Currently, Ingrians live. Chairman of the public organization of Ingrian Finns - about the past, present and future

INGERLANDS INGERS

INGERMANLANDS (Ingrian Finns, St. Petersburg Finns), subethnic group of Finns (cm. FINNS), live in Russian Federation and Estonia. The 2002 census in the Russian Federation counted 314 Ingrians, 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 deserted 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 of the Ingrian ethnic group took place. 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 directed 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, potatoes took an important place; 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. In the economy and traditional culture of the Ingrians, 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. Subsequently, 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 retained it for a long time big family, separate rooms were built for married sons, 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. Holidays Wellingtons worn in the summer big holidays- they served as a symbol of prosperity. Along with felt hats, city caps were also worn. Women's clothing it 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, attached to their 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 eurymeiset women also wore long hair, twisting it into a tight cord (syukeret) 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. Known dance songs, in particular for rentuske - a square dance type dance.
The Lutheran Church promoted early literacy. Gradually, secular primary schools. At the end of the 19th century there were 38 Finnish schools in Ingria, including three in St. Petersburg. The maintenance of Finnish language skills was also supported by rural libraries, which emerged from the mid-19th century in parish centres. 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 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 former places residence. As a result, over several decades, the Ingrians were almost completely assimilated into larger ethnic groups.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "INGERMANLANDS" are in other dictionaries:

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Historical region Northern Europe Estonian Ingermanland Other names (Estonian) Eesti Ingeri; (fin.) Viron Ink ... Wikipedia

:
768 people (2001, Finns)
Kazakhstan:
373 people (2009, Finns)
Belarus:
151 people (2009, Finns)

Ingrian Finns(fin. inkeriläiset, inkerinsuomalaiset, est. ingerlased, Swedish finskingermanlandare listen)) - a sub-ethnic group of Finns living in the territory of the historical region of Ingermanland. The Ingrian language belongs to the eastern dialects of the Finnish language. By religion, Ingrians traditionally belong to the Lutheran Church, but some of them adhere to Orthodoxy.

Story

The Ingrian sub-ethnos was formed as a result of the migration of part of the Evremeis Finns and Savakot Finns from the central regions of Finland to the Ingrian lands, which were transferred to Sweden under the Treaty of Stolbovo. The Finnishization of the Izhora land was largely facilitated by the heavy demographic losses it suffered during the Time of Troubles, especially in its eastern part.

The territory was re-Russified after the founding of St. Petersburg. But even at the beginning of the 19th century, the St. Petersburg area was almost exclusively Finnish-speaking. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were two large areas with the highest proportion of Finnish population: the Ingrian part of the Karelian Isthmus (the northern part of the St. Petersburg and Shlisselburg districts) and the area southwest of St. Petersburg, approximately along the line Peterhof - Krasnoe Selo - Gatchina (the western part of Tsarskoye Selo and eastern part of Peterhof district).

There were also a number of smaller areas where the Finnish population completely predominated (Kurgal Peninsula, Koltushskaya Upland, etc.).

In the rest of Ingria, the Finns lived interspersed with the Russians, and in a number of places (Izhora Upland) with the Estonian population.

Until the 20th century, the Ingrian Finns had two main groups: Evremeysy (Finnishäyrämöiset) and Savakots (Finnish savokot). According to P.I. Köppen, who studied the geography of Finnish settlement in the mid-19th century, the Evremeis settled on the Karelian Isthmus (except for the southern part immediately adjacent to St. Petersburg and the Beloostrov region), in the parishes of Tuutari, Tyrö, Hietamäki, Kaprio, Soikkola, Liissilä , partially Serepetta, Koprina and Skvoritsa. In the remaining regions of Ingria (the parishes of Valkeasaari, Rääpüvä, Keltto north of the Neva, the vicinity of Kolpino, the Nazia and Mgi region, the Izhora Upland, etc.) the Savakots settled. A special group were the Lower Luga Finns-Lutherans (Kurgal Peninsula, Fedorovka village, Kallivere). Numerically, the Savakots also prevailed - according to P.I. Köppen, out of 72,354 Finns there were 29,375 Evremøiset and 42,979 Savokots. By the beginning of the 20th century, the differences between the Evremeis and the Savakots were gradually erased, and the group identity of the Ingrians was lost.

