Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Карельская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика Karjalan autonominen sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta
ASSR of the Russian SFSR
1923–1940 1956–1991
Flag (1978–1991) Coat of arms
Location of Karelian ASSR within RSFSR and Soviet Union (1956-1991)
Capital	Petrozavodsk
Area
• Coordinates	61°47′00″N 34°21′00″E / 61.783333°N 34.35°E / 61.783333; 34.35
• 1989	180,500 km2 (69,700 sq mi)
Population
• 1989	790,150
Government
• Type	Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Chairman
• 1923–1935 (first)	Edvard Gylling
• 1990–1991 (last)	Viktor Stepanov
History
• Established	25 July 1923
• Promoted to SSR	31 March 1940
• Demotion to ASSR	6 July 1956
• Sovereignty declared	9 August 1990
• Republic of Karelia	13 November 1991
Preceded by Succeeded by 1923: Karelian Labor Commune 1956: Karelo-Finnish SSR 1940: Karelo-Finnish SSR 1990: Republic of Karelia

The Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,^[a] Karelian ASSR^[b] for short, sometimes referred to as Soviet Karelia, East Karelia or simply Karelia, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union, with its capital in Petrozavodsk. It existed from 25 July 1923 to 31 March 1940 and again from 6 July 1956 to 13 November 1991. It was succeeded by the Republic of Karelia.

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Originally called the Autonomous Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic (AKSSR; Finnish: Autonominen Karjalan sosialistinen neuvostotasavalta, Russian: Автономная Карельская Социалистическая Советская Республика) until 1936, the Karelian ASSR was formed as a part of the Russian SFSR by the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) of June 27, 1923 and by the Decree of the VTsIK and the Council of People's Commissars of July 25, 1923 from the Karelian Labor Commune.^[1] In 1927, the ASSR was divided into districts,^[2] which replaced the old volosts.

Prior to the Great Purge and World War II, the leaders of the Karelian ASSR (most of which were socialist Finnish immigrants) were applying a significant policy of indigenization over the ASSR. This was mainly taken care of by the long-time leader of the Karelian ASSR, Edvard Gylling. Finnish was used as the primary language for education and administration, with Russian in second. It's believed that Gylling, a Finnish socialist, wished to create his own Red Finland in Soviet Karelia following the defeat of the Reds in the Finnish Civil War. Because of this, the Karelian ASSR was sometimes referred to as "the Gyllingian Empire" in Finnish propaganda.^[3]

However, with the Great Purge and the Finnish Operation of the NKVD, Gylling, among the rest of the Finnish leadership, was removed in 1935 and later executed. Consequently, any indigenization process and effort faded away, giving way to Russification instead. Gylling was replaced by Tver Karelian Pavel Bushuev, who soon also got framed and then purged. Pjotr Soljakov, a Russian politician, replaced Bushuev, and he served as the chairman of the Karelian ASSR until it ceased to exist in 1940.

In 1938, the Kandalakshsky District was transferred from the Karelian ASSR to the Murmansk Oblast.

From 1940 to 1956, territory annexed from Finland (which had briefly constituted a puppet Finnish Democratic Republic) was incorporated with the Karelian ASSR to form the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, which had the status of a union republic in the federal structure of the Soviet Union. However, by this time, only a small portion of the population of this region was of Karelian or Finnish ethnic background.^{[nb 1]} The K-FSSR was also de facto fully under Moscow's control. Some later historians believe that this unorthodox upgrade was likely a "convenient means for facilitating the possible incorporation of additional Finnish territory"^[6] (or all of Finland^[7]) or "at least a way to keep Finland continuously under the gun".^[7] The K-FSSR was also conflicted with the Soviet Constitution, as its population never reached a million, and as stated earlier, neither Karelians or Finns formed a majority in it.

On July 16, 1956, it was downgraded from a union republic to an autonomous republic, and retroceded to the Russian SFSR. Due to the ethnic composition, it was also decided in 1958 to abolish the compulsory study of the Finnish language within the KASSR.^[8] Finnish retained its status as an official language, however, but its influence and use had now shrunk to a very minor point in comparison to earlier times.

The last territorial change of the Karelian ASSR happened in 1987, when the locality of Poyakonda was transferred to the Murmansk Oblast.

Beginning on August 9, 1990, the Karelian ASSR declared state sovereignty and was renamed to the Karelian Soviet Socialist Republic.^[c] The Karelian SSR was renamed to the Republic of Karelia on November 13, 1991, and remains a federal subject of Russia.

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• Aleksandr Vasilevich Shotman (25 June 1923 – 1924)
• Aleksandr Fyodorovich Nuorteva (December 1924 – May 1928)
• Nikolay Aleksandrovich Yushchyev (January 1929 – 13 January 1934)
• Vasiliy Petrovich Averkyev (13 January 1934 – 1935)
• Nikolay Vasilyevich Arkhipov (February 1935 – November 1937)
• Mark Vasilyevich Gorbachev (November 1937 – 31 March 1940)
• Pavel Stepanovich Prokkonen (16 July 1956 – 18 July 1979)
• N. Kalinin (acting) (18 July 1979 – 18 August 1979)
• Ivan Pavlovich Mankin (18 August 1979 – 9 March 1984)
• N. Kalinin (acting) (9 March 1984 – 18 April 1984)
• Ivan Ilyich Senkin (18 April 1984 – 12 December 1985)
• V. Cheremovsky (acting) (12 December 1985 – 21 January 1986)
• Kuzma Filippovich Filatov (21 January 1986 – 27 December 1989)
• Viktor Nikolayevich Stepanov (27 December 1989 – 18 April 1990)

• First Secretary of the Karelian Communist Party

• Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Государственный Архив Мурманской области. (1995). Административно-территориальное деление Мурманской области (1920–1993 гг.). Справочник. Мурманск: Мурманское издательско-полиграфическое предприятие "Север".