(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Finland are split on whether Russia should cede the sovereignty of Karelia to Finland, according to a poll by MC-Info published in Karjala. 38 per cent of respondents think Finland should regain the contested region in Northern Europe, while 43 per cent disagree.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Finland are split on whether Russia should cede the sovereignty of Karelia to Finland, according to a poll by MC-Info published in Karjala. 38 per cent of respondents think Finland should regain the contested region in Northern Europe, while 43 per cent disagree.
The entire land of Karelia is currently divided between the Russian Republic of Karelia, the Russian Leningrad Oblast, and two regions of Finland: South Karelia and North Karelia.
In 1939, the Soviet Union attacked and occupied Vyborg and Karelia. With the help of Nazi Germany, Finland got back Vyborg and the province of Karelia, as well as part of East Karelia. Following the German defeat in World War II, Finland was forced to retreat.
The discussion on whether Finland should regain sovereignty over the entire land of Karelia is known in the country as the Karelian Question—and also involves the disputed status of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland.
In September, Finnish provincial daily Kainuun Sanomat published a report, claiming that Russia put Karelia up for sale in 1991 and that then Finnish president Mauno Koivisto turned it down because the price tag was too high. Koivisto and some of his foreign policy collaborators denied the information, and accused the newspaper of lying.
On Sept. 30, Kainuun Sanomat editor Matti Piirainen stood by the report, declaring, "We have gone through the issues with our source anew and arrived at the same conclusion as two weeks ago. We continue not to regard the source as unreliable. We continue to be convinced that the state leadership made preparations for this sort of situation."
Polling Data
Do you think Russia should allow Finland to regain sovereignty over Karelia?
|
Yes |
38% |
|
No |
43% |
|
Not sire |
19% |
Source: MC-Info / Karjala
Methodology: Interviews with 1,000 Finns, aged 15 and up, conducted in November 2007. No margin of error was provided.
