of Eastern vocabulary. Writing based on Latin script.

The believers are mostly Lutherans. Various Pietist movements are widespread: Herrnhuters (from the 1730s), Prayerists (from the 1750s), Awakeners (from the 1830s), Laestadians (from the 1840s), Evangelists (from 1840 's), Free Church, Methodists, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. There is a small number (1.5%) of Orthodox Christians in the southeastern regions (and immigrants from there).

The ancestors of the Finns - the Baltic-Finnish tribes - penetrated into the territory of modern Finland in the 3rd millennium BC and by the 8th century they settled most of it, pushing the Sami population to the north and partially assimilating it. The Finnish people were formed in the process of merging the southwestern tribes of the Suomi (in the Old Russian chronicles - Sum), Hame (Old Russian Em), who lived in the central part of Finland, the eastern Savo tribe, as well as the western (Vyborg and Saima) groups of Karelians (see Karelians). The eastern regions of the country were characterized by contacts with the Ladoga region and the Upper Volga region, and the southwestern regions with Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Finnish lands were conquered by the Swedes. The long-term Swedish rule left a noticeable imprint on Finnish culture (agrarian relations, social institutions, etc.). The Swedish conquest was accompanied by the forced Christianization of the Finns. During the Reformation (16th century), Finnish writing was created. However, the Finnish language remained only a language of worship and everyday communication until the 2nd half of the 19th century, when it received formal equality with the Swedish language. In reality, it began to be implemented in independent Finland. Swedish remains the second official language of Finland.

From 1809 to 1917 Finland, with the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy, was part of the Russian Empire. In December 1917, the independence of Finland was proclaimed, and in July 1919 it became a republic.

Finnish folk culture shows differences between Western and Eastern Finland. The ethnographic border between them runs along the line of the modern cities of Kotka, Jyväskylä, then between Oulu and Raahe. In the West, the influence of Swedish culture is more noticeable. Until the end of the 19th century, agriculture was dominated by farming. In the east in the Middle Ages, the main form was slash-and-burn agriculture; in the southwest, a fallow arable system developed early; Since the end of the 19th century, multi-field crop rotation began to be introduced. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, dairy farming became the leading industry. Traditional crafts are marine (fishing, seal hunting, sailing), forest (tar smoking), woodworking (including the manufacture of wooden utensils). More than 33% of modern Finns are employed in industry, about 9% in agriculture and forestry.

Peasant settlements in the southwest of the country until the 16th-17th centuries were cumulus villages; from the 18th century, with the spread of farmstead land use, a scattered village layout began to predominate. In the east, due to the slash-and-burn farming system, small settlements, often single-yard ones, predominated; villages arose only where there were large areas of land suitable for constant cultivation. The traditional dwelling is a log house of elongated proportions with a gable roof covered with shingles. Since the 18th century, the south of Pohjanmaa has been characterized by a two-story house. The most important outbuildings were a barn, a bathhouse (sauna), and cages (in the southwest they were often two-story; the top floor was used for sleeping in the summer). In the southwest of Finland, a residential building and outbuildings formed a closed quadrangular courtyard; in the east, the courtyards have an open layout. Dwellings in the west and east of the country differed in the design of the stove: the west is characterized by a combination of a heating-bread stove and an open hearth for cooking food, and the early appearance of chimneys; In the East, an oven close to the so-called Russian oven is common. The interior of a Western peasant house is characterized by bunk and sliding beds, cradles on curved runners, and a variety of cabinet shapes. Polychrome painting and carvings were widespread, covering furniture and utensils (spinning wheels, rakes, clamp pliers, etc.). The living space was decorated with woven products (blankets, holiday bedspreads, curtains for bunk beds), and ruyu pile carpets. In the east, archaic forms of furniture were preserved for a long time - wall benches, fixed beds, hanging cradles, wall shelves, cabinets. Traditional architecture and decoration from the east of the country had a great influence on Finnish architecture and art during the so-called “national romanticism” period of the late 19th century.

Traditional women's clothing - a shirt, blouses of various cuts, a skirt (mostly striped), a woolen sleeveless bodice or jacket, an apron, for married women - a linen or silk headdress on a rigid basis with lace trim; girls wore open headdresses in the form of a crown or headband. Men's clothing - shirt, knee-length pants, vests, jackets, caftans. In the east, a women's shirt with embroidery and an oblique cut on the chest, a white homespun or linen semi-long sundress (viita), a towel headdress, and caps were preserved for a long time. Embroidery patterns reflected Karelian and North Russian influence. Folk forms clothes disappear early, especially in the west of the country. Their revival and the formation of the so-called national costume occurs in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, during the period of the national movement. This costume still retains its festive and symbolic role today.

There were differences in the traditional food of the Western and Eastern Finns: in the East, tall soft bread was regularly baked, in the West, bread was baked 2 times a year in the form of round flat dry cakes with a hole in the middle and stored on poles under the ceiling. In the east they made lumpy curdled milk, in the west - stretchy forms of fermented milk, they also made homemade cheese. Only in the east were baked closed pies (including rybniks) and “wicket” type pies, only in the extreme southeast was daily consumption of tea accepted. In the western regions it is traditional to make beer, in the east - malt or bread kvass.

Small family. Large families, both paternal and fraternal, survived until the 19th century in the northwest of the country in Pohjanmaa, in the northeast in Kainuu, in the southeast in Karjala, where they existed until the 20th century.

The wedding ritual in Western Finland was distinguished by Swedish influences and borrowings from church rites: wedding at home, “gate of honor”, ​​“wedding pole” in the yard, wedding under the canopy (“himmeli”), bride’s wedding crown, etc. The eastern Finns retained the archaic a form of wedding, with a three-part ritual of the bride’s “leaving” from her father’s house, moving (wedding train) to the groom’s house and the actual wedding-hyayat in his house. Many rituals were aimed at protecting the bride from evil spirits (when moving to the groom’s house, her face was covered with a veil, a knife was taken into the cart, etc.) and ensuring the fertility of the marriage.

