Karelia
Americannoun
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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.
noun
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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
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another name for the Karelian Republic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Analysis of court hearings in Karelia, one of three Russian regions bordering Finland, showed that in the past three weeks, 236 people were arrested for staying in Russia without valid visas, destined for deportation.
From BBC • Dec. 7, 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 Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
