Karjala

Karjala is a Finnish lager type beer manufactured by the Hartwall brewery. Karjala beer was manufactured by the cooperative shop Osuusliike Itä-Karjala owned Sortavalan panimo Oy brewery from 1932 until 1944. Production was resumed in 1948.

During the 1960s, Karjala beer was already a fading brand until the Soviet Union's ambassador to Finland, Andrei E. Kovalev, stated in 1968 publicly that the label of Karjala beer evoked wrong perceptions from the war times. Karjala beer's label has the coat of arms of Karelia which features an arm wielding straight western (Swedish) sword thrusting a Russian sabre wielded by another arm. The press noted the event with an article spanning 14 broadsheet pages and Karjala-beer gained new steam as a brand. Later on, a proverb stating "Karelia back, even bottle by bottle" (Karjala takaisin, vaikka pullo kerrallaan.) was formed. As excise tax class III beer gained popularity, Karjala beer got a nickname of "evacuee beer" (evakkokalja), especially in eastern Finland, as it will "always return" (tulloo aina takasi).

Finnish gunboat Karjala

Karjala (ex-Filin) was a Finnish gunboat, built in 1918 by Crichton AB in Turku. She served in the Finnish Navy during World War II. Karjala was named after the Finnic cultural region of Karelia. Like her sistership Turunmaa she served as cadet training vessel during peacetime and was nicknamed as Kurjala (place of misery) by cadets.

Interwar period

From summer of 1919 Karjala amongst other Finnish naval vessels was tasked with security and patrol duties the Koivisto region where the British naval detachment was located. During prohibition in Finland in 1925 some illegal alcohol had been smuggled onboard Karjala by cadets. Some of the alcohol was spilled to a nearby lantern which ignited the liquid resulting in an explosion which injured several cadets. Event became known as the 'second blast of Karelia' after the Viborg blast of 1495.

On 4 September 1939 Karjala as part of the Coastal Fleet was moved to the Sea of Åland. However, as Karjala was replaced by Hämeenmaa the ship sailed to Kotka already on 18 September. For the rest of the autumn Karjala patrolled the waters from Kotka to Koivisto together with Turunmaa.

Karelia (historical province of Finland)

Karelia is a historical province of Finland (historically also known as Swedish Karelia, when Finland was part of the Swedish Realm). It refers to the Western Karelia that during the second millennium has been under western dominance, religiously and politically. Western, i.e. Finnish Karelia is separate from Eastern, i.e. Russian Karelia, which was dominated by Novgorod and its successor states from the 12th century onwards.

The name is Karjala in Finnish and Karelen in Swedish. Karelia borders on Uusimaa, Savonia and Ostrobothnia. It is also bounded by Russia and the Gulf of Finland.

Current Regions

Parts of the historical province of Karelia are divided between the Regions of North Karelia and South Karelia as well as smaller parts of Kymenlaakso and Northern Savonia.

History

During the 13th century, Karelia was still undivided and fought over between the Novgorod Republic and Sweden. Karelians were listed as Novgorodian allies in the mid-12th century in Russian Chronicles. The "Third Swedish crusade", led by the marshal Torgils Knutsson, which took place between 1293 and 1295, resulted in the western parts of Karelia coming under Swedish rule, and the building of the Castle of Viborg.