Of the calendar holidays, the most important are Christmas and Midsummer's Day (Juhannus, Mittumaarja). During their conduct, various pre-Christian rituals were preserved, for example, making bonfires on Midsummer's Day. There was a belief in guardian spirits, troll witches, various protective actions, etc.

In folklore they occupy a special place epic songs runic size. Based on runes collected in Karelia, Eastern Finland and Ingermanland, E. Lönnrot compiled the epic “Kalevala” (1835), which became a symbol of the Finnish national movement.

N.V. Shlygina

One’s own land is strawberries, someone else’s land is blueberries / Oma maa mansikka; muu maa mustikka

Finland is called the Land of a Thousand Lakes. In fact, there are much more of them: about 190 thousand! Lakes occupy almost 9% of the entire territory of the country.

What happened before the lakes? To the forests? Before, when there was no land at all?

Initially, there was only an endless ocean. A lone bird flew above him in search of a nest. Exactly which one is unknown. Ancient runes differ on this issue. It could be a duck, a goose, an eagle, or even a swallow. In a word, a bird.

It was the bird that saw the knee of the first human being, which stuck out of the water. This was the tribe of the wise old man Väinämöinen or (in another rune) his mother, the heavenly maiden Ilmatar.

The bird laid an egg right on his knee... From this primary material the creator bird created the world. In some runes, the world is created by the first man Väinämöinen, and the firmament is forged by the blacksmith Ilmarinen.

From the top half of the egg the sky was created. From the bottom - the earth, from the yolk - the sun. From the protein - the moon, from the shell - the stars.

So, the creation of the universe is more or less clear, but how did it happen that the Finns became exactly what they are today?

Finn relies only on himself

The question is difficult, but it can be answered. The Finnish national character, so to speak, was forged from confrontation with nature. This is where the primary characteristic of Finnish consciousness begins. Everything about him is determined by the desire to conquer nature. And what's most interesting ( respectful): in the fight against the natural elements, the Finn relies only on himself. That is why he attaches such importance to himself, convincing himself of his abilities. In the Finn's mind, man is a truly powerful creature, called to conquer the elements. We see this in the epic “Kalevala”.

In fairy tales, this theme of knowing the secret codes of nature is also reflected, sometimes even slightly in a comic form. Here, for example, is “The Peasant’s Prediction.”

Once upon a time there lived a king and a peasant, and the peasant's meadows and fields were so close to the royal palace that the owner had to pass through the courtyard of the royal castle every time on the way to his lands. One day a peasant went on a horse to buy some vein. When he was returning from the meadows through the royal courtyard, the king happened to be in the courtyard of his castle, and he began to scold the peasant.

How dare you, you idiot, drive through my yard with your hay, aren’t you ashamed?!

Sorry, dear king,” replied the peasant. “But the fact is that there will soon be a thunderstorm, it will begin to rain, and if I drove along the long circular road, I would not make it before the rain began to pour down, and my hay would get wet.” That's why I hurried straight ahead with the hay.

Well,” said the king, “how do you know this?”

Great sovereign! - answered the peasant. - I know from my mare's tail. Look how the gadflies crawl under your tail. And this sure sign that there will be bad weather.

That’s how... - said the king and allowed the peasant to pass.

After this, the king went to the tower of the palace astrologer and asked the fortuneteller whether it would rain today. The astrologer took the telescope, looked at the sky and said:

No, Mr. King, there will not be a single tear, not a single drop, today, tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow, but then, maybe there will be.

“I see,” said the king and descended from the tower to go to his chambers. But on the way to the palace, the king was overtaken by such heavy rain and a terrible thunderstorm that the king was wet to the skin. Finally he got, all dirty, to his palace and immediately called the fortuneteller to him.

You, unfortunate astrologer, will have to make room, since you understand nothing about the weather, while a stupid and uncouth peasant, looking at the tail of his mare, sees when it will rain and when there will be a bucket, - the king told him and dismissed him with positions, sending him to the stable to remove manure.

And the king summoned the peasant to himself and gave him possession of the astrologer’s tower and the proper title, giving him the same salary as the previous fortuneteller received. Thus, thanks to horseflies and a gadfly, the peasant became the king’s friend, to the envy of all the courtiers.

Finns love themselves

Finns love themselves in a way that few nations love themselves. In general, there are few peoples who love themselves, and the Finns are one of them. In the consciousness of most peoples there is a certain perfect image, or attributed to the golden age in the past, and one’s own inconsistency with this image is acutely felt.

The Finns have almost no such dissatisfaction. Finn, in essence, does not need the highest sanction; he achieved his exceptional position in the world himself. This explains the Finns’ emphasized respect for themselves, which surprised many researchers. Finn behaves with dignity, never begs for tea, even avoids a hint of it, although he will not refuse to take an increase on occasion, he will not even mention it, and whether they add something to him at the time of payment or not, he will equally thank him when he receives the agreed upon fee.

Finn depends extremely little on the team. A Finnish peasant lives on a farm. He does not often communicate with his neighbors, he is withdrawn family circle and sees no particular need to break this circle. After Sunday lunch the owner will not go to visit. And why would he run away from home? His wife is his best friend, children respect him. Finn is almost entirely focused on himself. His eyes, sometimes beautiful and expressive, look somehow into themselves, he is closed and silent. Finn goes to fight nature one-on-one.

Still at the end XVIII century Finland was called the land of sorcerers. The sorcerers themselves firmly believed in their art and, as a rule, passed it on to their children, which is why it was considered the property of entire families.

