Rukajärvi

Rukajärvi (Karelian: Rugarvi, Russian: Ру́гозеро, Rugozero; Rukajärvi) is a rural municipality and its central village in the Muyezersky District in the Republic of Karelia in Russia. It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Rukajärvi, 84 km northeast of Muyezersky (Mujejärvi). The population of the village is 753 and that of the municipality is 909 (as of 2012).

Geography and population
The area of the Rukajärvi municipality is 3990 square kilometres. It is bordered to the northeast by Sosnavitsa in the Belomorsky District, to the east by Mustakoski in the Segezhsky District, to the south by Paatene in the Medvezhyegorsky District, to the south by Mujejärvi and to the northwest by Ledmozero in the Muyzezersky District. Most of the area is forest and lakes.

The area of the village mostly belongs to the Upper lands of Western Karelia. Its terrain is characterised by a hilly till area and numerous small lakes. The largest of the lakes include Lake Ontajärvi on the municipality border and Lake Jousijärvi (Russian: Jevžozero), Lake Rukajärvi (Russian: Rugozero), Rokšozero and Unusozero. Rivers include Onnanjoki (Onda), Hongusoja (Gonguzoja), Koivuoja (Koivu) and Moinan-Amindomaoja. Near the Rukajärvi village is a swamp protected as a natural monument.

As well as the central village, the municipality includes the villages of Ontajärvi and Severnyi, located to the north of Lake Rukajärvi. The population of Ontajärvi is 153 and that of Severnyi is 3 (as of 2012). The population of the municipality decreased by 21 percent from 2001 to 2012. According to the 2010 census, the nationalities include 58% Russians, 26% Karelians, 11% Belarusians and 3% Ukrainians.

History
The earliest descriptions of Rukajärvi belonging to Novgorod Lapland are from the 16th century. In 1578 a Voivode of the Czar built a fort in the village, which managed to deter an attack by the Swedish in the same year. In 1597 a church was built in Rukajärvi and an Eastern Orthodox church was founded. According by a check book in the same year the Rukajärvi pogost had 44 inhabited houses. In 1707 the number of houses had grown to 75. The inhabitants of the region practiced slash-and-burn farming, fishing and fur hunting and provided iron ore to the factories in Petrozavodsk and Kentjärvi The Swedish destroyed the villages of Rukajärvi in 1718, and the Finnish people of Lieksa and Ilomantsi also destroyed the villages in 1742.

In the early 20th century the villages of the area formed the Rukajärvi volost in the Povenets uyezd in the Olonets Governorate, which was a municipality covering the obshchinas of Kiimasjärvi, Korpilahti and Rukajärvi. Other villages included Ontajärvi, Ledmozero and Tiiksi. The Rukajärvi volost was bordered to the north by the Kontokki, Yushkozero and Tunkua volosts in the Kem uyezd in the Arkhangelsk Governorate, to the southeast by Paatene and Repola volosts in the Povenets uyezd and to the west by Finland. In 1905 the volost had 29 villages and 2200 inhabitants. The Rukajärvi village had a school, 108 houses and 604 inhabitants. In the early 1920s the Kiimasjärvi volost was separated from Rukajärvi.

The Rukajärvi church school was first mentioned in 1841. In 1879 the village got a school financed by the ministry of education, in 1910 a library and in 1912 a zemstvo post station. After the October Revolution Rukajärvi suffered from famine and unrest caused by the Kindred Nation Wars. In November 1921 Finns invading the village shot 11 communists and three officials in Rukajärvi. After the war most of the people fled to Finland.

In 1927 the Rukajärvi region was founded from the volosts of Rukajärvi and Kiimasjärvi, as well as parts of Tunkua, Yushkozero and Kontokki, which included the selsoviets of Kiimasjärvi, Luvajärvi, Ontajärvi, Ontrosenvaara and Rukajärvi. According to the 1926 census the 43 villages of the region had a population of 2500, most of which were Karelians. The centre of the region had a population of almost 500. From 1932 to 1934 and again from 1948 onwards the Repola region was also part of the Rukajärvi region. The Rukajärvi region was discontinued and attached to the Segeža region in 1958.

The 1920s and 1930s were a period of strong economic and cultural growth in Rukajärvi. In 1929 the Rukajärvi forest industry region was founded and a kolkhoz in the following year. Life was darkened by the Great Purge starting in 1935, which targeted hundreds of people in Rukajärvi.

Rukajärvi in the Continuation War
During the Continuation War from 1941 to 1944 the Rukajärvi region was invaded by the Finns. The Soviet Union mobilised its forces and evacuated the civilian population of the area to the Arkhangelsk and Kirov oblasts and to the Ural region. The Finns sent the 14th division to the area, consisting of the infantry regiments 10, 52 and 31. The commanded of the Rukajärvi region was Colonel Erkki Raappana. There were large battles in the Rukajärvi-Ontajärvi area particularly in 1941 and from 1943 to 1944. The Rukajärvi village was conquered on 11 September 1941. There were numerous military patrols on both sides of the frontier during the whole war. The Finns kept the positions they achieved in Rukajärvi up to the end of the war. Finnish positions included the outposts Sukellusvene ("submarine"), Peukalonniemi, Kotiniemi, Pallo ("ball") and Piippu ("pipe"). The largest battle in the Rukajärvi area was fought in Tahkokoski in 1944. The largest motti battle was fought in the Omelia motti. The Soviets shot their largest artillery concentrations to the Pallo outpost from 1943 to 1944.

After the war
After the war, the population returned to Rukajärvi. The few houses that survived the war included the Pronjajev house, which had acted as the command centre of the Finns. The Rukajärvi forest industry resumed operations in 1946. The Rukajärvi and Ontajärvi kolkhozes were joined in the early 1950s and were later formed into an auxiliary functionality of the forest industry. The Rukajärvi fur sovkhoz was founded from it in 1969.

Traffic, economy and services
A highway from Kotškoma to Kostomuksha via Tiiksi and Lietmajärvi passes through Rukajärvi, with a branch towards Ontajärvi. There is a bus line from Ontajärvi to Mujejärvi.

The most important local employers include public services, the military and the road council. There is a forestry area in the municipality. Farming is represented by one private farmstead and 26 communal farms, which provide milk, meat, eggs, potatoes and vegetables. 48% of the working-age population is unemployed and 13% work outside the municipality.

Services in the central village include a school, a hobby centre of children, a culture and leisure centre, a library, a small policlinic, a post office and a number of shops.

Attractions and tourism
There have been numerous findings of Stone Age dwellings in the area. Building landmarks include the eukterion and grain storehouse built in Ontajärvi in the late 19th century as well as the Pronjajev house built in Rukajärvi in 1858. The municipality includes graves of Red Army soldiers and civilians killed in the Kindred Nation Wars and in the Winter War. Rukajärvi also has a memorial to the people shot in 1921 and there is a cannon built in the memory of the frontier in the Continuation War along the road to Kotškoma to the east of the village.

The village includes the hiking trails of Onnanjoki and Ontajärvi-Pisiniemi. There is family accommodation in Ontajärvi.