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The Transformation of the Identity of the Karelian Isthmus of Russia

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The Transformation of the Identity of the Karelian Isthmus of Russia 35: 2 (2006) ss. 32–41 ALUE JA YMPÄRISTÖ ALUE JA Milla Hannula The transformation of the identity of the Karelian Isthmus of Russia Venäjän Karjalankannaksen muuttuva identiteetti I search for elements behind the current collec- Introduction tive experience(s) of the population of the Karelian Isthmus in Russia. I examine the matter through the Between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland changes in the common collective identity or identi- there is a neck of land traversed by the waterways. ties, and through continuity. Permanent features in- Today, both Russians and Finns call it the Karelian clude the location of the area on a national and cul- Isthmus, although administratively it is part of tural boundary, and the nature of the Isthmus which the Leningrad oblast (see Balashov 1998: 8). After the occupational life of people is built on. Industrial the Second World War, the Russian settlers start- life on the Isthmus has recently gone through radi- ed their life in the empty land and in the houses cal changes, but in keeping with the characteristics mostly constructed by Finns. The reason that re- of the area. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the gion was left empty makes this an exceptional emphasis of the industrial life on the Karelian Isth- place to study a construction of we-ness there. mus has started to turn to tourism and recreational This highlights a question what kinds of sources activities instead of agriculture. Furthermore, histori- for this collective experiences are used in the Isth- cally, the isthmus has been inhabited by Finno-Ugric mus after the collapse of Communism. Who are and Slavic groups. The ethnicity of the isthmus has people living in the contemporary Isthmus; are lately included new aspects from southern immi- they Karelians? And what basis the collective iden- grants. The building of the new collective experience tity of the population is constructed today? and new interpretations of history on the place of I have searched for answers to these questions the old Soviet identity has also been impacted by mostly in the village (county) of Melnikovo (for- the renaissance of religiousness in Russia, which has merly Räisälä), the town of Svetogorsk (formerly introduced Russian Orthodox features to the area. Enso) and to some extent also in the town of Pri- This is demonstrated by the numerous Orthodox ozersk (formerly Käkisalmi). In Melnikovo, I rent- churches constructed in the area recently. ed an apartment for a week, recorded eight inter- views, talked to the locals and got acquainted with Keywords: region, identity, Karelia, Russia the everyday life in the village. The key interviews were open theme interviews with the active citizens in different spheres of life: a contemporary and a current mayors of Melnikovo, owners of small business enterprises, a worker in a library, a school headmaster and a researcher (see Hannula 2006: 32 35: 2 (2006) ss. 32–41 YMPÄRISTÖ ALUE JA 5–6). I have visited also Svetogorsk approximately the region is distinguished from other regions. It is 30 times during the last one and half years in a more permanent than the regional identity: people project which studies the co-operation between today are more mobile and can identify themselves the border towns Imatra and Svetogorsk and made with more than one region. Only few people con- tens of interviews about the co-operation between tribute to constructing regions and creating their towns. I refer to some of these interviews here too.1 identity, whereas a majority is responsible for rec- I have also observed the other places of the Isth- reating them. The life-span of the identities of the mus several times by a car and a bus. regions is long – longer than that of their creators. The difference of local experiences in the Isth- New people can contribute to the originality of a mus makes generalization on the basis of my em- region and carry on the old identity (Paasi 1995). pirical material difficult. It is still possible to draw I will elaborate the historical continuation and some general lines. The Karelian Isthmus is well changes of the certain features of the identity in studied in terms of ethnic history during the pre- the Isthmus through the elements such as ethnic- WWII era. The contemporary region and collec- ity, border, nature, and livelihood. These are only tive feelings of inhabitants there during the post- some features behind the formation of the regional Soviet era is a new subject to study. This prelimi- collective experience. I refer both to the elements nary work tries to be one step to fill this lack. The used in building the identity of region as well as to work will be completed later in the future as the the individual processes of the building of regional comprehensive analysis of the issue requires more identity. The subject is extensive and this article analysis and empirical