Siberian Finns
Siberian Finns (Finnish: Siperiansuomalaiset, Siberian Finnish: korlakat) are Finnish people living
in Siberia, mainly descendants of Ingrian Finns, who were deported into Siberia. According to
some estimates up to 30,000 Ingrian Finns were deported to Siberia, a third of whom died either
on their way to the various labor camps or soon after arrival.[1] The first Finns in Siberia were a
group of serfs who were deported into Siberia in 1803 and formed the village of Ryzhkovo, which
still has a Finnish population.[2][1][3] Siberian Finns lived close to Izhorians and Estonians.[4]
Because the ground was good for farming, and Finns speaking Finnish in their villages, Siberia
had become a new home for many Finns, and moving back to Finland was too big of a risk
economically to do.[5] Many Siberian Finns have an Estonian passport, because it was better to
be Estonian than Finnish in the Soviet Union.
Map of Siberia
The Siberian Finnish dialect is dying, however it is still spoken, and people still often greet using a
Finnish expression "päivää".[2]
Statistics
Between 1826 and 1888, a total of 3,321 Finns were sent into Siberia, of which only 462 were
women.[5]
In 1893, Tobolsk had: 1057 Finnish speakers, Tomsk: 136, Sakha: 118, Zabaykalsky Krai: 211 and
Irkutsk had 63 Finnish speakers.
See also
Genocide of the Ingrian Finns
Deportations of the Ingrian Finns
Siberian Ingrian Finnish
References
1. Raitio, Lasse (7 April 2005). "Viimeiset siperiansuomalaiset valokuvina" (https://www.ts.fi/vi
ihde/1074036143) . Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 June 2022.
2. "Itäprojekti matkaa siperiansuomalaisten uinuviin kyliin" (http://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2013/0
1/31/itaprojekti-matkaa-siperiansuomalaisten-uinuviin-kyliin) . yle.fi (in Finnish).
3. "Siperiassa asuu yhä suomalaisia" (https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000004360326.html) .
Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). December 15, 2005.
4. Viikberg, Jüri (January 1, 1989). "Suomalais-virolaisia kielisuhteita Siperiassa" (https://journ
al.fi/virittaja/article/view/38268) . Virittäjä (in Finnish). 93 (1): 79 – via journal.fi.
5. Mainio, Aleksi (15 January 2020). "Kansallisarkiston esiselvitys suomalaisista Venäjällä
1917–1953" (https://kansallisarkisto.fi/esiselvitys_suomalaisista_venajalla_1917-1953)
(in Finnish). Kansallisarkisto. Liite 1. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
Further reading
Haarala, Ruslan Siperiansuomalaiset ja siperiansuomi. "Juttele eestis tai suomeks, da e
ryssäki käyb". University of Helsinki (2005). Dissertation on the dialect spoken by Siberian
Finns.
External links
Documentary of Siberian Finns, includes Siberian Finnish spoken. (https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2
013/01/31/itaprojekti-matkaa-siperiansuomalaisten-uinuviin-kyliin)
