A bit of history: Republic of Karelia


In my opinion, history is the most undervalued areas when you travel. People usually like to visit other countries to discover monuments, parks or food, but what about history? To have the opportunity to know the history of a place in the same place it happened is one of the most beautiful things you can do in your life! So please, if someone is reading this blog and likes travelling, try to discover some of the history of the cities you go!

In one of my trips to the North of Finland, I had the opportunity to listen so many stories by the mouth of a Finnish guide that knew so much about history. One day, while we were going to Norway, he spoke us about the “Republic of Karelia”, and I want to share with you a bit of this part of the history.

The Republic of Karelia is nowadays located in the northwest of Russia, and it has a population of 643,548. From 1940 to 1956, it was known as the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, and after being again an autonomous republic in 1956, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it started to be part of Russia. So, as we can see, Karelia was part of Finland until few years ago.

The guide told us some stories about it. For example, he said that one friend of him lived a terrible experience because of this division: his parents went to Karelia, and he couldn’t see them again because of the division. To listen these stories make you feel sensible, and it make you to be aware of the things that happen in the world. Everything happens closer than you think!

I’m glad to have had the opportunity of discover this part of the history, without text books! As you see, you can learn history in your daily life!



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