At the beginning of the 19th century, another territorial group of Ingrians arose - the Siberian Ingrians. Currently, the main area of ​​their settlement is the village. Ryzhkovo in the Omsk region.

Of the 1,602,000 people arrested in 1937-1939 under political articles of the criminal code, 346,000 people were representatives of national minorities, and of these, 247,000 were shot as foreign spies. Of the arrested "nationals", Greeks (81%) and Finns (80%) were executed most often.

1. During the Great Patriotic War, by decree of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front No. 196ss of August 26, 1941, the Finnish and German population of the suburban areas of Leningrad was subject to mandatory evacuation to the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the Arkhangelsk region. The results of this resettlement are currently unknown. It should be noted that the decree was issued only a few days before all communication routes connecting the outskirts of Leningrad with the outside world by land were cut by German troops. Ironically, those who managed to evacuate on barges through Ladoga were thus saved from the starvation of the blockade.
2. Resolution of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front No. 00714-a of March 20, 1942 repeated the requirement for the mandatory evacuation of the Finnish and German population. The resolution was based on the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 22, 1941 “On Martial Law,” which granted military authorities the right to “prohibit the entry and exit into areas declared under martial law, or from certain points thereof, of persons recognized as socially dangerous due to their criminality.” activities and connections with the criminal environment." According to V.N. Zemskov, 44,737 Ingrians were evicted, of which 17,837 were placed in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, 8,267 in the Irkutsk Region, 3,602 in the Omsk Region, the rest in the Vologda and Kirov Regions. Upon arrival at the settlement site, the Finns were registered as special settlements. After the end of the Great Patriotic War on January 12, 1946, the special settlement regime was lifted, but the government prohibited Finns from returning to the territory of the Leningrad Region. By a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated February 11, 1949, Finns were allowed entry only into the territory of Karelia, neighboring the Leningrad Region, where several tens of thousands of both former special settlers and (mostly) repatriates from Finland moved. As a result of the implementation of this resolution, Karelia became one of the three largest centers of settlement of Soviet Finns.
   This decree was canceled by the new Resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of the KFSSR “On partial changes in the resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) and the Council of Ministers of the KFSSR dated December 1, 1949,” on the basis of which even people who moved to Karelia began to be evicted from the border area.
3. After the signing of the Soviet-Finnish armistice agreement, the Ingrian population, previously resettled by the German occupation authorities in Finland, was returned to the USSR (see below). However, in accordance with the Decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR No. 6973ss of November 19, 1944, those repatriated were sent not to the Leningrad region, but to five neighboring regions - Pskov, Novgorod, Kalinin, Velikoluksk and Yaroslavl. Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 13925рс dated September 19, 1945 allowed entry into the Leningrad region only for “Ingrian families of military personnel who participated in the Patriotic War,” as well as non-Finnish repatriates. The majority of Finnish repatriates chose to leave the areas allocated for them to settle. Some tried by hook or by crook to return to Ingria, others went to Estonia and Karelia.
4. Despite the bans, a significant number of Finns returned to the Leningrad region after the war. According to official data, by May 1947, 13,958 Finns lived in the territory of Leningrad and the Leningrad region, who arrived both without permission and with official permission. In accordance with the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 5211ss of May 7, 1947 and the decision of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee No. 9ss of May 11, 1947, Finns who returned to the region without permission were subject to return to their places of previous residence. According to the order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 10007рс dated July 28, 1947, the same fate befell the Finns who lived in the Leningrad region without leaving the entire period of occupation. Only the following categories of Ingrians were allowed to remain in the Leningrad region: A) participants of the Great Patriotic War who have government awards, and members of their families; b) family members of military personnel who died on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War; V) Labor Army members and other persons awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union, and members of their families; d) members and candidate members of the CPSU (b) and their families; d) members of families whose heads are Russian and e) obviously disabled elderly people who have no relatives. In total, there were 5,669 people in this category in the Leningrad region and 520 in Leningrad.

