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Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist RepublicКарельская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика Karjalan autonominen sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta
ASSR of the Russian SFSR
1923–1940 1956–1991
Flag (1978–1991) Coat of arms
Location of Karelian ASSR within RSFSR and Soviet Union (1956-1991)
Capital	Petrozavodsk
Area
• Coordinates	61°47′00″N 34°21′00″E / 61.783333°N 34.35°E / 61.783333; 34.35
• 1926	147,000 km (57,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1926	269,700
Government
• Type	Autonomous 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
• Promoted to SSR	1940
• Demotion to ASSR	6 July 1956
• Sovereignty declared	9 August 1990
• Republic of Karelia	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, Karelian ASSR 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.

Originally called the Autonomous Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic (AKSSR, Finnish: Autonominen Karjalan sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta, Russian: Автономная Карельская Социалистическая Советская Республика) until 1936, 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. In 1927, the ASSR was divided into districts, which replaced the old volosts.

Prior to the Great Purge and World War II, the leaders of the Karelian ASSR (most of which were socialist Finnish immigrants) 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. Because of this, the Karelian ASSR was sometimes referred to as "the Gyllingian Empire" in Finnish propaganda.

However, with the Great Purge and the Finnish operation of the NKVD, Gylling, among the rest of the Finnish leadership, was removed in 1935 and later executed. Consequently, any indigenization process and effort faded away, giving way to Russification instead. Gylling was replaced by Tver Karelian Pavel Bushuev, who soon also got framed and then purged. Pjotr Soljakov, a Russian politician, replaced Bushuev, and he served as the chairman of the Karelian ASSR until it ceased to exist in 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 Karelian ASSR 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. The K-FSSR was also de facto fully under Moscow's control. Some later historians believe that this unorthodox upgrade was likely a "convenient means for facilitating the possible incorporation of additional Finnish territory" (or all of Finland) or "at least a way to keep Finland continuously under the gun". The K-FSSR was also conflicted with the Soviet Constitution, as its population never reached a million, and as stated earlier, neither Karelians or Finns formed a majority in it.

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 also decided in 1958 to abolish the compulsory study of the Finnish language within the KASSR. Finnish retained its status as an official language, however, but its influence and use had now shrunk to a very minor point in comparison to earlier times.

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 was renamed to the Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic. 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

• Aleksandr Vasilevich Shotman (25 June 1923 – 1924)
• Aleksandr Fyodorovich Nuorteva (December 1924 – May 1928)
• Nikolay Aleksandrovich Yushchyev (January 1929 – 13 January 1934)
• Vasiliy Petrovich Averkyev (13 January 1934 – 1935)
• Nikolay Vasilyevich Arkhipov (February 1935 – November 1937)
• Mark Vasilyevich Gorbachev (November 1937 – 31 March 1940)
• Pavel Stepanovich Prokkonen (16 July 1956 – 18 July 1979)
• N. Kalinin (acting) (18 July 1979 – 18 August 1979)
• Ivan Pavlovich Mankin (18 August 1979 – 9 March 1984)
• N. Kalinin (acting) (9 March 1984 – 18 April 1984)
• Ivan Ilyich Senkin (18 April 1984 – 12 December 1985)
• V. Cheremovsky (acting) (12 December 1985 – 21 January 1986)
• Kuzma Filippovich Filatov (21 January 1986 – 27 December 1989)
• Viktor Nikolayevich Stepanov (27 December 1989 – 18 April 1990)

See also

• First Secretary of the Karelian Communist Party

Notes

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

References

1. Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 31
2. Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 35
3. "Äänislinna 20 vuotta takaperin ja nyt". heninen.net. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
4. Демоскоп. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам России: Карельская АССР
5. Демоскоп. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам России: Карельская АССР
6. 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.
7. ^ Taagepera, Rein (1999). The Finno-Ugric Republics and the Russian State. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 1-85065-293-7.
8. "Decree of the Council of Ministers of the KASSR". heninen.net. Retrieved 2024-12-19.

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

• 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".

• Autonomous republics of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
• History of the Republic of Karelia
• States and territories established in 1923
• 1923 establishments in the Soviet Union
• 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
• States and territories disestablished in 1991
• Former socialist republics