The Economic Modernization of Soviet Karelia During the Process of Soviet Industrialization

Abstract

Abstract Economic development in Soviet Karelia in the 1920s and 1930s was shaped by both localand national goals. The Karelian-Finnish leadership aimed to elevate a peripheral region into a modernized autonomous republic by exploiting its vast forests. The national aim, defined in Moscow by the central decision-making organs of the Soviet Union (the Center), was rapid industrialization of the entire nation. In this process, Karelian forests were to play an important role. However, in spite of the shared goals, the means for achieving these goals were different locally than at the Center. For the Karelian-Finnish leadership, the development of the local economy was the key to meeting its goals. Canadian Finns were to have an important role in this process: they would bring to Soviet Karelia knowledge, skills, and technology. However, the Center wanted to exploit the local resources for the broader, common good without consideration of local concerns. This conflict between the local and national leadership was to have a devastating impact on the fates of those North American Finns who immigrated to Soviet Karelia.