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Karelia

American  
[kuh-reel-yuh, kuh-rye-lyi-yuh] / kəˈril jə, kʌˈrjɛ ljɪ jə /

noun

  1. a region in the NW Russian Federation in Europe, comprising Lake Ladoga and Onega Lake and the adjoining area along the E border of Finland.

  2. Karelian Autonomous Republic.


Karelia British  
/ kaˈreljə, kəˈriːlɪə /

noun

  1. a region of NE Europe comprising areas of both Finland and Russia. Following the Russo-Finnish War (1939–40) a large part of what had been Finnish Karelia was annexed by the former Soviet Union; together with the part of Karelia which already belonged to Russia at that time, it corresponds roughly to the modern Karelian Republic in Russia

  2. another name for the Karelian Republic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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Most of Finnish Karelia was grabbed by Joseph Stalin's forces in 1940 after the bloody Winter War, when Finland put up stiff resistance to the Soviets despite overwhelming odds.

From Barron's Feb. 25, 2026

The study was carried out in North Karelia, Finland, using electronic health records from both primary and specialised health care.

From Science Daily Apr. 4, 2024

He has been serving time in isolation in a remote penal colony in Russia’s northwestern Karelia region.

From Seattle Times Mar. 8, 2024

In it, the politician said he was in a detention center in St. Petersburg, his hometown, and was told that he soon would be sent to a penal colony in the nearby Karelia region.

From Washington Times Feb. 18, 2023

The Finns of Karelia are called Za-volok-ian, because they live beyond the volok or watershed.

From The Ethnology of the British Islands by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham

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