Original article
https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.26182.200-215
https://elibrary.ru/oswsrr
УДК / UDC 94:355.404.51(480)
“Contrabandists” or “Peasants-Brethren”: Karelian Peddlers in the Grand Duchy of Finland
I. S. Nesterova
Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation
Abstract
Introduction. Peddling in the Russian-Finnish borderlands has existed for centuries. Karelian peasants found an additional source of income in this type of trade, while the Finnish population appreciated the convenience associated with organizing trade activities. The importance of trade for the population on both sides of the border is evident from the fact that trade operations continued even during periods of war. The border population lived according to their own laws, and the restrictions and prohibitions imposed by the authorities did not significantly impact their trade traditions. The most important form of itinerant trade was carried out by the residents of the Uhtinskaya and Voknavolotskaya volosts of the Kem district of the Arkhangelsk province, which were predominantly inhabited by Karelian people. The chronological scope of this study covers the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. To date, there has been no comprehensive study in Russian historiography on the role of Karelian traders in the Grand Duchy of Finland. The purpose of this study is to determine the social role of Karelian traders and to identify the specific ways in which their activities were perceived by the Finnish authorities and local population.
Materials and Methods. The research is based on foreign archival documents that were not previously involved in scientific work, as well as periodical press materials. Unpublished sources include materials from the Foundation of the Office of the Governor-General of the Grand Duchy of Finland, stored in the National Archives of Finland (Helsinki). The documents contain correspondence between the Governor-General and the Ministry of the Interior, the Imperial Finnish Senate and other governors. The term “Russian merchants” is often found in official papers, which was probably used to denote the affiliation of Karelian peasants to the Russian Empire. Among the published materials, the articles of the Finnish Newspaper, which was published in Helsingfors from 1900 to 1917, stand out. The study used both general scientific methods (analysis, generalization, and systematization) and specific historical approaches (historical-genetic and historical-comparative), which allowed for the identification of general trends in the perception of Karelian peddlers in Finnish society.
Results and Discussion. As a result of the study, the attitude of Finnish society towards Karelian traders was revealed. The Finnish authorities (including the lansman, a police officer in rural areas) maintained a strongly negative attitude towards Karelian peddlers. Initially, Finnish rural merchants supported the peddler trade, as peddlers were the primary source of supply for their shops. However, as their own trade expanded and industry developed, shopkeepers began to view peddlers as competitors. The attitude of the majority of the rural population towards the Karelian traders remained consistently benevolent: centuries-old trade had contributed to strong ties between the peasants and the peddlers. At the turn of the century, there was a brief surge of restrictions: village assemblies adopted regulations prohibiting trade with peddlers, providing them with food and lodging, and landless peasants were forbidden to even speak with peddlers, under the threat of losing their land. This situation was related to political measures to limit Finland’s autonomy and rumors about the redistribution of land, the introduction of the Russian language, laws, schools, and churches. However, only a small portion of society participated in the oppression.
Conclusion. Despite the persecution and harassment of merchants that took place in the region at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the traditional trade of the White Sea Karelians, known as korobeynichestvo, did not lose its significance, and during the First World War, it became widespread. In the late 1880s, there was a slight decline in the activity of Karelian korobeyniki in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which was attributed to the development of industry in the region and the expansion of the trade network. However, the merchants were able to quickly find a way out of the situation by purchasing goods from the shops and stalls of the rural merchants and distributing them to the villages. Some of the more successful Karelian merchants were able to settle in Finland and establish their own trading establishments. This research contributes to the expansion and deepening of theoretical knowledge about the history of the issue by utilizing previously unused archival materials.
Keywords: peddlers, landowners, Finnish rural population, itinerant trade
Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
For citation: Nesterova I.S. “Contrabandists” or “Peasants-Brethren”: Karelian Peddlers in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Finno–Ugric World. 2026;18(2):200‒215. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.26182.200-215
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Information about the author:
Irina S. Nesterova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Foreign History, Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences, Petrozavodsk State University (33 Lenin Prospekt, Petrozavodsk 185910, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7138-691X, ines@petrsu.ru
The author has read and approved the final manuscript.
Submitted 15.05.2026; revised 12.11.2025; accepted 14.11.2025.