Enchant nature to conquer

Since ancient times the Finns believed greatest wisdom knowledge of the hidden forces of nature, believing that a word can make nature act as a person pleases. How wiser man, the stronger the influence of his word on the surrounding nature, the more it is subject to him. Since ancient times, the Finns were more famous than others for their sorcerers. The Finns tried to bewitch nature and thus conquer it. This is one of the adequate expressions of the content inherent in the Finn’s consciousness. A sorcerer is like a superman. He is lonely and proud. He is closed in and on himself. He can go out to duel with nature. His goal is to force the alien forces of nature to obey his word, his desire.

The Finns' relationship with God is almost contractual. They are ordered and extremely rationalized. Lutheranism is a purely individual religion. There is no conciliarity in it, everyone is on his own. There is no mysticism in it either. Its instructions are strict and simple. The liturgical rite is strict and simple. A person must work. Must be a respectable family man, raise children, help the poor. The Finn does all this with the greatest diligence. But in this very correctness and moderation passion shines through. This rationality itself takes on magical features.

The goal of conquering nature was and remains the main content of the Finn’s consciousness. Finn, even in our time, continues to recognize himself as a lone fighter, obliging everything to himself and counting on his own strengths or God, but not on God’s mercy and pity, but on God as a reliable collaborator with whom the Finn enters into a contract, pledging to lead a virtuous life in exchange for His protection.

Finn follows the contract to the letter. His religious life is very correct and orderly. It was considered an unforgivable crime for a Finn to miss a church service. Even at the post station there was a sign with the rule: “No one, except in extreme need, has the right to demand a horse and travel during worship on Sundays.”

The ability to read is considered a religious duty by Finns. After all, every Lutheran must know the text of Holy Scripture and be able to interpret it. Therefore, literacy in Finland was already 100% in the 20th century.

Finns read everywhere: in cafes and on trains. It is the Finnish character that can explain the Finns’ love for the harsh and uncompromising poetry of Joseph Brodsky. It is this poet who enjoys incredible success in the Land of Blue Lakes.

Laugh at yourself

This is another feature of the Finnish character. It turns out that Finns love jokes about themselves. And they willingly compose them themselves. And when they meet, they exchange new products. And this can also be seen as a healthy start. People who can laugh at themselves are truly capable of great things. Finns can even joke about their favorite sauna. “The sauna can be used by anyone who can reach it.”

Here are a few anecdotal stories that have become a kind of classic of the genre.

Three Finn brothers are sitting fishing on the Gulf of Finland. Morning, the sun begins to rise, the younger brother says: “Nah kluyett.”

Well, it’s already day, the sun is high...

The middle brother says: “Taa, it just won’t bite.”

Well, it’s already evening, the sun has already set, well, the older brother says:

You chat a lot and it gets bitten...

Raaime, are you married?

Naette, I'm not married.

But the guys have kaaltso on the paaltz!

ABOUT! Already married! How letitt frammyaya!

Toivo means hope

Finnish names... do they mean something? Finnish names adopted in the Lutheran Finnish calendar are heterogeneous in their origin. Ancient, pagan names occupy a significant place. These are names that still retain a connection with the words from which they originated.

For example: Ainikki (the only one), Armas (beloved), Arvo (dignity, honor), Ilma (air), Into (inspiration), Kauko (distance), Lempi (love), Onni (happiness), Orvokki (violet), Rauha (peace), Sikka (grasshopper), Sulo (lovely), Taimi (sprout), Taisto (struggle), Tarmo (energy, strength), Toivo (hope), Uljas (brave), Urho (hero, hero), Vuokko ( snowdrop).

Another part of the names was borrowed from Germanic and some other peoples. But these borrowed names have undergone such significant linguistic processing on Finnish soil that they are now perceived as originally Finnish, although they are not associated with any meaning.

With Finnish surnames the situation is different. All Finnish surnames are derived from native Finnish significant words. Surnames of foreign origin are recognized by native speakers as foreign.

Finnish given names are placed before the surname. Very often, a child is given two or even three names at birth. The names preceding the surname are not declined - only the surname changes. For example: Toivo Letinen (Toivo Lehtinen) - Toivo Lehtiselle (Toivo Lehtinen). The emphasis in names, as in Finnish in general, falls on the first syllable.

It's interesting to know what Finnish names correspond to Russian ones. In fact, there aren't that many of them. For example, names such as Akhti or Aimo have no correspondence in the Russian language. But the name Antti corresponds to the Russian name Andrey.

Let's list a few more Finnish names along with their Russian counterparts: Juhani - Ivan, Marty - Martyn, Matti - Matvey, Mikko - Mikhail, Niilo - Nikolay, Paavo - Pavel, Pauli - Pavel, Pekka - Peter, Pietari - Peter, Santeri - Alexander, Simo - Semyon, Vikhtori - Victor. Women's list will be like this: Annie - Anna, Helena - Elena. Irene - Irina, Katri - Ekaterina, Leena - Elena, Liisa - Elizaveta, Marta - Martha.

The Russian language has close ties with Finnish, or more precisely, with the group of Finno-Ugric languages. It so happened historically that the lands of northern Rus' (and then Muscovy) were practically surrounded by peoples who spoke Finno-Ugric languages. This includes the Baltic region, and the northeastern forests, near the Arctic Circle, and the Urals, and many nomadic tribes that lived in the southern steppes.

To this day, linguists argue about which words passed from whom to whom. For example, there is a version that the word “tundra”, which passed into the Russian language, comes from the Finnish word “tunturi”. But with the rest of the words, everything is far from so simple. Russian word Does "boot" come from the Finnish word "saappaat" or vice versa?

Aphorism boom in Finland

Of course, there are proverbs and sayings in Finland. Books are also published in which these proverbs are collected.

The sauna is a pharmacy for the poor. Sauna öä apteekki.

One's own land is strawberries, someone else's land is blueberries. Oma maa mansikka; muu maa mustikka.

The Finns honor not only folk wisdom, but also modern wisdom, that is, aphorisms. In Finland there is an association that unites authors working in the aphorism genre. They publish books and anthologies. They have their own website on the Internet (.aforismi.vuodatus.).

