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Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

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Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Карельская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика
Karjalan autonominen sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta
ASSR of the Russian SFSR
1923–1940
1956–1991

Location of Karelian ASSR within RSFSR and Soviet Union (1956-1991)
CapitalPetrozavodsk
Area
 • Coordinates61°47′00″N 34°21′00″E / 61.783333°N 34.35°E / 61.783333; 34.35
 
• 1926
147,000 km2 (57,000 sq mi)
Population 
• 1926
269,700
Government
 • TypeAutonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars 
• 1923-1935 (first)
Edvard Gylling
• 1990-1991 (last)
Viktor Stepanov
History 
• Established
25 July 1923
1940
• Demotion to ASSR
6 July 1956
• Sovereignty declared
9 August 1990
13 November 1991
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
1923: Karelian Labor Commune
1956: Karelo-Finnish SSR
1940: Karelo-Finnish SSR
1990:
Republic of Karelia

The Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,[a] Karelian ASSR[b] for short, sometimes referred to as Soviet Karelia or simply Karelia, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, with the capital in Petrozavodsk.

The Karelian ASSR was formed as a part of the Russian SFSR by the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) of June 27, 1923 and by the Decree of the VTsIK and the Council of People's Commissars of July 25, 1923 from the Karelian Labor Commune.[1] In 1927, the ASSR was divided into districts,[2] which replaced the old volosts.

Prior to the Great Purge and World War II, the leaders of the Karelian ASSR were applying a significant policy of indigenization over the ASSR. This was mainly taken care of by the long-time leader of the Karelian ASSR, Edvard Gylling. Finnish was used as the primary language for education and administration, with Russian in second. It's believed that Gylling, a Finnish socialist, wished to create his own Red Finland in Soviet Karelia following the defeat of the Reds in the Finnish Civil War.

However, with Stalin's purges, Gylling was executed and any indigenization process and effort faded away, giving way to Russification instead. He was replaced by Tver Karelian Pavel Bushuev, who also got purged not long after. Pjotr Soljakov replaced Bushuev, and he led the Karelian ASSR until 1940.

In 1938, the Kandalakshsky District was transferred from the Karelian ASSR to the Murmansk Oblast.

From 1940 to 1956, territory annexed from Finland (which had briefly constituted a puppet Finnish Democratic Republic) was incorporated with the previous Karelian Autonomous Republic to form the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, which had the status of a union republic in the federal structure of the Soviet Union. However, by this time, only a small portion of the population of this region was of Karelian or Finnish ethnic background.[nb 1] Some later historians believe that this unorthodox upgrade was likely a "convenient means for facilitating the possible incorporation of additional Finnish territory"[5] (or all of Finland[6]) or "at least a way to keep Finland continuously under the gun".[6]

On July 16, 1956, the SSR was downgraded from a Union Republic to an ASSR, and retroceded to the Russian SFSR. Due to the ethnic composition, it was decided in 1958 to abolish the compulsory study of the Finnish language within the KASSR. However, Finnish retained its status as an official language. The last territorial change of the Karelian ASSR happened in 1987, when the locality of Poyakonda was transferred to the Murmansk Oblast.

Beginning on August 9, 1990, the Karelian ASSR declared state sovereignty and renamed to the Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic.[c] The Karelian SSR was renamed to the Republic of Karelia on November 13, 1991, and remains a federal subject of Russia.

Administration

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Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet

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Stamp "50 years of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic" Mail USSR 1970
Stamp "50 years of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic" Mail USSR 1970

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In the Soviet Census of 1939, Karelians were 23% of the population and Finns 2%;[3] by the census of 1959, Karelians were 13% and Finns 4%.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 31
  2. ^ Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 35
  3. ^ Демоскоп. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам России: Карельская АССР
  4. ^ Демоскоп. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам России: Карельская АССР
  5. ^ Helin, Ronald Arthur (1961). Economic-geographic Reorientation in Western Finnish Karelia: A Result of the Finno-Soviet Boundary Demarcations of 1940 and 1944. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. p. 101.
  6. ^ a b Taagepera, Rein (1999). The Finno-Ugric Republics and the Russian State. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 1-85065-293-7.
  1. ^
    • Russian: Каре́льская Автоно́мная Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, romanized: Karelskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika
    • Finnish: Karjalan autonominen sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta
  2. ^
    • Russian: Каре́льская АССР, romanized: Karelskaya ASSR
    • Finnish: Karjalan ASNT
  3. ^
    • Russian: Каре́льская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, romanized: Karelskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika
    • Finnish: Karjalan sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta

Sources

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  • Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Государственный Архив Мурманской области. (1995). Административно-территориальное деление Мурманской области (1920–1993 гг.). Справочник. Мурманск: Мурманское издательско-полиграфическое предприятие "Север".
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