Evacuation of Finnish Karelia

Evacuees from Muolaa municipality, Finnish Karelia, going to West-Finland, after their homes were ceded to the Soviet Union in 1940.

Evacuation of Finnish Karelia was the resettlement of the population of Finnish Karelia and other territories ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union into the remaining parts of Finland. As a result, about 422,000 Karelians, 12% of Finland's population and about 100% of the population of the territory was transferred.

The evacuation was a part of the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty that concluded the Winter War, an attack of the Soviet Union on Finland. The actual evacuation started already in 1939, during the war.

During the Continuation War part of the displaced population returned home. Some 260,000 people returned , but they eventually were forced to evacuate again, starting in 1944.

The government of Finland subsidized the resettlement in two ways:

• the resettlers were subsidized.
• the Finnish owners of the land given to resettlers were compensated for the loss of property.

Since the 1950s some associations have been calling for returning Karelia back to Finland.

See also

• Finnish war children