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This article presents the activities of cooperative organisations in the Ukhta District in the 1920s. The main objective of the research is to consider the various types and forms of cooperative associations of residents of the Ukhta District of Karelia and establish the most important areas of their activities. The leading research methods are historical narrative, analysis and synthesis of information identified in archival and printed materials, methods of microhistory and regional studies. The main sources of the research are documents from the funds of the National Archives of the Republic of Karelia. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, using the example of the Ukhta District, inhabited by northern Karelians, it examines the development of various types of cooperative peasant associations in Karelia, taking into account not only the national specifics, but also natural environment and climatic and foreign policy factors. In this regard, the difficulties of restoring the economy at the beginning of the New Economic Policy in the Ukhta District, which suffered from military operations and bad weather conditions, are revealed. Using the example of the Kemsk-Ukhta District Union of Cooperatives, distinctive features in the work of cooperative societies in the border zone were discovered and general shortcomings of consumer cooperation in the 1920s were detected. Other types of cooperative associations created in Ukhta district have been established: credit partnership, agricultural commune, land reclamation partnership. The peculiarity of peasant cooperatives in northern villages, where reindeer herding partnerships were created, was clarified; the importance of peasant cooperation for the economic growth of Ukhta district is shown.

The article* focuses on an analysis of the funeral and memorial rituals of the Ludian Karelians in the context of folk religion. For many years, rites of Orthodox origin were either viewed unilaterally or ignored altogether in ethnographic literature, with the reconstruction of 'pagan' elements being highlighted, which in turn gave rise to the theory of dual faith. According to the results of my research, the funeral and memorial traditions of the Ludians (from the late 19th to the late 20th century) are based on an Orthodox funeral system in which many aspects derived from a Christian basis found new interpretation. For example, the requirement to light candles was explained as lighting the way to the afterlife, the importance of making confession was so that the dying person's sins would not attach to the living, and funeral services were to help the soul of the deceased 'settle', etc. The principal exponents of the funeral rituals, who ensured the successful transition of the soul to the next world, were representatives of the people: women who washed the body of the deceased, and lamenters, but the church priesthood nonetheless played a significant role in conducting the rituals. The priest's participation is apparent at all stages of the funeral ritual, from confession to commemoration. Following the abolition of the institution of the church during the Soviet period, the functions of the priest were assumed by elderly women who knew the prayers and church burial traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction. The research analyzes and systematizes the field materials of folk medicine of the Karelians collected by the authors among the Karelians living in Karelia in the 2000-ies. Materials and Methods. Field materials were collected in the places of residence of the Karelians. The research was carried out using comparative and comparative-historical methods. Results and Discussion. In the presented study, the authors turn to one of the most widespread and ancient methods of ethno-medicine which is a treatment by berries, namely the use of berries, berry plants and their components by the Karelians. This topic is relevant both from the point of view of the application of traditional medical knowledge to the treatment, and because the range of medicinal herbs reflects the ethnic identity of the people and local characteristics. The collected and reviewed materials showed that berries and parts of berry plants have a fairly wide range of applications in the medical practice of all groups of the Karelians. Such types of berries as lingonberry, cranberry, blueberry, bird cherry, viburnum, raspberry, cloudberry, strawberry, irga, wolf bast, black currant were used for medical purposes. Herbal medicine was very popular in the treatment of colds, gastrointestinal diseases, general malaise and some skin diseases in all groups of the Karelians (Livvic and Ludic). The most common methods of berry treatment, which are common throughout the territory of Karelia, were fresh cranberries and lingonberries; raspberry jam; tea with dried raspberries or cloudberry sepals; decoction of raspberry leaves and berries; lingonberry or cranberry juice. The same plant could be used to treat different diseases, but the parts of the plant and the way it was consumed could vary. Conclusion. The collected material and the research have shown that berries and parts of berry plants have a fairly wide range of applications in the medical practice of all groups of the Karelians. In general, treatment with berry plants was very popular in the treatment of colds, gastric diseases, general malaise and some skin diseases in all groups of the Karelians.

