Ladoga Karelia (Finnish:Laatokan Karjala,Swedish:Ladogakarelen,Russian:Ладожская Карелия,romanized: Ladožskaja Karelija, Карельское Приладожье,Karelskoje Priladožje or Северное Приладожье,Severnoje Priladožje) is a historical region ofKarelia, currently largely inRussia. Today, the term refers to the part of theRepublic of Karelia in theRussian Federation comprising the south-west part of the Republic, specificallyLakhdenpokhsky District,Pitkyarantsky District and Sortavala District. This region is on the northern littoral ofLake Ladoga, which bordersOlonets Karelia to the East,Leningrad Oblast (Karelian Isthmus) to the south-west and theNorth Karelia region ofFinland to the west.[1][2]
When state formation first began in the region, Ladoga Karelia belonged to theNovgorod Republic; thereafter it came under Russian rule, as part ofKexholm County. Along with Kexholm County, Ladoga Karelia was transferred to Sweden through theTreaty of Stolbovo in 1617. Sweden lost Ladoga Karelia to Russia in theTreaty of Nystad in 1721, after which the area became part of theViborg Governorate, also known asOld Finland. Following the Russian conquest of the rest of Finland, this so-called "Old Finland" was united, under the nameViborg Province, with the newly constitutedGrand Duchy of Finland in 1812. The Ladoga Karelia was then divided intoCentral Karelia andBorder Karelia.[3][4] The area remained part of Finland following its independence from Russia in 1917.[citation needed]
Ladoga Karelia was fought over by Finland and theSoviet Union during the 1939–40Winter War (ended with theMoscow Peace Treaty) and the 1941–44Continuation War. Following these conflicts, only small parts of Ladoga Karelia remained in Finland. Some form part of theSouth Karelia region: the Finnish parts ofParikkala,Saari andUukuniemi municipalities are now part ofParikkala municipality; the formerSimpele municipality is now part of the currentRautjärvi municipality. Meanwhile,Kolkka, the westernmost part of the formerKorpiselkä municipality that remained in Finland, was joined toTuupovaara municipality, which in turn is now part ofJoensuu andNorth Karelia province.[citation needed]
The historic region of Central Karelia (Finnish:Keski-Karjala) was divided into the following municipalities andhundreds (kihlakunnat):
Hiitola was also sometimes read as belonging to Ladoga Karelia.Pälkjärvi belonged to the parish ofIlomantsi and thus to the county ofKuopio. Because of its geographical position and historical background, however, it could also be connected to Laatokan Karjala.[5]
In Border Karelia (Finnish:Raja-Karjala), the majority language wasKarelian and most of the people wereOrthodox Christians. Most Karelians in the area spoke South Karelian (suvikarjala, not to be confused with thesoutheastern dialects of Finnish), whileLivvi was spoken in Salmi and the Hyrsylä salient of Suojärvi.[6]
The historic region of Border Karelia was divided into the following municipalities (all belonging toSalmin kihlakunta):