The 2011 anthology “Tiheiden ajatusten kirja” (Close to thoughts on paper) contains aphorisms from 107 authors. Every year in Finland there is a competition for the best author of aphorisms (the Samuli Paronen competition). Not only writers, poets, journalists, but also people of other professions take part in this competition. It can be said without any exaggeration that all of Finland is passionate about both reading aphorisms and composing them. It is with great pleasure that we introduce the works modern authors aphorisms.

Every person is the architect of his own happiness. And if someone wants to forge eternal chains for themselves, then this is their personal right. Paavo Haavikko

The most common type of classification: me and the rest. Torsti Lehtinen

When you become very old, you are not afraid to be young. Helena Anhava

Slowness (slowness) is the soul of pleasure. Markku Envall

Don't confuse God's sycophants with angels. Eero Suvilehto

It is very possible that some modern Finnish aphorisms will go among the people and become proverbs.

Statistics

Original taken from nord_ursus in The Shelter of the Poor Chukhonets: the history of the Finnish population in the vicinity of St. Petersburg

The second largest city in the country, St. Petersburg, is located at the northwestern borders, directly adjacent to the borders with Finland and Estonia. The history of this region, which is called the Izhora Land, Ingermanlandia, the Nevsky Territory, or simply the Leningrad Region, contains a valuable layer of cultural and historical heritage left by the Finno-Ugric peoples who lived here. And now, when traveling outside of St. Petersburg, every now and then you come across the names of villages and villages with seemingly Russian endings, but still not quite familiar to the Russian ear with roots - Vaskelovo, Pargolovo, Kuyvozi, Agalatovo, Yukki and so on. Here, among dense forests and swamps, the “Chukhons” have long lived - as the Russians called the Finno-Ugric peoples - Izhoras, Vods, Finns, Vepsians. This word, in turn, comes from the ethnonym Chud - the common name of the Baltic-Finnish peoples. Now there are few Chukhons left near St. Petersburg - some have left for last years, some simply Russified and assimilated, others simply hide their belonging to the Finno-Ugric people. In this article I will try to shed at least a little light on the fate of these small peoples in the vicinity of the Northern Capital.

Map of Ingria. 1727

Finno-Ugric tribes - such as Izhora, Vod, Ves, Korela - have since ancient times inhabited the territories along the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Neva River and Lake Ladoga. These tribes were characterized by slash-and-burn agriculture; in the more northern area they had higher value hunting and cattle breeding, as well as fishing along the seashores. According to the currently available results of archaeological research, the settlement of these lands by the Slavs began in the 6th century, when the Krivichi tribes moved here, and continued in the 8th century, when the territories were inhabited by the Ilmen Slovenes. The prerequisites for the emergence of a state are taking shape. According to traditional Russian historiography, the founding date of Veliky Novgorod is considered to be 859, and 862, the date of the beginning of the reign of Rurik, is considered the date of the emergence of the Russian state. Novgorod was one of the most powerful centers of Ancient Rus'. The possessions of Novgorod during the period of its greatest prosperity occupied an area larger than the modern Northwestern Federal District - then both the White Sea and Kola Peninsula, and Pomorie and even the Polar Urals.

Thus, the Baltic-Finnish peoples living near the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga also found themselves under the rule of a powerful northern state, through which the trade route “From the Varangians to the Greeks” passed. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions that Kyiv prince Oleg, during his campaign against Constantinople in 907, took with him, among other tribes, the “Chud”, that is, Finno-Ugric tribes living close to the Baltic:

“In the year 6415 Oleg went against the Greeks, leaving Igor in Kyiv; he took with him many Varangians, and Slovens, and Chuds, and Krivichi, and Meryu, and Drevlyans, and Radimichi, and Polans, and Northerners, and Vyatichi, and Croats, and Dulebs, and Tivertsi, known as interpreters: these were all called Greeks "Great Scythia."

In the second half of the 12th century, in the bull of Pope Alexander III, sent to the Uppsala bishop Stephen, the first historical mention of the pagan Izhora people, who are called “Ingris” in the text, is found. At the same time, the territory of present-day Finland has been under the rule of the Swedes since 1155, after the Swedish king Eric IX carried out a crusade and conquered the Finnish tribes living in the north of the Baltic - em (in Russian pronunciation the name yam is more common (from the Finnish yaamit (jäämit) )), from it came the name of the city of Yamburg) and sum (suomi). In 1228, in Russian chronicles, the Izhorians are already mentioned as allies of Novgorod, who participated together with the Novgorodians in the defeat of the detachments of the Finnish tribe Em, who invaded the Novgorod land in alliance with the Swedes:

“The last remaining Izherians sent them running, and beat them up a lot, but to no avail they ran away, where anyone saw.”

Looking ahead, we can say that it was then that the civilizational division of the Finnish tribes began through belonging to different states. Izhora, Vod, Vse and Korela found themselves as part of Orthodox Rus' and themselves gradually accepted Orthodoxy, and sum and em became part of Catholic Sweden. Now Finnish tribes close in blood fought on opposite sides of the front - civilizational (including religious) division took precedence over blood affinity.

Meanwhile, in 1237, the Teutonic Order carried out a successful expansion into the Baltic states, capturing Livonia, and strengthened itself on the Russian borders, founding the Koporye fortress. Novgorod escaped the destruction Mongol invasion while a serious threat arose from the western side. From the very moment the Swedes consolidated their position in Finland, the Karelian Isthmus and the mouth of the Neva became the site of territorial disputes between Novgorod Rus and Sweden. And on July 15, 1240, the Swedes, under the leadership of Earl Birger Magnusson, attacked Rus'. A battle takes place at the confluence of the Izhora River (named after the tribe) into the Neva, known as the Battle of Neva, as a result of which the Novgorod army under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who received the nickname Nevsky as a result of the battle, wins. Mentions of the help of the Finno-Ugrians to the Russian army can be seen here. The chronicles mention “a certain man named Pelgusy (Pelguy, Pelkonen), who was an elder in the Izhora land, and he was entrusted with the protection of the sea coast: and he received holy baptism and lived in the midst of his family, a filthy creature, and in holy baptism the name Philip was given to him ». In 1241, Alexander Nevsky began to liberate the western part of Novgorod land, and on April 5, 1242, his army defeated the Teutonic Order on the ice of Lake Peipsi (Battle of the Ice).