The most important result of the repressive policy of the Soviet authorities towards the Ingrians was the split of the monolithic area of ​​residence of the Finns into three large and many small spatially separated areas. Even at the level of small administrative units, Finns in the second half of the 20th century did not constitute not only a majority, but also a significant minority. This “dissolution” in the Russian environment largely stimulated the processes of genetic assimilation and acculturation of the Finnish population, which led to a rapid reduction in its numbers, which by now has become clearly irreversible. It is important to emphasize that these processes, in the context of a sharp increase in migration processes in the 20th century, especially relocations from rural areas to cities, would still have taken place. In addition, the events of the Great Patriotic War (the Leningrad blockade and long-term residence in the occupied territory) also caused heavy demographic damage to the Finns. However, the forced dismemberment of the Ingrian settlement area, which was never overcome in the post-war period, undoubtedly contributed to a sharp “acceleration” of assimilation processes in the Finnish environment.

The fate of the Finns who found themselves in occupied territory

The relocation of residents to Finland and Estonia was in accordance with the plans of the Reich. According to the Ost plan, 350 thousand German colonists were supposed to be resettled in the territory of the Leningrad region within 25 years. Indigenous people was supposed to be expelled or destroyed. When the labor shortage became obvious, and the Germans were already using Estonians and Ingrians, for example, in the military economy, the Finnish government decided to get 40 thousand people as labor. But Germany's position had also changed by this time. The Supreme Command of the Ground Forces (Wehrmacht) and the Ministry of Eastern Territories opposed the transportation of Ingrians. On January 23, 1943, the German Foreign Ministry announced its consent to transport a maximum of 12 thousand people. On February 5, 1943, the German government, based primarily on political interests, agreed to transport 8 thousand able-bodied men with their families. A Helanen commission was appointed for the move, which went to Tallinn on February 25, 1943.

The first volunteers moved on March 29, 1943 from the Klooga camp. The Aranda motor ship transported 302 people from the port of Paldiski. Transportation took place 2-3 days later to the Hanko camp. At the beginning of April, the motor ship Suomi was added, which could carry 450 passengers. In June, a third ship was added, the minesweeper Louhi, since mines were the main problem during the transition. In the fall, the transitions were moved to night time due to increased activity of Soviet aviation. The moves were voluntary and based on the Pelkonen Commission's proposals to resettle primarily from areas close to the front. A document on the resettlement was drawn up on October 17, 1943.

In anticipation of the expected Soviet offensive near Leningrad, the General Commissariat "Estonia", which was a division of the Reichskommissariat "Ostland" (German. Generalbezirk Estland) and the command of Army Group North began the forced evacuation of Ingrian territories, despite the previously agreed terms with Finland on voluntary resettlement. It was planned that the territories would be evacuated, but an agreement could be made later. Edwin Scott from the Estonian General Commissariat showed activity, moreover, independently of the Ministry of Eastern Territories and independently of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The evacuation was planned to be carried out in one month and began on October 15, 1943.

The operation, which had already begun, was approved on November 2, 1943, when the first part of 40 thousand people was transported to the port. The resettlement agreement was concluded on November 4, 1943. Later, it remained to agree on the resettlement of those in German service.

After the war

63,000 Ingrians were resettled in Finland during the war. But Soviet Union demanded their return in 1944. After the Moscow Armistice in the fall of 1944, 55,000 people, believing the promises of Soviet officials, agreed to return to their homeland. At the same time, the authorities of the Leningrad region were selling empty houses and buildings left by the Ingrians to the Russians. Men who had previously served in the German military, identified during the verification of documents in Vyborg, were shot on the spot. Those returning from Finland were taken past their homeland to Pskov, Kalinin, Novgorod, Yaroslavl region and to Velikiye Luki. Others ended up further away, for example in Kazakhstan, where back in the 1930s many Ingrian peasants who were, in the opinion of the authorities, unreliable were exiled.

