Karelians

The Karelians (proper names: karjalaižet ) is a Finno- Ugric people ( baltic Finnish group) in Finland, Northwest Russia, especially in the autonomous Republic of Karelia, but also in Tver Oblast.

They speak a Baltic language Finnish, Karelian ( in contrast to the known as Karelians residents of the Finnish region of Karelia, the Finnish dialect, one employ ). The number of Karelians is strongly decreasing, but is still above 100,000. Since the early medieval Kievan Rus and strengthened in the 17th century the Karelians are under Russian influence. Nevertheless, they have a rich own culture. The famous song collection Kalevala is mainly Karelian origin. The Karelians are Russian Orthodox Christians.