The 104th anniversary of the Republic of Karelia silenced in Russia

History

On 8 June 1920, the Karelian Workers’ Commune was founded as part of the Russian SFSR. On that day, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Executive Power of the Russian Federation signed in Moscow the decision to establish the Karelian Workers’ Commune of the Russian Federation. Prior to this, events had unfolded in which the Karelians were faced with three paths: to create an independent Republic of Karelia, to join the independent Finland or to join Soviet Russia.

Prior to this, from 21 to 29 March 1920, the Karelian Congress had been held in Uhtua (Kalevala), which was attended by 118 delegates from 11 parishes. The Congress decided that Karelia should run its own affairs. The Congress also demanded that the Soviet troops leave Karelian lands so that the Karelians themselves could decide freely on the national structure of Karelia on the basis of a vote. On 27 March, the Congress announced the independence of Karelia and the decision to take the fate of the Karelian people into their own hands. A Provisional Government of Karelia was formed, with the aim of being the government of all Karelia. Finland declared its support for Karelian independence. The provisional government was based in Uhtua until 18 May 1920, from where it was relocated to Vuokkiniemi (Voknovolok in Russian), from where it fled to Finland on 17 June, together with members of the Karelian Parliament who had gathered there at the same time.

Current times

As has become customary in recent years in the republics belonging to the Russian Federation, it is no longer considered appropriate to celebrate the anniversaries of autonomies. In the case of the Republic of Karelia, this was particularly striking this year. This time, there were no birthday greetings from the republic’s leadership, no events bringing the Karelian population together. The central event ‘Sampo-mylly’ (Sampo mill) festival took place in the pavilion of the VDNH (ВДНХ) exhibition centre in Moscow, where famous Karelian groups such as the singing and dancing group Kantele and the vocal group Ainoi performed. The festival attracted over 100,000 participants.

At the same time, tourist vouchers were raffled, since Karelia has contributed a lot to the development of tourism. Throughout the day, the event ‘8 June in everyone’s life’ took place in the Republic Pavilion. Gifts were handed out to participants celebrating an important event on this day – be it a birthday, wedding, engagement or anything else. All that was needed to receive them was any documentary proof of the importance of 8 June in your life – be it a passport, a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a certificate of education, etc.

According to a long-established tradition, the celebration of the anniversary of the Republic of Karelia takes place at the end of the summer in different municipalities, so that the districts can prepare for the celebrations with financial support from the central government. This year, the celebrations will take place in the Segezha region on 24 August.