Last Updated: April 25, 2008

Finnish and Related People's History, Culture and Language

Welcome! Tervetuloa!

The Uralic Family of languages is comprised of two branches: 1) Finno-Ugric, and 2) Samoyedic. The Baltic Finnish/Karelian and Estonian (Finnic), Hungarian (Ugric) and Lapp (Saami "saw-me") people belong to this distinct group of linguistically related people. Uralic people are by definition indigenous people of the northern regions between the Urals and Norway. Ancient Finno-Ugric people even hunted in Central Europe at least during periods of glaciation. If this is the case, assimilation of these northern tribes has been going on for over ten thousand years. The process has been so gradual that their language has been preserved though genetically Finns are to a great extent European. Some believe that until a thousand years ago, Finland was occupied only by Saami and that Finns migrated from the east and settled there. This theory has been disproven and ancestors of Finns have been there much longer as the agreement between archeology and linguistic theory has shown. The writer's own theory of Finno-Ugric occupation of the North has solid research backing which opens the door to even greater possibilities in the quest for ancient origins of Finns. Boat People Theory To traverse the huge numbers of lakes in Finland, early Finns invented ice skates.



There are many related groups in the former Soviet Union, most of which are quickly being assimilated into the dominant Russian language and culture. Just as the western Finns have had Germanic influence, the eastern Finnish cultures have developed with many Turkic/Indo-Iranian and Slavic cultural, religious and linguistic influences. The eastern Finnish languages cannot be understood by Finns today as contacts to the east have been more or less cut for eight hundred years of Russian history. At times, glaciers also separated the Eastern Finno-Ugric people from their relatives that once extended from the Netherlands to the shores of the Black Sea in the South. So of course Finns would have some "Eastern" genes since their hunting and trading range to the East may have reached Siberia. See 2007 Finno-Ugric Festival in Russia.

Place-names which stretch all the way to the Ural mountains are ancient Finnish related in origin which can be seen in the map section. Many place names have similar prefixes although they might be several thousand kilometers apart. Finno-Ugric place names based on the root "sum" and "sam" testify to the large area Finns once called their land. "Suursuomi" movement or the idea of rebuilding a larger Finland that Slavs conquered, gained strength in 1941 when the Finns set out to take back land Russia annexed the year before. The Russians had grossly underestimated Finnish determination and stamina.

Many Finns and Estonians have a keen interest in their relatives to the east with whom many still feel some kinship ties. Recently, due to events in Russia against Finno-Ugric people by Moscow, there has been increased interest in this topic from many countries.



Finnish culture, which is the main focus at this page, is very Scandinavian in style, but Finno-Ugric origins make the people distinct in many ways.

Who are the Uralic people? Where did they come from? Where do they live? What is their language and culture like? This web page explores these and many other questions relating to Uralic people: their past, present and future.

One cannot understand Finnish language, history and culture without some knowledge of related people. Finnish history and culture are presented against a background of the other Finno-Ugric people. Finnish written history is only from the second millennium, but fortunately the Finns have a strong oral tradition going back to the ice ages. Finns, and Karelian tribes in particular, had a strong oral tradition of rune singing their history, ancient shamanistic beliefs, myth, magic, love and war. These traditions survived in Karelia probably because of the relative isolation from the early Finnish church. These stories were collected in the 19th Century and compiled into one story, composed of a masterful collection of epic poems that reveal the daily life of the people over millennia. Karelia has a long history going back over eight thousand years. Today, Finns love their Kalevala which is read and enjoyed as a rich historical and mythological legacy of their ancestors.




You can also read about the period in which the slavs began intercepting Karelian trade with the Norwegians and Volga traders and study the maps showing the land they called their own. When the population exploding slavs came and took over the key trading posts to the East, they forced the inhabitants to move West. Timing is everything; the Slavs were two hundred years too late. By the time Russians arrived, the Perm ivory trade was in decline as new sources became available in Africa. Trading posts in Northwest Russia that were established by Finns were reestablished by Russians (e.g. Ustjug). Most of them were taken from their original owners by force after they made several friendly visits. There was little coexisting in harmony with the heavy vodka drinking Slavs who were more than willing to share their booze for a price. The aim of Russia is and always has been to Russify everyone they control and convert them to their language and religion, by force if necessary. Therefore it was providential that the Western Finns were "protected" by Sweden for 700 years, which gave this nation the opportunity to become what it is today rather than suffer genocide and absorption into a crude, agressive society. Both Sweden and Russia fought for control of the land between Lake Onega and the Baltic, but the real owners of this land are Baltic Finns themselves, mainly Tavastians, Karelians (Eastern and Western), Veps, (Southeastern Karelians) and Ingrians who live between Estonia and Karelia.


Since the last war, misinformation flooded the world's knowledge base and many false teachings have been spread about the Finns, Karelians and their rightful heritage in the north. These must be set straight. Viipuri (Vyborg) for example, which is not far from St. Petersburg, on the Gulf of Finland, was established by Finns and built by Finns - not Russians. Russian pamphlets state that the natural harbor city of Viipuri used to belong to Russia and now it is back with the rightful owners. Finland "belonged" to Sweden a lot longer than it did Russia. The fact is that Viipuri and indeed all of Karelia (to the shores of Onega) and Finland belong to the Finnish people, although colonial masters have taken control several times. Russia can steal the land for awhile but that does not mean Russians are the rightful owner. Citizens, fearing for their lives, abandoned their homes, but they still own them. Karelians are waiting for their land to be returned because it was taken illegally. Once a country has signed a document, it is legally (by International Law) bound by it. Russia signed the (Atlantic Charter, 1942) which means they promised not to engage in land grabbing in exchange for foreign aid. They did not respect this Treaty, nor any other Stalin signed, unless it was to their advantage.



As for the reliability of the information contained here, of course there may be some outdated material as some sources are very old. In researching sources such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica be aware that it may contain Soviet era disinformation regarding areas they "liberated." The elite have always had their way, employing writers to write or invent history. They are very clever at it, and you can easily miss the lie if you don't have enough background information to spot it. The intention here is to correct history, not alter it, and to expose lies. Every lover of truth must empathize with this. An old Finnish saying: "”SE PUU KAATUU, JOKA JUURENSA UNOHTAA” means that the tree that forgets its roots will fall.



Also personal views may sometimes blur the facts as the writer adds his own interpretations though great effort has been expended in minimizing such artifacts.