Laukkuryssä
Laukkuryssä or reppuryssä is the Finnish , påsaryss or kontryss the Swedish name for aviation traders from Russia who roamed the villages of Finland every summer until the beginning of the 20th century . Literally translated, the terms mentioned mean “pocket Russian” or “Kiepenrusse”; however, many of these peddlers were not Russians , but (Eastern) Karelians or Tatars .
In Finland they played an important role in supplying the rural population with consumer goods, especially textiles and tobacco , since the 17th century at the latest ; These were often not Russian products, but imported goods from Western Europe and overseas, which the laukkuryssät bought in the ports of St. Petersburg or Arkhangelsk . Their dealings with the Finnish rural population often took the form of bartering , in which furs in particular were accepted in return.
Web links
- påsaryssar - Article in Uppslagsverket Finland (Swedish)