White Karelia



White Karelia (Беломо́рская Каре́лия; North Karelian and Vienan Karjala or simply Viena; Vitahavskarelen) is a historical region in Northern Europe, comprising the northernmost part of Karelia, and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. It is bordered by the White Sea to the east, Murmansk Oblast to the north, Finland (Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia) to the west, and the Muyezersky and Segezhsky Districts of the Republic of Karelia to the south.

The surface area of White Karelia is approximately 67000 km2, and it has a population of about 100,000. The area is largely undeveloped in terms of population centers and infrastructure, and much of it remains wilderness.

Finnish author Elias Lönnrot collected most of the poems and materials for the epic poem Kalevala from the White Karelian poetry villages, which collected Finno-Karelian folklore.