Many tried to return to their native places later, and even received permission from higher authorities, but the new residents categorically resisted the return of the Ingrians and, with the help of local authorities, prevented them from settling in their homeland. In 1947, a secret order was issued that prohibited Ingrians from living in the suburbs of Leningrad. This meant the expulsion of everyone who managed to return.

Return became possible only after Stalin's death in 1953. For the next ten years, attempts to settle in Ingermanland were tried to be limited. Many have already managed to settle into new places. The largest communities of Ingrians formed in Estonia and the Republic of Karelia. Thus, the Ingrians almost everywhere in their homeland became a national minority among Russian settlers and former Russian residents. According to the 1926 census, about 115,000 Ingrian Finns lived in the St. Petersburg province, and in 1989 only about 16,000.

Rehabilitation and repatriation

In 1993, a resolution of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation was issued on the rehabilitation of Russian Finns. Every repressed person, even a child born in an evicted family, receives a certificate of rehabilitation, which states “termination of the case.” In fact, this is where the rehabilitation ends - the decree does not contain a mechanism for its implementation, everything is entrusted to local authorities, moreover, there is an insoluble contradiction: “measures for the resettlement and settlement of Russian Finns who have returned to their places of traditional residence... should be carried out without infringing on the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, residing in the respective territories." There is no chance of returning your home or land.

Dynamics of the number of Ingrian Finns

* according to census data in the St. Petersburg province

** data on “Leningrad Finns”

*** data on numbers including all Finns of the USSR (after repression and exile)

**** total number of Finns in the post-Soviet space (in Russia - 34050)

According to the 2002 census, 34,000 Finns live and are registered in Russia, of which at least 95% are Ingrian Finns and their descendants.

and only reflects the census methodology, in which it is not necessary to indicate the clarification “Ingrian”.

Dynamics of the number of all Finns in the USSR/Russia

* - 2010 census data.

Modern settlement and numbers

Entire Russian Federation: 34,050

Outside the Russian Federation:

• Estonia: 10,767 (2009)
• Kazakhstan: 1,000 (1989)
• Ukraine: 768 (2001)
• Belarus: 245 (1999)

Public organizations of Ingrian Finns

The activities of the Lutheran Church of Ingria are historically connected with the Ingrian Finns.

The Ingrians are sometimes called the Izhoras, who, in fact, gave the name to the historical region of Ingria, but unlike the Lutheran Finns they traditionally profess Orthodoxy.

• Inkerin Liitto ("Ingrian Union") is a voluntary society of Ingrian Finns. The goals of the community are the development of culture and language and the protection of social and property rights of Ingrians. Operates on the territory of historical Ingermanland and in other regions of Russia, except Karelia. Website: http://www.inkeri.spb.ru
• Ingrian Finnish Union of Karelia - Created in 1989 to preserve the language and culture of ethnic Finns living in Karelia. Website: http://inkeri.karelia.ru

