Suomussalmi

Suomussalmi is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region about 90 km northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and 120 km south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of 0 and covers an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water. The population density is undefined PD/km2. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ämmänsaari is the biggest built-up area in the municipality.

Suomussalmi is the second southernmost part of the reindeer-herding area in Finland.

During the Winter War of 1939–40, several battles were fought in the area around Suomussalmi, the most important ones being the Battle of Suomussalmi and the Battle of Raate. In these battles Finnish forces defeated numerically superior Soviet forces.

Formula One racing driver Heikki Kovalainen is from Suomussalmi, as well as the author Ilmari Kianto and the composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä, in addition to the ice hockey player, Janne Pesonen. Also, the first President of the Republic of Finland, K. J. Ståhlberg, was born in the Karhula rectory (Karhulan pappila) in Suomussalmi.

Suomussalmi hosted the 2016 World Berry Picking Championship.

Villages

 * Alajärvi
 * Ala-Vuokki
 * Hossa
 * Jumaliskylä
 * Juntusranta
 * Kaljuskylä
 * Kerälä
 * Kiannanniemi
 * Korpela
 * Korvua
 * Kuivajärvi
 * Kurimo
 * Lomakylä
 * Myllylahti
 * Näljänkä
 * Näätälä
 * Peranka
 * Pesiökylä
 * Pesiönlahti
 * Piispajärvi
 * Pisto
 * Pitämä
 * Pyhäkylä
 * Raate
 * Ruhtinansalmi
 * Sakara
 * Selkoskylä
 * Siikaranta
 * Suomussalmi (Kirkonkylä)
 * Tervakangas
 * Vaaranniva
 * Vasara
 * Vuokki
 * Yli-Vuokki
 * Ämmänsaari (administrative center)

Kuivajärvi and Hietajärvi, located close to the Russian border, have long belonged to the poetic villages of White Karelia, and the Karelian language, Viena Karelian, has traditionally been spoken in the area.

Transport
Highway 5 (E63) comes from Hyrynsalmi via Suomussalmi to Kuusamo. The rest of the municipality's most important roads are mainly smaller regional roads; regional road 912 from Kuhmo comes to Suomussalmi, regional road 843 from Palovaara to Suomussalmi continues to Kuusamo's Poussuu, regional road 892 runs from Suomussalmi through Korpikylä and Kytömäki to Hyrynsalmi, regional road 897 takes you from Alajärvi from Suomussalmi via Hattuvaara to Yli-Näljänkä, and connecting road 9125 or Raatteentie (also included parts of the current regional road 912) is a connecting road from Raatteenportti to Raate in the municipality of Suomussalmi, which was named after the Battle of Raate in 1940.

Politics
Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Suomussalmi:


 * Left Alliance  36.3%
 * Centre Party  30.9%
 * Finns Party  20.5%
 * National Coalition Party  5.2%
 * Social Democratic Party  3.1%
 * Christian Democrats  2.3%
 * Green League  0.9%
 * Other parties  0.8%

Notable people

 * K. J. Ståhlberg (1865–1952)
 * Hannes Tauriainen (1909–1971)
 * Alho Alhoniemi (born 1933)
 * Toini Gustafsson (born 1938)
 * Matti Makkonen (1952–2015)
 * Osmo Tapio Räihälä (born 1964)
 * Tero Penttilä (born 1975)
 * Merja Kyllönen (born 1977)
 * Heikki Kovalainen (born 1981)
 * Janne Pesonen (born 1982)

Twin towns — Sister cities
Suomussalmi is twinned with:


 * 🇷🇺 Kalevala, Russia
 * 🇸🇪 Nordmaling Municipality, Sweden