In the 13th century, most of the Izhorians, Vozhans (vod) and Karelians converted to Orthodoxy. IN administrative division In the Novgorod land there appears such a unit as the Vodskaya Pyatina, which was named after the Vod people. In 1280, Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich strengthened the western borders of the Novgorod Republic, when, by his decree, the stone fortress of Koporye (Finnish Caprio) was built - on the same place where the Germans built a wooden fortress in 1237. A little to the west the Yam fortress was built (formerly Yamburg, now the city of Kingisepp). In 1323, in the Novgorod fortress of Oreshek at the source of the Neva, the Orekhovets Peace Treaty was concluded between Novgorod and Sweden, establishing the first border between these two states. The Karelian Isthmus was divided in two. Its western part, where the Swedes founded the city of Vyborg in 1293, went to Sweden, and the eastern part with the Korela fortress and Lake Ladoga went to Novgorod. According to the terms of the agreement, Novgorod transferred to Sweden “for love, three churchyards of Sevilakshyu(Savolax, now part of Finland) , Jaski(Yaskis or Yaaski, - now the village of Lesogorsky, Vyborg region) , Ogrebu(Euryapää, now the village of Baryshevo, Vyborg district) - Korelsky churchyard". As a result, part of the Korela tribe began to live in Sweden and, being converted to Catholicism, took part in the ethnogenesis of the Finns.

Koporye fortress. Nowadays it is part of the Lomonosovsky district of the Leningrad region

Novgorod-Swedish border along the Orekhovetsky world. 1323

Thus, in the 14th century we observe the following picture of the settlement of the Baltic-Finnish peoples: Finns and Sami live in Sweden, Karelians, Vepsians, Vodians and Izhoras live in the Novgorod Republic, Estonians live in the Livonian Order. In 1478, the Novgorod land was conquered by the Moscow prince Ivan III and became part of the centralized Russian state. In 1492, by decree of the prince, the Ivangorod fortress was built on the western border, opposite the Livonian castle of Narva (Rugodiv). Under Ivan IV the Terrible, after the end of the Livonian War, Russia in 1583 concluded the Truce of Plyus with Sweden, which leads to changes in the state border - now the western part of the Izhora land with the fortresses of Koporye, Yam and Ivangorod, as well as the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus with the Korela fortress go to Sweden, which in turn annexes Estland, that is, the northern part of the Livonian Order (Livonia itself goes to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Now part of Izhora and Voda also comes under Swedish rule.

Change of borders according to the Plyus truce. 1583 Territories ceded to Sweden are shown in grey.

But only seven years have passed since Russia took revenge for the results of the Livonian War. As a result of the Russian-Swedish war of 1590-1593, Russia returns both the Karelian Isthmus and the western part of the Izhora land. In 1595, the return of the lands was secured by the signing of peace in the Izhora village of Tyavzino near Ivangorod.

However, a radical change in the history of the region soon occurred. In 1609, during the Time of Troubles, an agreement was concluded in Vyborg between the Russian government of Vasily Shuisky and Sweden, under the terms of which the Swedes undertook to provide military assistance to Russia in the fight against the Polish intervention, in exchange for Russia transferring the Korelsky district (that is, the eastern part of the Karelian isthmus) into Sweden. The Swedish army was commanded by commander Jacob Pontusson Delagardie, a nobleman of French origin. After the crushing defeat of the joint Russian-Swedish army in the battle near the village of Klushino, Delagardi, under the pretext of the Russians’ failure to fulfill the conditions for the transfer of Korela, stopped providing military assistance to Russia. Sweden now acted as an interventionist, first occupying the Izhora land, and then, in 1611, capturing Novgorod. As a pretext for these actions, the Swedes used the fact that the Moscow Seven Boyars elected the Polish prince Vladislav to the Russian throne, while Sweden was at war with Poland and considered this action as a rapprochement between Russia and Poland. For the same reason, speaking about the events of the Time of Troubles, Sweden can in no way be called an ally of Poland - it, like Poland, intervened in Russia, but not in alliance with Poland, but in parallel. After the capture of Novgorod, the Swedes unsuccessfully besieged Tikhvin in 1613, and in 1615 they equally unsuccessfully besieged Pskov and captured Gdov. On February 27, 1617, in the village of Stolbovo near Tikhvin, the Peace of Stolbovo was signed between Russia and Sweden, under the terms of which the entire Izhora land went to Sweden.

