The Republic of Karelia

The Republic of Karelia is located in the extreme north-west of the Russian Federation. It borders on Finland, as well as in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and other regions. Karelia is one of the subjects of the Russian Federation and, as an equal participant, is part of the North-Western Federal District.

Geography and climate

Площадь Карелии относительно небольшая — 180 520 Km². The terrain in most cases is flat. Also, there are often various hills, Oases, Moraine ridges. In the west of the republic there is the West Karelian Upland.

Karelia has access to the White Sea. The length of the coastline on the north-eastern side is 630 km. Among the major reservoirs it is worth mentioning Onega and Ladoga lakes, as well as numerous rivers.

The climatic conditions on the territory of the Republic of Karelia can be called soft. Here there are several climatic zones: from sea to moderately continental. A distinctive feature is a large amount of precipitation both in summer and in winter.

Administrative structure, population

The structure of Karelia includes 127 administrative municipal units: districts, districts, urban and rural settlements. There are also thirteen major cities on the territory of the republic. One of the largest is Petrozavodsk, which serves as the republican capital.

Согласно последним данным, в Карелии проживает почти 630 тыс. человек. Практически 80 % от названной цифры — это жители больших и маленьких городов. К сожалению, на сегодняшний день в Карелии, как и во многих других областях России, наблюдается демографический кризис, когда смертность значительно превышает рождаемость. Что касается этнического состава населения, то здесь преобладают русские и карелы. Также много белорусов, финнов, украинцев.

sights

Since ancient times Karelia has been popular as a tourist area. In particular, so-called green tourism has a great demand here. Guests of the republic are offered mountain hikes, rafting on rivers, horseback riding, fishing, picking mushrooms and berries in the forest, and much more. Also there is an opportunity to relax and improve in one of the sanatoria located in the village Marcial water.

The main Karelian sights are also the mountain park "Ruskeala»With the famous Ruskeal Waterfalls, Kizhi museum-reserve, Vladimirsky monastery, Kivach waterfall.