The Republic of Korea is a region located in the northwestern part of Russia. It was officially created in 1920, when the government of the USSR decided to establish the corresponding autonomous region. Then it was called the Karelian labor commune. Three years later, the region was renamed, and in 1956 it became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
This is a unique region in cultural terms, in which the western is adjacent to the eastern, and the Catholic is adjacent to the Orthodox. Nevertheless, the population of Karelia continues to decline. For the entire period after the collapse of the USSR there was not a single year when a positive increase was recorded. Young people are leaving the region in search of a better life, and ethnic groups are assimilating more and more, losing their uniqueness.
Dynamics
In the early 1920s, the population of Karelia was about 250 thousand people. Over the next 40 years, it increased 2.5 times. According to the 1959 All-Union population census, the population of Karelia was already 651,346 people. In the 1970s, 713 thousand were already living in the considered Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. According to the 1989 All-Union Census, the population of Karelia was 791,317 people.
After the collapse of the USSR, the number of inhabitants of this region began to gradually decline. In the mid-1990s, the population of Karelia was already about 770 thousand. Over the next five years, it has decreased even more. According to the All-Russian population census of 2002, the population of Karelia amounted to 716281. Within four years, the number of inhabitants became less than 700 thousand. In 2010, the population of Karelia was 643,548 people, which is less than in 1959.
Modern demographic situation
As of January 1, 2017, the population of Karelia is 627083 people. About 56.1% of the total number are of working age, another 17.9% are younger than him, 26% are older. For every 1,000 men, 1,193 are women. The expected duration at birth is about 70 years. The urban population of the Republic of Karelia prevails over the rural. About ¾ of the inhabitants of the region live in large settlements. The population of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of Karelia, is 278.6 thousand people.
National composition
According to the 2010 All-Russian Census, most of the region’s inhabitants are Russians. Their share is 78.88% of the total population of Karelia. It should be noted that about 4% of respondents refused to indicate their nationality. About 7.08% consider themselves to be Karelians, another 3.63% - Belarusians, 1.97% - Ukrainians, 1.33% - Finns. Also in the region, ethnic groups such as Vepsians, Tatars, Poles, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Gypsies, Chuvashs, Lithuanians and others are represented as national minorities .
Culture
About a hundred different nationalities live in Karelia. And they all have their own traditions and customs. Most of the population of the region today consider themselves Russian, but this does not cancel the fact that national languages are taught in schools and universities. Newspapers come out on them, TV shows are being conducted. More than 60 various public organizations are registered in Karelia. Perhaps that is why all nations manage to get along quite peacefully, despite differences in traditions. The “Karelia - territory of consent” program implemented in the region also plays a positive role. The official language is Russian. Karelsky does not have such a status, but this issue is of low priority, due to its low prevalence.
Traditional Karelian crafts differed from Central Russian. However, they did not acquire all-Union fame. Today in Karelia there is only one enterprise that deals with traditional crafts. As for literature, it was formed on the basis of Russian and local folklore. The development of painting in the region is closely connected with the traditions of icon painting. However, the nature of the region has become an inspiration for many famous Russian artists. Among them are such masters as Shishkin, Roerich, Kuindzhi.
Household
The main goal of the development of the region is to increase the quality of life, achieve balanced growth and create potential for active participation in the system of domestic and international division of labor and exchange. The Government of the Russian Federation and Karelia adopted the relevant regulatory legal acts consolidating these tasks. Among them are "Strategy and the concept of socio-economic development", as well as "The scheme of spatial planning."
There are many industrial enterprises in the Republic, most of which focus on local natural resources. The region is dominated by industries such as metallurgy, woodworking and paper production. As for agriculture, there are no climatic conditions for its successful development in the region. Only 1.2% of all land is cultivated. About 60% of arable land is located on podzolic soils of various composition. However, animal husbandry has been developed in Karelia. The volume of commodity fish farming products exceeds 120 thousand tons. As for the service sector, tourism plays the biggest role.