Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Ingrian Finns
Ingrian Finns are the Finnish population native to Ingria, a historical region corresponding to the central part of today's Leningrad Oblast in Russia. They originated from Lutheran Finnish settlers who moved to Ingria in the 17th century, when both Finland and Ingria were parts of the Swedish Empire. During the Soviet era, particularly before and after World War II, most of them were relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union or killed, in campaigns directed towards their forced deportation and genocide. Today, the Ingrian Finns constitute the largest part of the Finnish population of the Russian Federation. According to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the region of Saint Petersburg.
The term Ingrians is sometimes used as a synonym for Ingrian Finns, though it can also refer to the Izhorians or the Baltic Finnic residents of Ingria in general.
During the period of Swedish rule over Ingria in 1617–1703, the region underwent a drastic demographic change that led to the emergence of the Ingrian Finns. Following the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, and especially after the War of Rupture in 1656–1658, a significant portion of the area's Orthodox population fled to Russia. This was largely a response to the Swedish crown's heavy taxation, and its policy of promoting Lutheranism and pressurizing the Orthodox population to convert.
The depopulated lands were subsequently settled by an influx of Lutheran migrants from Finland. These settlers consisted of two main groups: the Äyrämöiset from the Karelian Isthmus (especially from Äyräpää) and the Savakot from Savo and other parts of Finland. For many, Ingria represented a "wild east" of the Swedish empire, a frontier offering an escape from taxes and military service. The movement was mostly voluntary, but for example some Forest Finns from Närke were forced to move.
This migration led to a rapid shift in the region's ethnoreligious composition. The Lutheran Finnish population grew substantially, becoming the majority by the 1670s. By the end of the 17th century, Finns constituted approximately three-quarters of Ingria's rural population of about 60,000 people. Finns made up 41.1 percent of the population of Ingria in 1656, 53.2 percent in 1661, 55.2 percent in 1666, 56.9 percent in 1671 and 73.8 percent in 1695.
Russia conquered Ingria in 1702–1703 during the Great Northern War and founded the city of Saint Petersburg (1703) in its center. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 confirmed Ingria's incorporation into the Russian Empire. Under Russian rule, the Ingrian Finns became serfs: they no longer owned the land they cultivated and were forbidden to move elsewhere. Russian population grew rapidly in the region, and Orthodox Christianity became the dominant religion, while the Ingrian Finns were permitted to continue practicing Lutheranism.
Serfdom in Russia was abolished in 1861, granting the peasants the opportunity to buy their land and freeing them from extra taxes and labor obligations. The wealth of the Ingrian rural population grew, and by the end of the 19th century, many Ingrian Finns were independent peasants. In the latter half of the 19th century, the Finnish national movement gained momentum in the Grand Duchy of Finland, and Finnish national consciousness rose in Ingria as well. Various educational and cultural initiatives were established, including sports clubs, choirs and temperance associations. Lutheran parsonages served as the main cultural centers for Ingrian Finns and also housed the region's first libraries.
The Kolppana teachers' and cantors' seminary was founded in 1863. It trained teachers for Finnish-language schools and it was overseen by the Evangelical Church of Russia. The seminary educated the Ingrian intelligentsia, who spread the enlightenment to the population. Following the establishment of the seminary, Finnish-language public schools were also founded. The schools and seminary operated freely until the 1890s, when the school system began to be Russified. Compared to the Russian average, literacy remained high among the Ingrian Finns.
Hub AI
Ingrian Finns AI simulator
(@Ingrian Finns_simulator)
Ingrian Finns
Ingrian Finns are the Finnish population native to Ingria, a historical region corresponding to the central part of today's Leningrad Oblast in Russia. They originated from Lutheran Finnish settlers who moved to Ingria in the 17th century, when both Finland and Ingria were parts of the Swedish Empire. During the Soviet era, particularly before and after World War II, most of them were relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union or killed, in campaigns directed towards their forced deportation and genocide. Today, the Ingrian Finns constitute the largest part of the Finnish population of the Russian Federation. According to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the region of Saint Petersburg.
The term Ingrians is sometimes used as a synonym for Ingrian Finns, though it can also refer to the Izhorians or the Baltic Finnic residents of Ingria in general.
During the period of Swedish rule over Ingria in 1617–1703, the region underwent a drastic demographic change that led to the emergence of the Ingrian Finns. Following the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, and especially after the War of Rupture in 1656–1658, a significant portion of the area's Orthodox population fled to Russia. This was largely a response to the Swedish crown's heavy taxation, and its policy of promoting Lutheranism and pressurizing the Orthodox population to convert.
The depopulated lands were subsequently settled by an influx of Lutheran migrants from Finland. These settlers consisted of two main groups: the Äyrämöiset from the Karelian Isthmus (especially from Äyräpää) and the Savakot from Savo and other parts of Finland. For many, Ingria represented a "wild east" of the Swedish empire, a frontier offering an escape from taxes and military service. The movement was mostly voluntary, but for example some Forest Finns from Närke were forced to move.
This migration led to a rapid shift in the region's ethnoreligious composition. The Lutheran Finnish population grew substantially, becoming the majority by the 1670s. By the end of the 17th century, Finns constituted approximately three-quarters of Ingria's rural population of about 60,000 people. Finns made up 41.1 percent of the population of Ingria in 1656, 53.2 percent in 1661, 55.2 percent in 1666, 56.9 percent in 1671 and 73.8 percent in 1695.
Russia conquered Ingria in 1702–1703 during the Great Northern War and founded the city of Saint Petersburg (1703) in its center. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 confirmed Ingria's incorporation into the Russian Empire. Under Russian rule, the Ingrian Finns became serfs: they no longer owned the land they cultivated and were forbidden to move elsewhere. Russian population grew rapidly in the region, and Orthodox Christianity became the dominant religion, while the Ingrian Finns were permitted to continue practicing Lutheranism.
Serfdom in Russia was abolished in 1861, granting the peasants the opportunity to buy their land and freeing them from extra taxes and labor obligations. The wealth of the Ingrian rural population grew, and by the end of the 19th century, many Ingrian Finns were independent peasants. In the latter half of the 19th century, the Finnish national movement gained momentum in the Grand Duchy of Finland, and Finnish national consciousness rose in Ingria as well. Various educational and cultural initiatives were established, including sports clubs, choirs and temperance associations. Lutheran parsonages served as the main cultural centers for Ingrian Finns and also housed the region's first libraries.
The Kolppana teachers' and cantors' seminary was founded in 1863. It trained teachers for Finnish-language schools and it was overseen by the Evangelical Church of Russia. The seminary educated the Ingrian intelligentsia, who spread the enlightenment to the population. Following the establishment of the seminary, Finnish-language public schools were also founded. The schools and seminary operated freely until the 1890s, when the school system began to be Russified. Compared to the Russian average, literacy remained high among the Ingrian Finns.