As a matter of fact, the turning point in the history of the Izhora land was precisely this. After the Treaty of Stolbovo, many Orthodox inhabitants of the lands ceded to Sweden - Russians, Karelians, Izhorians, Vozhans - not wanting to accept Lutheranism and remain under the Swedish crown, left their homes and went to Russia. Karelians settled in the vicinity of Tver, as a result of which the subethnic group of Tver Karelians was formed. The Swedes, in order not to leave the depopulated lands empty, began to populate them with Finns. On this land a dominion was formed as part of Sweden (a dominion is autonomous territory, having a status higher than a province), called Ingria. According to one version, this name is a translation of the term Izhora land into Swedish. According to another version, it comes from the Old Finnish Inkeri maa - “beautiful land” and the Swedish land - “earth” (that is, the word “land” is repeated twice). Finns resettled in Ingermanland formed the subethnic group of Finns-Ingrians (Inkerilaiset). Most of the settlers came from the province of Savolaks in Central Finland - they formed the group of Finns-Savakots (Savakot), as well as from Euräpää county (Äyräpää), located on the Karelian Isthmus, in the middle reaches of the Vuoksa - they formed a group of Finnish Evremeis (Äyrämöiset). Of the Izhorians who remained to live in Ingria, some converted to Lutheranism and were assimilated by the Finns, and only a very small part was able to preserve Orthodoxy and their original culture. In general, Ingria remained a rather provincial region within Sweden - Swedish exiles were sent here, and the land itself was sparsely populated: even half a century after joining Sweden, the population of Ingria was only 15 thousand people. Since 1642, the administrative center of Ingria was the city of Nyen (Nyenschanz), founded in 1611, located at the confluence of the Okhta and the Neva. In 1656, a new war begins between Russia and Sweden. The root cause of the military conflict lay in the successes of Russian troops in the Russian-Polish War that began in 1654, when the Russians occupied the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Swedes, in order to prevent the capture of Poland by the Russians and, as a consequence, the strengthening of Russia in the Baltic, invade Poland and declare claims to the territories occupied by Russian troops. The Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich used this circumstance as a reason to try to return Russia to the Baltic Sea, and Russian troops invaded the Baltic states, and then Ingria, where they met significant support from the Orthodox Izhorians and Karelians who remained there, who created for the purpose of fighting against the Swedes partisan detachments. According to the Truce of Valiesar in 1658, Russia retained the occupied lands, but in 1661 it was forced to conclude the Treaty of Kardis and remain within the borders of 1617 in order to avoid a war on two fronts - with Poland and Sweden at the same time. After the Peace of Kardis, there was another wave of departure of the Orthodox population from Ingria, along with the Russian troops leaving there, and, as a result, the process of migration of Finns from the central provinces of Finland intensified. Now the Finns already constituted the absolute majority of the population of Ingria.

Administrative divisions of Sweden in the 17th century

Coat of arms of Swedish Ingria. 1660

At the very beginning of the 18th century, Russian Tsar Peter I put an end to territorial disputes between Russia and Sweden over control of Karelia and Ingria. The Northern War began in 1700, at first unsuccessfully for Russia - with the defeat of Russian troops near Narva, but then the Russians developed a successful offensive deep into Swedish territories. In 1702, the Noteburg (Oreshek) fortress was taken, and in 1703 the Nuenschanz fortress was taken, and then followed the most important event in the history of Russia - the founding of St. Petersburg, which in 1712 became the new capital of Russia. Russian troops continued to advance on the Karelian Isthmus and took Vyborg in 1710. As in the previous Russian-Swedish war of 1656-1658, the Russian troops were supported by partisan detachments of Orthodox Karelian and Izhora peasants. Meanwhile, there were frequent cases of Ingrian Finns going over to the side of Russia; the majority of them preferred to remain on their lands after their annexation to Russia. In 1707, the Ingria province was formed, renamed St. Petersburg in 1710. The Northern War ended in 1721 brilliant victory Russia, which, under the terms of the Nystadt Peace Treaty, received the Baltic states, Ingermanland and Karelia, and the status of an empire to boot.

It was the Ingrian Finns who left the Finnish names of villages and hamlets in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, which have survived to this day. St. Petersburg has become the most European Russian city. Not only because it was built according to the canons European architecture, but also because a significant part of its inhabitants were visiting Western Europeans - architects, artisans, workers, mostly Germans. There were also Ingrian Finns - a kind of local Europeans. A significant part of St. Petersburg Finns worked as chimney sweeps, which created a certain stereotypical image of Finns in the eyes of Russians. Also common among them were the professions of railway workers and jewelers; women often worked as cooks and maids. The cultural and religious center of the St. Petersburg Finns was the Lutheran Finnish Church of St. Mary on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street, built in 1803-1805 according to the design of the architect G. H. Paulsen.

And the outskirts of the City on the Neva still remained “the shelter of the wretched Chukhon.” And, strange as it might be to realize now, outside of St. Petersburg, without going far from it, Finnish speech in villages could sometimes be heard even more often than Russian! As of the second half of the 19th century, the population of Ingria (that is, St. Petersburg, Shlisselburg, Koporsky and Yamburg districts), excluding the population of St. Petersburg, was about 500 thousand people, of which about 150 thousand were Finns. Consequently, Finns made up approximately 30% of the population of Ingria. In St. Petersburg itself, according to the 1897 census, the Finns were the third largest nation after the Great Russians, Germans and Poles, accounting for 1.66% of the capital's population. At the same time, in the population censuses of the 19th century, Ingrian Finns and Suomi Finns were recorded separately, that is, those who moved to the St. Petersburg province from the Grand Duchy of Finland after the latter’s annexation to Russia (the annexation, let me remind you, took place in 1809, after the last Russian - Swedish war). In 1811, the Vyborg province, conquered by Russia back in the Northern War, was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Finland - an autonomous part of the Russian Empire, therefore those who moved from there after 1811 were also classified as Suomi Finns. According to the 1897 census, Izhora numbered 13,774 people, that is, 3% of the population of Ingria (again, excluding the population of St. Petersburg) - ten times less than the Finns.

Finnish Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in the villageToksovo. 1887

Finnish Church of St. Mary in St. Petersburg

Map of Evangelical Lutheran parishes in Ingria. 1900

But in 1917 a revolution occurred, and a radical change occurred in the history of our entire country, and our region in particular. Russian-Finnish relations have also changed. On December 6, 1917, the Finnish Sejm proclaims the state independence of the Republic of Finland (Suomen tasavalta), which the Bolsheviks recognize after 12 days. A month later, an outbreak also breaks out in Finland. socialist revolution, and then a civil war, which ends in the defeat of the Reds. After defeat in the civil war, Finnish communists and Red Guards fled to Soviet Russia. At the same time, the issue of the border between Soviet Russia and Finland remains unresolved. The commander-in-chief of the Finnish troops, Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, considers it necessary to “liberate” Karelia from the Bolsheviks, and in the spring of 1919, Finnish troops made unsuccessful attempts to capture Karelia.

