Delegations from White Sea and Olonets Karelia in Helsinki

Meetings with the Finnish Government

On behalf of the joint meeting of the White Sea volosts, Judge S.Alanko and Volost Head M.Väisänen visited Senators Paloheimo1 and Sario2 to discuss issues of food supply, education, transportation, and labor activities.

On August 9, two delegations from Northern Olonets, elected at meetings of the Olonets Karelians held earlier in the month in Reboly and Lendery, arrived in Helsinki. The delegations were to present to the Finnish government the decisions and wishes adopted at those meetings on behalf of the Olonets Karelians. The delegation from Reboly included farmers F.V.Netsäinen, Pekka Kyöttinen, and F.I.Romanov, while the delegation from Lendery comprised farmers Jaakko Nesterinen, Pekka Höttönen and Paavo Höttönen.

At 3 PM, the delegations held talks with the Regent3 and the chairman4 of the Senate. They conveyed the unanimous desire of the Reboly Karelians to join Finland, as it was considered the only chance for Karelia's survival. At the same time, the delegations expressed their gratitude to the Finnish government for its sympathy and support. The delegations also asked the Finnish government to take measures to release Karelian prisoners of war in Germany and Austria. Additionally, they proposed measures to organize education in the native language, improve transportation, and establish postal communication with Finland.

The government extended a highly friendly reception to the delegations.

Later, the delegations also had the opportunity to express their wishes to Senators Setälä5 and Paloheimo and to thank them for their support of the Karelian cause.

On August 17, representatives of the White Sea Karelia volosts – Volost Head Leo Pankkonen from Uhtua, farmer Jaakko Ivanov from Voknavolok, merchant Vasily Arhippainen from Kestenga, merchant David Karjalainen from Yushkozero, and merchant Paavo Ahava – held talks with the government. They presented the Regent with a summary of the most important and urgent requests and wishes received from overseas Karelia by the Finnish government.

The delegation also visited Senator Setälä, head of ecclesiastical affairs, to discuss issues of public education, Senator Sario to discuss local self-government, and Senator Jalmar Castrén6 to discuss transportation issues. The delegation received a favorable reception.

Meeting with the Commander of the German Armed Forces in Finland

On August 2 at 5 PM, the Commander of the German Armed Forces in Finland, Count von der Goltz, received representatives of the Reboly and Lendery delegations, farmers Pekka Kyöttinen and Paavo Höttönen, in Helsinki. On behalf of the delegations, Pekka Kyöttinen conveyed the following address from the Karelians to the high-ranking representative of Germany:

Your Excellency! The delegation of Olonets Karelia, of which we are members, a delegation officially elected by the volost council meeting, had the honor to approach the Finnish government with a proposal for Karelia to join Finland and received a favorable reception. Now we ask Your Excellency, as the highest representative of the German government here, to bring our request to the attention of the German government and your great and noble Kaiser, so that His Majesty may facilitate a favorable resolution of the matter. We are convinced that only in unity with Finland does the Karelian people have a future. We dare to express the wish that the delegation considers it absolutely necessary for the creation of Greater Finland to have a strong government in Finland-Karelia, which is possible only if the son of the great German Kaiser is at the helm.

For several hundred years, the people of Karelia have been connected to Russia only by force. Even during the current war, as far as we know, not a single volunteer joined the Russian ranks, but this winter, when a volunteer army was formed in Finland, many Karelian youths immediately joined its ranks.

This, in our opinion, is another proof of our willingness to voluntarily join our Finnish brothers. We ask Your Excellency to influence the matter so that those Karelians who, due to circumstances during the war, were captured in Germany and Austria-Hungary, are allowed to return freely to their homeland.

Count von der Goltz gave the delegation a highly friendly reception, encouraging the Eastern Karelians keep up their heads and to remain good Finns. He also noted that measures for the release of Eastern Karelian prisoners of war from Germany and Austria were already being implemented. The meeting of Eastern Karelia representatives with Count von der Goltz took place with the assistance of Professor J.J.Mikkola.

On August 19, representatives of White Sea Karelia Vasily Arhippainen, Jaakko Ivanov, and Leo Pankkonen visited Count von der Goltz. Professor I.U. Mikkola acted as guide and interpreter. At the ceremony, farmer Leo Pankkonen gave the following speech:

Your Excellency! Through us, the residents of the remote wilderness of White Sea Karelia dare to express to Your Excellency those wishes that currently occupy the minds of all the inhabitants of our native land. We do this in the hope that Your Excellency will assist in their successful implementation by bringing them to the attention of the government of the powerful German Empire and its supreme ruler.

First, we dare to express the unanimous and fervent wish of the people that the German government, during peace negotiations between Finland and Russia, considers it necessary to influence in favor of the ancient hopes of the Karelian people for reunification with our true homeland, Finland, now being realized. We have always regarded Russia and the Russian nationality, the language of which we do not even understand, as a foreign oppressor and an obstacle to our progress. We belong to the West, to Finland, we are connected to it by blood ties. In ancient times we were one people, and our language and character remained the same as those of our brothers on the Finnish side, just as the nature on both sides of the border is now the same. In Finland, we and our fathers earned our bread, we are connected to Finland by blood ties, and from there we, albeit indirectly, acquired the beginnings of Western civilization. We, the uneducated poor children of the wilderness, had nothing to give to Finland and world culture except the ancient songs preserved in memory for centuries, the most enduring monument of which is "Kalevala". Now, for the first time, we dare to ask for the right to live, the right to develop into a civilized nation capable of cultivating the barren lands of White Sea Karelia. As experience of past centuries shows, we cannot do this as part of Russia, nor can we if we fall under the yoke of Great Britain. We hope that the noble German people and their powerful ruler will hear our plea for help from the forgotten lands of the songs of "Kalevala".

Russia forcibly recruited soldiers from our native land. Today, several hundred of them are in camps in Germany and Austria-Hungary as "Russian" prisoners of war. It would be a great gift if Karelia could soon return these sons of ours to their homeland. We are convinced that they are driven by the same feelings as we are, since they joined the Russian ranks by force. The news of their return would spread to those territories controlled by neighboring powers, which they are trying to entice to fight against us with false promises and coercion. The release of prisoners of war is the best way to change opinions and open eyes to who our real friends are.

We ask Your Excellency to convey these wishes of the Karelian people to your powerful government and your supreme ruler.

In his response speech, Count von der Goltz asked the delegation to convey to their homeland his greetings, saying that he would try to assist in the annexation of Karelia to Finland. His Excellency thanked the Karelians for remaining Karelians despite the oppression. Measures for the release of prisoners of war were already being implemented.

Karjalaisten Sanomat -newspaper, no. 13-18, 1918

1. Head of the Food Supply Department Hjalmar Gabriel Paloheimo

2. Member of the Senate without portfolio Samuli Sario

3. Regent of Finland Pehr Evind Svinhufvud

4. Vice-Chairman of the Senate Juho Kusti Paasikivi

5. Head of the Department for Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs Emil Nestor Setälä

6. Head of the Department for Transport and Public Works Jalmar Castrén

Translated by Margarita Matthew, 2024