There were four groups of Finns.

The first: were 6 000 to 10 000 Red Finns who escaped from the Civil War of 1918 in Finland to the Soviet Russia.

Secondly: migrants from Finland in the 1920s, mostly leftists who did not feel comfortable in the newly independent "White Finland".

Thirdly, there were illegal migrants from Finland in the early 1930s - and smaller numbers even before that - mainly because of the economic depression and unemployment.

Fourthly, there were 4,500 to 6,000 Finns from North America (the United States c. 60 %, Canada c. 40 %). The total number of Finns in Soviet Karelia amounted to about 12,100 persons.

The total number of terrorized Finns in Karelia has been estimated to 3 000-3 500 persons. Of those, about 70 % were executed.

[ Back < ]