Ingrian Finns
Flag of Ingrians
|
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Finland, Russia | |
 Finland
|
25,000 |
 Russia
|
20,300 (2010) |
 Ukraine
|
768 (2001) |
 Kazakhstan
|
373 (2009) |
 Estonia
|
369 (2011) |
 Belarus
|
151 (2009) |
| Languages | |
| Russian, Finnish, Estonian | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheranism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Baltic Finns | |
The Ingrians (Finnish: inkeriläiset, inkerinsuomalaiset; Russian: Ингерманландцы, Ingermanlandtsy), sometimes called Ingrian Finns, are the Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lutheran Finnish immigrants introduced into the area in the 17th century, when Finland and Ingria were both parts of the Swedish Empire. In the forced deportations before and after World War II most of them were relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union. Today the Ingrian Finns constitute the largest part of the Finnish population of the Russian Federation. According to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the Saint Petersburg region.
Finnish-speaking Ingrians are not to be confused with Izhorian-speaking Ingrians. Ingrian Finns mainly constitute of two groups: Savakot originated from migrant Savonians and Äyrämöiset coming from the Karelian Isthmus (mostly from Äyräpää), then parts of the Swedish realm. They were Lutheran resettlers and migrant workers who moved to Ingria during the period of Swedish rule 1617–1703. Others originated from more or less voluntary conversion among the indigenous Finnic-speaking Votes and Izhorians, where approved by the Swedish authorities. Finns made up 41.1 percent of the population of Ingria in 1656, 53.2 percent in 1661, 55.2 percent in 1666, 56.9 percent in 1671 and 73.8 percent in 1695.
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Wikipedia