The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia
The letters of seven Finnish North American immigrants in Soviet Karelia, written between 1931 and 1942, and those of two correspondents writing retrospectively about their experiences between 1972 and 1997 introduce readers to unique voices from inside Stalin’s Russia. The letters speak to both col...
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ftjhssh:oai:hssh.journals.yorku.ca:article/40272 2023-05-15T17:01:12+02:00 The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia Saramo, Samira 2015-06-18 application/pdf https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272 eng eng Les Publications Histoire sociale - Social History Inc. https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272/36456 https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272 Copyright (c) 2015 Histoire sociale / Social History Histoire sociale / Social History; Vol. 46 No. 92 (2013) 1918-6576 0018-2257 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2015 ftjhssh 2022-11-27T13:44:54Z The letters of seven Finnish North American immigrants in Soviet Karelia, written between 1931 and 1942, and those of two correspondents writing retrospectively about their experiences between 1972 and 1997 introduce readers to unique voices from inside Stalin’s Russia. The letters speak to both collective experiences and personal negotiations of place and self. They shed light on two aspects often overlooked by other sources: youth culture and the transnational flow of everyday items. The Finnish Canadian and American letter writers also offer historians an opportunity to explore individual responses to migration, political repression, and difficult pasts. Looking at the ways in which the writers invoked memories of North America, their experiences of the Great Terror and Finnish Continuation War, and freshly recollected memories of daily life provides glimpses of their fluid sense of self. Reading the letters in light of the silences – what is not said – begins to unravel the writers’ understanding of their “truths.”Les lettres qu’ont écrites entre 1931 et 1942 sept immigrants nord-américains d’origine finlandaise en Carélie soviétique et celles qu’on rédigées entre 1972 et 1997 deux correspondants se remémorant leurs expériences respectives proposent aux lecteurs un regard unique sur la vie en Russie stalinienne. Les lettres témoignent de vécus à la fois collectifs et personnels du lieu et du soi. Elles mettent en lumière deux aspects souvent négligés par d’autres sources : la culture des jeunes et le flux transnational d’articles de tous les jours. Les auteurs canado et américano-finnois de ces lettres offrent aussi aux historiens l’occasion d’observer les réactions individuelles à la migration, à la répression politique et à de difficiles passés. L’évocation des souvenirs de leur vie en Amérique du Nord, de leur vécu des Grandes Purges et de la guerre de Continuation menée par la Finlande ainsi que de souvenirs encore tout frais de leur quotidien donne un aperçu de la fluidité de leur sentiment d’identité. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper karelia* Histoire sociale/Social History (E-Journal) Soi ENVELOPE(30.704,30.704,66.481,66.481) |
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Histoire sociale/Social History (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjhssh |
language |
English |
description |
The letters of seven Finnish North American immigrants in Soviet Karelia, written between 1931 and 1942, and those of two correspondents writing retrospectively about their experiences between 1972 and 1997 introduce readers to unique voices from inside Stalin’s Russia. The letters speak to both collective experiences and personal negotiations of place and self. They shed light on two aspects often overlooked by other sources: youth culture and the transnational flow of everyday items. The Finnish Canadian and American letter writers also offer historians an opportunity to explore individual responses to migration, political repression, and difficult pasts. Looking at the ways in which the writers invoked memories of North America, their experiences of the Great Terror and Finnish Continuation War, and freshly recollected memories of daily life provides glimpses of their fluid sense of self. Reading the letters in light of the silences – what is not said – begins to unravel the writers’ understanding of their “truths.”Les lettres qu’ont écrites entre 1931 et 1942 sept immigrants nord-américains d’origine finlandaise en Carélie soviétique et celles qu’on rédigées entre 1972 et 1997 deux correspondants se remémorant leurs expériences respectives proposent aux lecteurs un regard unique sur la vie en Russie stalinienne. Les lettres témoignent de vécus à la fois collectifs et personnels du lieu et du soi. Elles mettent en lumière deux aspects souvent négligés par d’autres sources : la culture des jeunes et le flux transnational d’articles de tous les jours. Les auteurs canado et américano-finnois de ces lettres offrent aussi aux historiens l’occasion d’observer les réactions individuelles à la migration, à la répression politique et à de difficiles passés. L’évocation des souvenirs de leur vie en Amérique du Nord, de leur vécu des Grandes Purges et de la guerre de Continuation menée par la Finlande ainsi que de souvenirs encore tout frais de leur quotidien donne un aperçu de la fluidité de leur sentiment d’identité. ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Saramo, Samira |
spellingShingle |
Saramo, Samira The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
author_facet |
Saramo, Samira |
author_sort |
Saramo, Samira |
title |
The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
title_short |
The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
title_full |
The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
title_fullStr |
The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Letters, Memories, and “Truths” of Finnish North Americans in Soviet Karelia |
title_sort |
letters, memories, and “truths” of finnish north americans in soviet karelia |
publisher |
Les Publications Histoire sociale - Social History Inc. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(30.704,30.704,66.481,66.481) |
geographic |
Soi |
geographic_facet |
Soi |
genre |
karelia* |
genre_facet |
karelia* |
op_source |
Histoire sociale / Social History; Vol. 46 No. 92 (2013) 1918-6576 0018-2257 |
op_relation |
https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272/36456 https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40272 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2015 Histoire sociale / Social History |
_version_ |
1766054263926030336 |