The population of the northern part of Ingria was in territory controlled by the Bolsheviks. Ingria peasants were subjected to surplus appropriation and the Red Terror, which was carried out in response to the peasants' evasion from mobilization into the Red Army; many of them fled across the Finnish border to the Finnish border villages of Raasuli (now Orekhovo) and Rautu (now Sosnovo). In early June, Ingrian peasants from the village of Kiryasalo launched an anti-Bolshevik uprising. On June 11, rebels numbering about two hundred people took control of the village of Kirjasalo and nearby Autio, Pusanmäki, Tikanmäki, Uusikylä and Vanhakylä. On July 9, the independent Republic of Northern Ingria was proclaimed (Pohjois Inkerin Tasavalta). The territory of the republic occupied the so-called “Kiryasala salient” with an area of ​​about 30 square kilometers. The village of Kirjasalo became the capital, and local resident Santeri Termonen became the leader. In a short time, the power acquired state symbols, a post office and an army, with the help of which it tried to expand its territory, but suffered failures in battles with the Red Army near the villages of Nikulyasy, Lembolovo and Gruzino. In September 1919, Finnish army officer Jurje Elfengren became the head of the republic.

Flag of the Republic of Northern Ingria Yrje Elfengren

Postage stamps of the Republic of Northern Ingria

Approximately shows the territory controlled by the Republic of Northern Ingria

But the struggle of Ingrian peasants for independence remained in history. On October 14, 1920, in the Estonian city of Tartu, a peace treaty was signed between Soviet Russia and Finland, under the terms of which Northern Ingria remained in the Soviet state. On December 6, 1920, on the second anniversary of the independence of the country of Suomi, a farewell parade was held in Kiryasalo, after which the flag of Northern Ingria was lowered, and the army and the population left for Finland.

North Ingrian Army in Kirjasalo

In the 1920s, the Soviet government pursued a policy of “indigenization,” that is, encouraging national autonomies. This policy was designed to reduce interethnic contradictions in the young Soviet state. It also extended to the Ingrian Finns. In 1927, there were 20 Finnish village councils in the northern part of the Leningrad region. In the same year, the Kuyvozovsky Finnish national district was formed (Kuivaisin suomalainen kansallinen piiri) , occupying the territory of the north of the current Vsevolozhsk district, with the administrative center in the village of Toksovo (the name of the district from the village of Kuyvozi), in 1936 the district was renamed Toksovo. According to the 1927 census, in the region there were: Finns - 16,370 people, Russians - 4,142 people, Estonians - 70 people. In 1933, there were 58 schools in the area, of which 54 were Finnish and 4 Russian. In 1926, the following people lived on the territory of Ingermanland: Finns - 125,884 people, Izhorians - 16,030 people, Vodians - 694 people. The Kirja publishing house operated in Leningrad, publishing communist literature in Finnish.

The 1930 guidebook “On skis around the outskirts of Leningrad” describes the Kuyvozovsky district as follows:

«
Kuyvazovsky district occupies most of the Karelian Isthmus; from the west and north it borders with Finland. It was formed during zoning in 1927 and assigned to the Leningrad region. Lake Ladoga adjoins the region to the east, and in general these places are rich in lakes. Kuyvazovsky district gravitates towards Leningrad both in terms of agriculture, vegetable gardening and dairy farming, and in terms of handicraft industry. As for factories and factories, the latter are represented only by the former Aganotovsky Sawmill. Shuvalov (in 1930 it employed 18 people) in the village of Vartemyaki. The area of ​​the Kuyvazovsky district is estimated at 1611 square meters. km, its population is 30,700 people, the density per 1 km² is 19.1 people. The population is distributed by nationality as follows: Finns - 77.1%, Russians - 21.1%, out of 24 village councils, 23 are Finnish. Forest occupies 96,100 hectares, arable land 12,100 hectares. Natural hayfields - 17,600 hectares. The forests are dominated by coniferous species - 40% pine, 20% spruce and only 31% deciduous species. As for cattle breeding, we present several figures relating to the spring of 1930: horses - 3,733, cattle - 14,948, pigs 1,050, sheep and goats - 5,094. Of the total number of farms in the region (6,336), fell on kulak in April there were only 267. Now the region is completing complete collectivization. If on October 1, 1930 there were 26 collective farms with 11.4% of socialized poor and middle peasant farms, then today there are about 100 agricultural artels in the region (as of July - 96) and 74% of collectivized farms.

The region has made great progress in increasing the sown area: compared to 1930, the area of ​​spring crops has increased by 35%, vegetables by 48%, root crops by 273%, and potatoes by 40%. The area is cut through by the Oktyabrskaya railway line. Leningrad - Toksovo - Vaskelovo for 37 km. In addition, there are 3 large highways and a number of small ones with a total length of 448 km (as of January 1, 1931).

However, soon loyalty Soviet power the Ingrian Finns are almost disappearing. As a people living on the border with bourgeois Finland, and, moreover, representing the same nation that lives in this state, the Ingrians are considered a potential fifth column.

Collectivization began in 1930. The following year, as part of the "kulak expulsion" from the Leningrad region, about 18 thousand Ingrian Finns were evicted, who were sent to the Murmansk region, the Urals, Krasnoyarsk region, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 1935, in the border areas of the Leningrad Region and the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, by decree of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs G. G. Yagoda, the “kulak and anti-Soviet element” was expelled, while many exiles were warned of their eviction only the day before. Now, however, it is impossible to say unequivocally that this event was a purely ethnic deportation. After this action, many Finns ended up in the Omsk and Irkutsk regions, Khakassia, Altai Territory, Yakutia, and Taimyr.

The flags of Finland and Ingermanland are flown at half-mast in protest against
deportations of Ingrian Finns. Helsinki, 1934.

