Red Exodus / Karelian Fever
In the early 1930s nearly 6,000 Finnish Americans, predominantly from the Upper Midwest and Lake Superior region of the United States and Canada, left North America for Karelia, Russia with the intent to help build a Utopian Finnish-speaking society that never came to fruition.
From the artist:
For the past few years, I have immersed myself in learning about this period of history known as Karelian Fever or the Red Exodus.
I am not an academic or a historian, but an artist seeking to make sense of the experience that my maternal grandmother, Kerttu, lived through. My approach to this project was not entirely systematic or fully exhaustive but instead an intuitive exercise of listening for clues to lead me to the next piece of information that might help paint a picture of a woman I never knew.
In lieu of condensing the history for you, I have asked Historian Alexis Pogorelskin to share some reflections, below.
I also reflect on my Family Story within Karelian Fever, further down this page.
I have gathered many of the books, articles and films that I engaged and include them as resources at the bottom of this page if you find yourself interested in learning more.
Reflections on Karelia 90 years later
by Dr. Alexis Pogorelskin, University of Minnesota-Duluth, emerita
Image Source: RIA Novosti
Mayme Sevander’s Karelia numbers:
5,596 arrivals of Finns from North America (US & Canada)
North American Finns comprised about half of total ethnic Finnish population of Karelia (12,000+)
1,346 confirmed returned to North American
The fate of 950 is unknown
A total of 1,235 were victimized Finnish Americans
853 of the 1,235 were victims of Stalin’s Purges (executed)
*Some historians state that as many as 10,000 North American Finns went to Karelia in the 1930s. I am sharing Mayme Sevander’s numbers as she has shared the most thorough account of people that I was able to find at this time.
My Family’s story
Heikki, Edla, Vieno, and Kerttu Aho left their home in the US for Karelia on September 11, 1932.
RESOURCES on this topic
They Took My Father
Finnish Americans in Stalin’s Russia
Memoir written by Mayme Sevander with Laurie Hertzel
KARELIA
A Finnish-American Couple in Stalin’s Russia 1934-1941
Written by Laurence Hokkanen and Sylvia Hokkanen with Anita Middletong
Karelian Exodus
Finnish Communities in North America and Soviet Karelia during the Depression Era
A collection of scholarly papers Edited by Ronald Harpelle, Varpu Lindstrom, and Alexis Pogorelskin
IKITIE
The Eternal Road
Fiction film about a Finnish man who is forced to spy on the idealists who are living on a Russian collective farm (of North Americans) Directed by Antti-Jussi Annila
available to rent: Prime Video, YouTube
MORE LINKS
LETTERS FROM KARELIA : 76 minute documentary film / by Sheba Films directed by Kelly Saxberg
DISILLUSIONMENT on the GRANDEST of SCALES: Finnish Americans in Soviet Union 1917-1939 : article by Emily Weidenhamer / December 12, 2005
STALIN’S AMERICAN VICTIMS : article by Peter Day for the Washington Examiner / January 4, 1999
WAITING FOR A MEMORIAL IN SANDARMOKH to the FINNS KILLED by STALIN : article by Anna Yarovaya for the Barent’s Observer / Nov 22, 2018
LONG WAY HOME: The American Finns Who Heeded the Call of the USSR : article in Russia Beyond / March 25, 2016
GENOCIDE IN SOVIET KARELIA: Stalin’s Terror and the Finns of Soviet Karelia : paper by Auvo Kostiainen for geneologia.fi / published in Scandinavian Journal of History 21(1996):4, p. 332-341
DEAD IN THE U.S.S.R. Hundreds of Finnish-Canadians who went in search of a better life became victims of Stalin’s purges : article by Mark Dwyer for Maclean’s / August 1, 2005
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS around SANDARMAKH:
Dig Near Stalin-Era Mass Grave Looks To Some Like Kremlin Dirty Work : article by Lyubov Chizhova for Radio Free Europe|Radio Liberty / Sept 4, 2018
Digging up the past: How a Stalin-era mass grave became a battleground in Russia’s memory war : article by Ollie Carol for the UK Independant / Aug 29, 2019
This Russian forest symbolized Stalin’s brutality. Now some contend the Finns should share the blame article by Will Englund for the Washinton Post / Sept 14, 2019
He found one of Stalin’s Mass Graves. Now he’s in jail. : article by Andrew Higgins for the New York Times / April 27, 2020