Ortodoksisen siirtoväen kontrolloitu sopeutuminen

Authors

• Heli Kaarina Kananen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.78985

Abstract

Until the 1990s, the integration of the displaced Karelians in postwar Finland was studied mainly from the point of view of their material adaptation. In these studies, the integration of the refugees was regarded as a success in view of the difficult conditions that existed after the war. However, the experiences of humiliation suffered by the refugees and especially by the Orthodox Karelians, which were brought to light around the turn of the millennium, have challenged the picture of totally successful integration. The Orthodox Karelians were dismissed as “Russkies” and derided because of their different culture. In her article, Heli Kaarina Kananen describes the forms that discrimination against the displaced persons took. She also discusses the opportunities that existed for them to rebuff the discrimination that emphasized their cultural otherness. Kananen seeks to understand the conflict that arose in the encounter between the refugees and the local population of the areas where they were settled, by examining the phenomenon within the framework of the theory of social control.