Introduction. The author studies religious and mythological representations regarding the death of one of a little-studied ethnic groups which are Ludian Karelians. The purpose of the study is to identify the components that formed the worldview complex of the Ludians associated with the concepts of “soul”, “death”, “underworld”, including signs and symbols. Materials and Methods. The research is based on the archives and field studies as well as folklore texts, dictionaries, speech samples. It employs the comparative-historical method and the ethnolinguistic approach. Results and Discussion. In general, the Ludians as well as the Karelians defined death as an act of separation of the soul from the body (heng lähtöu ‘the soul leaves’, heng lendau ‘the soul flies away’), and it occurs upon the will of the ancestors (syndyd). Among the Ludians the term iče (in the initial meaning ‘shadow, soul’) is associated with the representations of the Finno-Ugric people of the existence of the second shadow-soul as well as the idea of “rodimchik” as the terminal illness. Ludian believed that unusual behavior of a cuckoo, a woodpecker, a rooster and a chicken (knocking at the window, knocking on the wall of the house) can be interpreted as the impending death of a family member. The Russian influence on Ludians is associated with Christian ideas about the underworld as the place of the reunion of a human being with God and Orthodox holidays as “favorable” dates for dying. Conclusion. According to a comprehensive comparative-historical analysis of the sources of the funeral and memorial rites of Ludian Karelians, the components of the Baltic-Finnish, common Finno-Ugric and Karelian origin can be distinguished in the representations of Ludians of the death and the underworld. At the same time, the influence of Slavic ideas of the death on Ludians is traced weakly in the materials under consideration, despite the length of contact between Russians and Ludian Karelians.

The Livvi Karelian sub-ethnic group started forming in the 17th century in Olonets land (Olonets Pogost), and from the 18th century, Livvi ethnogenesis expanded to the Serdobol Ladoga region (Sortavala, Imbilaksha, Suistamo, Salmi, and Suojarvi pogosts), which originally was populated by the Karelian proper subgroup. This article reveals how this ethnogenesis was influenced by the family and marital relationships among Olonets Livvi and with Ladogan Karelians. These factors are analyzed in detail over a century-long period (late 17th -- late 18th century) through the example of the Tulmozero Volost of the Olonets Governorate, which bordered the Ladoga region. The study is based on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th tax censuses, and the findings are verified using the present-day ethno-linguistic characteristics of Karelian supradialects and dialects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary source of material for this research was the folklore-ethnographic evidence stored in the archives of Karelia and collected over a century-long time period by Karelian folklore researchers. Comparative-historical, synchronous-descriptive and comparative-typological methods were employed. The scientific novelty and relevance of this research arise from the fact that the topic has not been studied through 19-20th century mythological stories of Karelians. The focus of the study was on the images of two mythological characters that are antagonistic and struggle for power over the child: yönitkettäi 'night placheya (evil night spirit of crying)' and uniukko 'old man of sleep'. They enter the house at night, the former by breaking the established taboo, the latter invited by a human. The worlds of the spirits are also antipodal both to each other and to the human world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an example of in-depth interview analysis using software tools for analytical text coding. The study was based on a joint interview with a Karelian woman and a Pomor woman recorded during a 2021 summer expedition to Knyazhaya Guba Village (Murmansk Region, Russia). The villagers belonged to different ethnic groups, which have been in the area for a long time. It was of interest to study the self-identity of the Karelians and Pomors and the ethnic and cultural boundaries they draw. The article analyzes the constituent elements of the Karelian and Pomor identity highlighted by the informants, including ethnic markers, symbolic appropriation of the space, and perception of the surrounding landscape. We preliminarily conclude that the regional identity prevails. Regional identity in this sense is more of a figurative and emotional category, not only the administrative-unit affiliation. Both groups have adapted to the peculiar northern lifestyle, while preserving their distinctive markers -- the language and place of birth for Karelians, and the value frame of reference among Pomors, which is associated with a focus on fishing and cooperative labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]