Personalities

• Vinonen, Robert - poet, member of the Russian Writers' Union
• Virolainen, Oleg Arvovich - from November 2003 to May 2006, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg. From May 2006 to October 2009 - Chairman of the Committee for Improvement and Road Maintenance
• Ivanen, Anatoly Vilyamovich - poet
• Kayava, Maria - preacher, founder of the first Evangelical Lutheran community in the USSR after the war
• Kiuru, Ivan - poet, translator, member of the Union of Writers of the USSR
• Kiuru, Eino - Candidate of Philological Sciences, senior researcher at the folklore sector of the IYALI KSC RAS, member of the Writers' Union of Russia
• Kondulainen, Elena - actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation
• Konkka, Unelma - poetess
• Konkka, Juhani - writer
• Kugappi, Arri - Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria, Doctor of Theology
• Kukkonen, Katri - preacher, founder of the first Evangelical Lutheran community in the USSR after the war
• Quarti, Aatami - priest, writer, author of many books about Ingria
• Laurikkala, Selim Yalmari - Provost of Northern Ingria
• Lemetti, Ivan Matveevich - Ingrian philosopher
• Mishin (Khiiri), Armas - Chairman of the Writers' Union of the Republic of Karelia. Together with folklorist Eino Kiuru, he translated the epic “Kalevala” into Russian.
• Mullonen, Anna-Maria - outstanding Vepsologist
• Mullonen, Irma - Director of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Mäki, Arthur - Russian politician
• Ojala, Ella - writer, author of books about northern Ingermanland
• Pappinen, Toivo - USSR champion in ski jumping
• Putro, Mooses - musician, composer, educator, author of the hymn “Nouse Inkeri”
• Rautanen, Martti - missionary of the Lutheran Church in Namibia
• Rongonen, Lyuli - writer, translator, professor of literature
• Ryannel, Toivo Vasilievich - folk artist RF
• Survo, Arvo - Lutheran pastor, initiator of the creation of the Church of Ingria
• Tynni, Aale - poetess, translator, winner of the XIV Summer Olympic Games 1948 in London, in the art competition
• Uymanen, Felix - alpine skier, champion of the USSR
• Heiskanen, Kim - geologist, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Karelia, Director of the Institute of Geology of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2000-2001.
• Khudilainen, Alexander Petrovich - politician
• Hypenen Anatoly - Colonel General, Doctor of Military Sciences, professor, participant in the Vietnam War
• Elfengren, Yrjo - white officer, chairman of the State Council of the self-proclaimed Republic of Northern Ingria
• Yakovlev, Vladimir Anatolyevich - Russian politician, governor of St. Petersburg in 1996-2003

Notes

1. All-Russian Population Census 2002. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
2. Estonia Statistika 2001-2009
3. Statistics Committee of Estonia National composition of the population Census 2000 ()
4. All-Ukrainian Population Census 2001. Russian version. Results. Nationality and native language. Ukraine and regions
5. Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics. Census 2009. (National composition of the population .rar)
6. National composition of Belarus according to the 2009 census
7. Map of the ratio of Lutheran and Orthodox farmsteads in the years 1623-43-75.
8. Itämerensuomalaiset: heimokansojen historiaa jakohtaloita / toimittanut Mauno Jokipii; . - Jyväskylä: Atena, 1995 (Gummerus).
9. Map of nationalities and language groups of Ingermanland
10. Ethnographic map of the St. Petersburg province. 1849
11. Carlo Curco “Ingrian Finns in the clutches of the GPU” Porvoo-Helsinki 1943, St. Petersburg 2010, p. 9 ISBN 978-5-904790-05-9
12. Ingria Center (fin.)
13. National minorities of the Leningrad region. P. M. Janson, L., 1929, p. 70
14. Musaev V.I. Political history of Ingria in late XIX-XX century. - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 182-184.
15. (Finnish) Hannes Sihvo Inkerin Maalla. - Hämeenlinna: Karisto Oy, 1989. - P. 239. - 425 p. - ISBN 951-23-2757-0
16. Inkerin Maalla; c 242
17. Inkerin Maalla; c 244
18. Inkerin Maalla; c 246
19. Shashkov V. Ya. Special settlers in Murman: The role of special settlers in the development of productive forces on the Kola Peninsula (1930-1936). - Murmansk, 1993, p. 58.
20. AKSSR: List of populated places: based on materials from the 1933 Census. - Petrozavodsk: Publishing house. UNHU AKSSR Soyuzorguchet, 1935, p. 12.
21. Brief summary certification of districts of the Leningrad region. - [L.], Regional Executive Committee, 1st type. Publishing house Leningr. Regional Executive Committee and Council, 1931, p. 8-11.
22. Ivanov V. A. Mission of the Order. Mechanism mass repression in Soviet Russia in the late 20s - 40s: (Based on materials from the North-West of the RSFSR). - St. Petersburg, 1997.
23. Zemskov V. N. Special settlers in the USSR, 1930-1960. - M.: Nauka, 2005, p. 78.
24. Chapter from the book “Stalin against the “cosmopolitans”” / G. V. Kostyrchenko, 2010. ISBN 978-5-8243-1103-7
25. List of urban and rural settlements, of which there were in 1937-1938. Finns were taken away to be shot for their nationality
26. Three decrees of one day
27. Zemskov V. N. Special settlers in the USSR, 1930-1960. - M.: Nauka, 2005, p. 95.
28. Musaev V.I. Political history of Ingria at the end of the 19th-20th centuries. - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 336-337.
29. Resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of the KFSSR “On partial amendment of the resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) and the Council of Ministers of the KFSSR dated December 1, 1949”
30. Gildi L.A. The fate of a “socially dangerous people”: (The secret genocide of Finns in Russia and its consequences. 1930-2002). - St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 32.
31. Jatkosodan Kronikka: Inkeriläisiä Suomeen, s. 74, Gummerus,