The next wave of deportations took place in 1936, when the civilian population was evicted from the rear of the Karelian fortified area under construction. Ingrian Finns were evicted to the Vologda region, but in fact this event was not exile in the full sense, since the exiles did not have the status of special settlers and could freely leave their new place of residence. After this, the national policy towards the Finns acquired a fundamentally opposite character than in the 1920s. In 1937, all Finnish-language publishing houses were closed, school education was translated into Russian, and all Lutheran parishes in Ingria were closed. In 1939, the Finnish national district was abolished, which was annexed to the Pargolovsky district. That same year, on November 30, the bloody Soviet-Finnish war began, which lasted until March 1940. After its completion, the entire Karelian Isthmus became Soviet, and former places the residence of Ingrian Finns ceased to be a border area. The deserted Finnish villages were now gradually populated by Russians. There are very few Ingrian Finns left.

During the Great Patriotic War, Finland was an ally of Nazi Germany, and Finnish troops attacked Leningrad from the north. On August 26, 1941, the Military Council of the Leningrad Front decided the German and Finnish population Leningrad and its suburbs, in order to avoid cooperation with the enemy, be sent to the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Only a few were able to be taken out, however, it is worth noting that this saved them from the blockade. A second wave of evictions was carried out in the spring of 1942. The Finns were taken to Vologda and Kirov region, as well as in the Omsk and Irkutsk regions and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Some of the Ingrian Finns remained in besieged Leningrad and in the occupied territory, having experienced all the horrors of war. The Nazis used Ingrians as labor and at the same time extradited them to Finland. In 1944, under the terms of the Soviet-Finnish truce, Ingrian Finns were to be returned to the USSR. At the same time, they now settled in Karelia, Novgorod and Pskov regions. In 1949, Ingrian Finns were generally allowed to return from places of exile, but a strict ban was imposed on their resettlement in their native lands. The returning Finns were settled in the Karelo-Finnish SSR - in order to increase the percentage of the titular nation of the republic. In 1956, the ban on living in the Leningrad region was lifted, as a result of which about 20 thousand Ingrian Finns returned to their places of residence.

In 1990, Ingrian Finns received the right to repatriate to Finland. Finnish President Mauno Koivisto began to actively pursue a corresponding policy, and over the past 20 years, about 40 thousand people left for Finland under a repatriation program that lasted until 2010. Purebred descendants of Ingrian Finns are sometimes still found in St. Petersburg, Ingria, Karelia and even in places of exile, but there are very few of them left.

Such is the difficult and in many ways difficult and tragic fate of this small people. If you trace the history of the Ingrian Finns, you will notice that their place of residence periodically changed due to the difficult geographical location of their lands. From the middle of the 17th century, they migrated from their original places of residence to Ingria, after the Northern War they remained there and lived side by side with the Russians for more than two centuries. In the 1930s they began to be sent, some to the north, some to Siberia, some to Central Asia. Then many were deported during the war. Many were shot during the repressions. Some returned and lived in Karelia, and some in Leningrad. Finally, at the end of the 20th century, the Ingrian Finns received refuge in their historical homeland.

Izhora and Vod are currently extremely small peoples, since they are mainly assimilated by the Russians. There are several local history organizations of enthusiasts involved in the study of the heritage and preservation of these peoples and their culture.

In general, one cannot help but say that the Ingrian Finns made a very significant contribution to the history of both St. Petersburg itself and its environs. This is expressed most strongly in local toponymy and, in some places, in architecture. Let's take care of what we inherited from the past!

Khilya Korosteleva. Photo from the site http://pln-pskov.ru

Just over 300 Ingrian Finns live in this moment in the Pskov region, reported live on the radio station "Echo of Moscow in Pskov"Chairman of the Pskov City public organization Ingrian Finns "Pikku Inkeri" Hilja Korosteleva, reports the Pskov news feed.

She said that before the revolution of 1917, there were about 120 thousand Ingrian Finns in the Leningrad region. Among them were both settled Finns who had lived here since the 17th century, and workers who came to build railway and work in production.

“After the war, there was practically not a single Finn left on the territory of Ingria, because when the Germans occupied the Soviet homeland, half ended up under German occupation, and the other in the blockade ring. In 1943, the Finnish government decides to take 62 thousand Finns to their historical homeland, and they left through Estonia to Finland. The remaining half of the Ingrians were taken to Yakutia by the NKVD,” said Khilya Korosteleva.

Of these, at most 30% made it to the place - the moving conditions were harsh. In 1944, when the Soviet government already saw the victorious outcome of the war, it appealed to the Finnish government to return the Finns to their historical homeland, and out of 62 thousand, 55 thousand Ingrians agreed to return, were loaded onto trains and successfully returned.

Currently, Ingrians live mainly in Russia (St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Pskov regions, Karelia, Western Siberia), Estonia, some others former republics USSR, as well as in Finland and Sweden.

According to the 2010 census, there were about 20 thousand Ingrians in Russia. Only a little over 300 representatives of this ethnic group live in the Pskov region. Such a small number is due to natural decline: many Finns living in the Pskov region are already of advanced age.

According to Hilja Korosteleva, the “Pskov” Finns have practically not gathered together in recent years, with the exception of national holidays. This is largely due to the lack of a platform on which to gather. In rare cases national society meets in the Catholic Church.

“I don’t paint the future of Ingrian Finns in rosy colors, because there are very few of us left,” PLN quotes Korosteleva as saying. In addition to natural population decline, sisu is lost over time. "This is one of the main Finnish words, which has no translation in other languages. Its meaning is a sense of oneself, the inner self. And By assimilating, this feeling is lost. I even see it in my children."

According to her, Finland allocates a lot of money to preserve the language and culture of Ingrian Finns living in Russia, including in the Leningrad region, where more than 12 thousand representatives of this ethnic group live compactly. “But it’s still a slow process,” concluded the studio guest.