KARELIA

Karelia: Russia

The Republic of Karelia is situated in the north-west of Russia and is included in The Northern Economic Region of the Russian Federation. The area of Karelia is 180.5 thousand square kilometers (1.06% of the total territory of Russia). The territory of the republic stretches out from the north to the south for 660 km. The extension from the west to the east in the latitude of the city of Kemi is 424 km.

In the west Karelia borders upon Finland, in the south – upon Leningradskaya and Vologodskaya regions, in the north – upon Murmanskaya and in the east – upon Arkhangelskaya regions.
In the northwest the republic is washed by the White Sea. The western border of Karelia coincides with the frontier of the Russian Federation and its length is 726 km.

On the 1st of January 2005 the population of Republic Karelia was 703,1 thousand people (1939 - 468.9; 1979 - 732.1; 2000 - 765.1; 2002 - 716.7), 75.5% living in cities and urban-type communities.

A third of the population lives in the capital city of the republic -Petrozavodsk. The density of the population of Karelia is 4 people per square kilometer.

The national structure of the population is the following: the Russians – 76.6 per cent, the Karelians – 9.2 per cent, the Belorussians – 5.2 per cent, the Ukrainians – 2.7 per cent, the Finns – 2 per cent, the Vepps – 0.75 per cent.

The republic includes 18 self-governing territories. Each self-governing territory is headed by a mayor, who is elected according to the Constitution of Karelia through direct secret voting. There are 3 cities of the republican significance in Karelia (Petrozavodsk – 266.4 thousand people, Kostomuksha – 30.3 thousand people, Sortavala – 34.6 thousand people) and 15 regions. Most part of the territory of the republic is an undulating plain with pronounced traces of glacier activity. The wavy surface of the land still keeps the traces of the ancient mountains. Karelia is often called a “stony lake-forest land”, which stresses the main elements of the landscape.

More than 49 per cent of the area is covered with forests (the main species are pine-tree and fir-tree), 25 per cent is water surface. There are more than 60 thousand lakes and 27 thousand rivers in Karelia. The largest are lake Ladoga (17.7 thousand sq.km.) and lake Onego (9.9 thousand sq. km.). The largest rivers are Vodla (400 km), Vyg, Kovda, Kemi, Suna and Shuja. The total length of the water chain is almost 83 thousand km.

More than 50 kinds of minerals are found in Karelia. The minerals are: iron ore, vanadium, molybdenum, rare metals, diamonds, mica, construction materials (granite, marble, diabase), clay, appatit-carbonate ore and asbestos.

The Republic of Karelia has a favourable economic and geographic location and huge mineral reserves. It is close to the central high-industrialized regions of Russia and Western Europe. It also has a developed water-transport system.

The Republic of Karelia has great opportunities for developing different types of tourism: hunting and fishing, guesthouses, spas during winter and summer season, rafting and ecological tourism. Karelia can satisfy needs of all visitors: more than four thousand cultural, historical and natural monuments are on its territory.

Nature Objects
The Republic of Karelia has unique landscape and nature resources. With the total area of 180.500, more than 50 per cent of its territory is covered with forests (Karelia is called "the lungs" of Europe), about 26 per cent - with water with a great amount of lakes (63 thousand) and rivers (27 thousand).The two largest lakes in Europe - Lake Onego and Lake Ladoga - and Belomoro-Baltic Channel (228 km long), which connects the basins of Baltic and White seas, are situated on its territory.Almost a million hectares or more than 5 per cent of the total area of the republic consists of specially protected natural territories: national parks "Paanajarvi", "Vodlozerky" and "Kalevalsky", nature park "Valaamsky Archipelago", preserves "Kivach" and "Kostomukshskiy", other reserves and nature monuments. There are a lot of outstanding landscapes on their territories.A hundred kilometers away from Petrozavodsk on Suna River "a diamond-like water pours" - the largest in Europe waterfall "Kivach". Fifty kilometers away from Petrozavodsk the first russian resort "Marcial Waters", founded 280 years ago by the Emperor Peter the First, is located. The resort has unique salubrious mineral waters - they are the first in the world on iron content.Forests, lakes and rivers of Karelia give a perfect opportunity for development of different types of tourism: hunting, fishing, safari, rafting, e.t.c.

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