And Estonia. The 2010 census in the Russian Federation counted 441 Ingrians, 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 deserted 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 of the Ingrian ethnic group took place. 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 directed 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. The limited area of ​​pasture land 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, potatoes took an important place; 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. In the economy and traditional culture of the Ingrians, archaic features were combined with innovations that entered everyday life thanks 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. Subsequently, 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; separate premises were built for married sons, 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, attached to their 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 eurymeiset women also wore long hair, twisting it into a tight cord (syukeret) 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 usually preceded the wedding ceremony, and from the church the married couple went to 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 the 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.

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 in recent years, some have simply Russified and assimilated, some are simply hiding 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 Ancient Rus'. The possessions of Novgorod during the period of its greatest prosperity occupied an area larger than the modern Northwestern Federal District - then the White Sea, the Kola Peninsula, Pomorie and even the Polar Urals were under its rule.

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 a bull of the Pope Alexandra III, sent to the Uppsala bishop Stefan, there is the first historical mention of the pagan people of Izhora, who are called “Ingri” in the text. 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 were included in Orthodox Rus' and they themselves gradually accepted Orthodoxy, and became part of Catholic Sweden. Now Finnish tribes close in blood fought according to different sides 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 devastating 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 the administrative division of the Novgorod land, such a unit appears 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 within Sweden (a dominion is an autonomous territory with 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 Ingermanland province was formed, renamed St. Petersburg in 1710. The Northern War ended in 1721 with a brilliant victory for 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 of 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 question of the boundary 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 of 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, mail and army, with the help of which she tried to expand her territory, but failed 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 as part of Agriculture gardening and dairy farming, as well as in the 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 the former places of residence of Ingrian Finns ceased to be border territory. 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 to expel the German and Finnish population of Leningrad and its suburbs to the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in order to avoid cooperation with the enemy. 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 the Vologda and Kirov regions, as well as to 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, two with more than a century lived side by side with the Russians. 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 engaged 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!

According to the latest census, the population of the Leningrad region is more than 1.7 million people. The majority - 86% - consider themselves Russian, but there are also representatives of indigenous peoples (most of whom originally lived on the historical territory of Ingermanland), who belong mainly to the Finno-Ugric group - Ingrian Finns, Izhoras, Vods, Vepsians, Tikhvin Karelians. Some of them moved to other countries and cities - while some, including young ones, continue to cling to their roots. The Village photographed Ingrian Finn, Veps and Izhora with symbolic objects and asked to tell what they mean.

Photos

Egor Rogalev

Elizabeth

Izhora, 24 years old

number of Izhoras in the world:
500–1,300 people

We are often incorrectly called Izhorians. Izhora people are workers of the Izhora plant. And we are the people of Izhora. However, I am calm about such mistakes.

My maternal grandmother is Izhora, from the village of Koskolovo in the Leningrad region. We communicate with her often. Grandmother talked little about her childhood: mainly how they were taken for evacuation to the Arkhangelsk region in the 1940s (evacuation is the same as deportation, they just used a euphemism hinting at the fact that people were supposedly being saved). However, I didn’t hear horrors about those times from my grandmother. Now I know that the village was burned, and many were shot - but our farm, apparently, was lucky. Unfortunately, my grandmother doesn’t remember the Izhorian language well, so it was my personal desire to revive the culture.

