Karelia

Flags of Karelia

The two flags of Karelia, the cultural and nationalist flag of the karelian people (left, with cross) and the official flag of the Russian Republic of Karelia (right, with bars)

Parts of Karelia, as they are divided today

Karelia (Karelian and Finnish: Karjala, Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkɑrjɑlɑ]; Russian: Каре́лия, tr. Karélija, is an area in the eastern Nordic region.

Most of Karelia belongs to Russia today. Small parts of Karelia belong to Finland. On the Russian side of Karelia is the Republic of Karelia. On the Finnish side are the provinces of North Karelia and South Karelia.

The original people of Karelia are Karelians. Karelian people speak Karelian, a Finnic language very close to Finnish and Estonian. Karelians knew many old poems. Many poems of the Finnish book Kalevala are from the Karelians. Today in the Republic of Karelia, Karelians are a minority and Russians are a majority. Some people fear Karelian culture and language will die out, due to Soviet immigration to destroy the culture.