material. draws only some general lines which are behind the reasons for the contemporary regional identity Spatial and collective identity in the Isthmus. Some of the issues are not ana- lysed or I only mention them: e.g. the role of the The idea of borderlands has emerged in debates cultural institutions and a re-writing of history. on identities that do not fit neatly into the mas- ter narratives of ethnicity or nation. The Karelian Historical roots for a Finno-Ugrian and Isthmus is this kind of borderland in question. A Russian Isthmus regional identity has emerged as a popular catego- ry, yet if is often unclear what it means. The re- Ethnicity is a crucial way to build a spatial iden- gional identity is one kind of spatial identity. Spa- tity and a bond between individual, collective and tial identity refers to a bond between an individual territory. The establishment of an ethnic group and a certain socially constructed space. Spatial and the identification of people with each other – global, national, regional or local – identity con- is, at an individual level, a subjective and fluctu- nects individuals together in a space constructed ating process. People within one ethnic group by people (Paasi 2003: 477). may experience their group in many different Paasi makes visible key elements of regional ways. Understanding ethnicity constructively is transformation through the concept of institution- based on acknowledging that the birth of ethnic alization of regions. Institutionalization refers to groups is not a question of isolated groups and the process during which specific territorial units their cultural differences. In fact, ethnic groups emerge and becomes established and socio-spatial are created through mutual contact. By observing consciousness prevail in the context where society the similarities within one group and the differ- itself is transforming. This regional transformation ences compared to others, and by creating them includes stages such as: the constitution of terri- as a consequence of an observation process, con- torial shape, the constitution of symbolic shape, cepts regarding ethnic groups, us and others, are the constitution of institutions and finally the es- formed. Therefore, ethnicity is not a characteristic tablishment of the territorial unit in the regional and static phenomenon but a social relationship. structure and social consciousness. Paasi classifies The observed differences and classifications based social consciousness into regional identity, and on them do not always coincide with actual cul- identity of region (Paasi 1995: 33–37). This article tural differences (Barth 1969: 5–12). highlights both the transformation of the identity Dividing people into ethnic groups based on of region and regional identity since the collapse language is a fairly new phenomenon, as is catego- of communism. rising groups into nations. Yet, people as social an- The identity of a region is an expression of a imals have a biological need to belong to a group. communal, collective experience based on which A nation, natio, and the history of its etymological 33 35: 2 (2006) ss. 32–41 derivatives in European countries dates back to no figures indicate that there are very few Finno-Ugri- further than the 16th century (Hobsbawn 1992: ans in the area today. In most cases, even fewer 23–29). In medieval communities, an individual master the Finno-Ugrian languages in question. was perceived through his or her family and clan Most of the current inhabitants of the Karelian community. Many people spoke the same lan- Isthmus identified themselves in the census as Rus- guage, but there was not necessarily much solidar- sians, and the number of those speaking Finno- ity between them. Due to urbanisation and the Ugrian languages and cultures in this area is small. ALUE JA YMPÄRISTÖ ALUE JA development of industry and commerce, an indi- The population of the Leningrad oblast, which vidual’s profession, guild or diocese started to play includes the Karelian Isthmus, is composed of 154 an important role in defining his or her identity. nationalities (Goskomstat 2002). In the census, a Karelians never formed their own modern state person may identify himself or herself as a member but were ruled by powers that later developed into of only one ethnic group. These official statistics modern nation-states. The Karelian identity and do not directly reflect the rich and multiple ethnic culture have been part of the development of the identification of individuals, but rather controls, Swedish, Russian and first and foremost Finnish limits and simplifies it. Most of these people iden- nation-state. Both Russia and Finland have claimed tify themselves as Russians. A new, post-WWII a right to Karelia and its culture and identity. phenomenon is the immigration of people who The reason behind the title Karelian Isthmus do not have a Christian background or speak an – and not the Russian Isthmus – is in the fact that Indo-European or Fenno-Ugrian languages as their ethnic groups, which are today called as Karelians mother tongue: Muslims from the south.
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