Once I came to a concert in Lenryb (like Koskolovo, a village in the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region. - Ed.) on Indigenous Peoples' Day. There I saw the Korpi group, children who are involved in Finno-Ugric culture - they sing, go to folk costumes. It shocked me.

About five years ago I found a cultural and educational organization " Center for Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region" I came to a class on reconstructing an Izhora costume, got involved, and started studying folklore and language. Now I'm driving public"VKontakte", dedicated to the study of the Izhorian language.

From childhood memories - a great-grandfather who spoke a strange language. Then I kept thinking what it was. I grew up and understood. About four years ago I found the scientist Mehmet Muslimov - he works at the Institute of Linguistic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and sometimes conducts language courses. And so we gathered as a group of activists, and he began to teach us Izhorian. It is very difficult to learn: the language itself is complex, and there is no practice. There is no one to talk to: there are about 50 native speakers, mostly grandmothers in the villages. However, two years ago I found my great-aunt in the village of Vistino (another village in the Kingisepp district. - Ed.). So, she is a native speaker. Sometimes I come to her, we communicate in Izhorian. She tells family stories and we look at old photographs.

Now two dialects of the Izhorian language are alive: Lower Luga (closer to Estonian) and Soykinsky (closer to Finnish). There is no literary form of Izhorian yet, which also complicates the study. I won’t say that I now speak Izhorian perfectly.

Main center Izhora culture- all in the same Vistina. There is wonderful museum, where Nikita Dyachkov, a young man who teaches the Izhorian language, works as a guide. He learned it almost perfectly, I don’t understand: how?! I study and study, and it’s still difficult to speak, but he knows the language remarkably well.

According to the 2010 census, the number of Izhora in Russia is 266 people. But in reality there is much more: the Center for Indigenous Peoples conducted a study, during which it turned out that every fourth resident of St. Petersburg has Finno-Ugric blood. Our goal is to tell people about how interesting the culture of their ancestors was.

About the objects with which I was photographed. Firstly, mittens bought in the Komi Republic: this is not quite an Izhorian item - rather, Finno-Ugric, however, the ornament is similar to ours. What does it mean? Interpreting symbols is a thankless task; most of it results in speculation. There is an assumption that this is a symbol of the sun, but the exact meaning has already been lost. The musical instrument that I hold in my hands is called a kannel in Izhorian: it is the same as a kantele, the closest analogue is the Novgorod gusli. It is five-string, made in Finland - there is a factory there where kantele is made. Previously, the cannel was considered a mystical instrument; it was played only married men. It served as a talisman; it was painted black and hung above the door. It was also believed that the sounds of the cannel cast a spell sea ​​waves, in the past, they even took a cannelist with them especially when going fishing so that the boat would not get caught in a storm at sea. According to legend, the first cannel was made from the jaw of a pike, and Väinämöinen played it. (one of the main characters of “Kalevala”. - Ed.): he used hair as strings beautiful girl Aino. I can play several traditional folk tunes on the cannel.

Alexander

Veps, 28 years old

NUMBER OF VEPSIANS IN THE WORLD:
6,400 people

My father is a Vepsian, my mother is a Vepsian. But I only learned about this when I was 10 years old, and since then I have been interested in the history of the people.

My paternal grandfather’s family lived in Vinnitsy (Vepsian village in the Podporozhye district of the Leningrad region. - Ed.) in a typical Vepsian house, inherited. By the way, the tradition of passing houses by inheritance, as far as I know, has been preserved in some Vepsian families to this day. My grandfather's family was quite prosperous - with its own farm, even a blacksmith's shop. According to stories, in the 1920s the family was dispossessed and the house was taken away. They rebuilt new house, but then my grandfather went to study in Petrozavodsk. He left there during the Finnish occupation in the first half of the 1940s and returned after the war. My father is from Petrozavodsk.

I am Russified, but I feel more like a Vepsian. I have no grudges for my grandfather: it was the fault of the authorities, not the people. That was the time. What has passed cannot be returned. It’s just a pity that many people forget about their roots: for example, I know Karelians who consider themselves Russians. I try not to forget about my roots.

Before the revolution, the Vepsians (and Finno-Ugric peoples in general) were called Chud, Chukhons. The name “Vepsians” appeared after 1917. The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan in the 10th century described the “Visu” people - people living in the forest in harmony with nature. Later they began to be called all - probably these are the ancestors of the Vepsians.

From the Vepsians the Russians inherited such characters as the brownie and the goblin. This is what is known about the devil: when you are going to the forest, you need to take some gift in order to appease the owner of the forest. It could be a pinch of salt or bread, but in no case mushrooms or berries - not what the forest can provide. If you don't capture it, you'll anger the owner of the forest, and he won't let you out. But if you get lost, you need to turn your clothes to the left side, then the devil will lead you out.

In the photo I am in Sosnovka Park, showing the ritual of greeting the forest owner. IN in this case I brought the seeds. And then the squirrels came running - they, as “children of the forest,” were also entitled to gifts. After leaving the gifts, you need to bow and say: “See you later.”

I was in Vinnitsa, my grandfather’s homeland, several years ago: then they gathered representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples - there were Karelians, Izhoras, Vods. There are few old buildings left in the village, more modern ones. And yet time seemed to stand still there. I liked that atmosphere.

I tried to learn the Vepsian language, but, unfortunately, there is very little educational literature, and I am not familiar with native speakers. I feel proud that I belong to a rare people... and pity that there are so few of us. Unfortunately, many people forget their roots. But it’s so interesting to know who you are. Veps are essentially friendly, kind, and treat everyone well. If you come to them, they will give you food and drink, no matter whether you are Russian or not. They will accept you as one of their own.

Valeria

Ingrian Finnish,
20 years

number of Ingrians
in Russia:
441 people (Finns - 20,300 people)

I am from the village of Vybye, it is located on the Kurgal Peninsula in the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region. Ingrian Finns have lived there since ancient times. My grandmother is from the village of Konnovo, located on the same peninsula. Her maiden name there was Saya. My surname Lukka comes from my grandfather, he, like my grandmother, is from Ingrian Finns.

IN village school we were told that since ancient times Finno-Ugric peoples lived here - Vod, Izhora, Ingrian Finns. I have heard Finnish since childhood: my grandmother spoke it. While still at school, I signed up for the Vodka folk club. And then, when I moved to St. Petersburg to study, I joined the folklore group “Korpi”. I knew its leader Olga Igorevna Konkova for a long time, and my grandmother communicated with her.

When it comes to the repression and deportation of Ingrian Finns, I feel sad. My grandmother told me about her dad: he fought in the Great Patriotic War, and after that he was exiled to Siberia, why is unclear. Then he returned to the Leningrad region, but was already very ill. However, I have no grudges. This is a bad feeling, it’s better not to hide it.

As far as I know, there used to be a program under which Ingrian Finns could move to Finland. But I probably wouldn’t want to go there: I think Finland is too boring. I've been there - I just went for a few days. In general, my godparents live in Finland - they have their own parish there. They come to us twice a year.

At the “Center for Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region,” where I work, there is a puppet theater: we travel with educational performances, mainly in villages. We are treated well everywhere, many people come to our performances. I like that we are useful to people.

I started to learn purely Finnish (Ingrian is a dialect, but Finns understand it), but I always lacked patience. Now I don’t know him perfectly, but I can explain myself by using gestures.

I'm interested in being a representative of my people. They often say that I look like a Finnish woman. And many people are not interested in their own history, and this is also normal. Everyone has different interests.

I have in my hands a book with the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala”, written by Elias Lönnrot. I haven’t read the book yet, but from there we often sing the Izhora rune - the only one from the Kalevala recorded in Ingermanland. It talks about how one man went to plow, plowed a hundred furrows around a stump, the stump split in two, and it turned out to be two brothers. And then a sad story unfolds about how these brothers were at enmity.