Independence movements

History of Ingrian self-determination and the Free Ingria movement

From the 1919-1920 Republic of North Ingria, through Soviet-era persecution of Ingrian Finns, to the modern Free Ingria movement.

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The Republic of North Ingria, 1919-1920

On 9 July 1919, the unrecognized Republic of North Ingria (commonly called the Republic of Kirjasalo) was established in a small area of the southern Karelian Isthmus, controlling around 30 square kilometres and five villages with a population of around 400 people, with Kirjasalo as its capital.[1] The North Ingria Regiment, a volunteer force numbering between 580 and 1,700 at various points, was commanded by Georg Elfvengren for most of the republic's existence.[2]

The Treaty of Tartu, signed on 14 October 1920 between Finland and Soviet Russia, assigned Ingria to Russia; the Republic of North Ingria was dissolved on 5-6 December 1920.[3]

· Declaration

Republic of North Ingria, 1919-1920

A short-lived, unrecognized Ingrian Finnish breakaway state on the Karelian Isthmus, ended by the Treaty of Tartu.

Soviet-era persecution and deportation of Ingrian Finns

From 1929 to 1942, Soviet authorities carried out repeated waves of deportation, forced collectivization and persecution against the Ingrian Finn population, including deportation waves of around 18,000 people (1929-1931), 7,000 (1935) and 26,000-27,000 (1936), and the deportation of essentially all remaining Ingrian Finns (around 20,000) in early 1942; the pre-persecution Ingrian Finn population of 140,000-160,000 had fallen to around 50,000 by 1939.[4]

Russian legislation in the 1990s characterized this persecution as genocide, and President Boris Yeltsin rehabilitated Russian Finns after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, though the Russian state did little to provide compensation or property restoration.[5]

The modern Free Ingria movement

Free Ingria, a Saint Petersburg-based regionalist and separatist movement seeking broad autonomy or independence for Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast under the name "Ingria," was founded in 1998.[6]

Russian authorities have repeatedly acted against Free Ingria activists, including the 2016 FSB detention of the movement's VKontakte administrator Artem Chebotarev, a 2017 website block and the detention of activist Mikhail Voitenkov on weapons charges, and the 2023 designation of coordinators Pavel Mezerin and Maxim Kuzakhmetov as "foreign agents."[7]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: On 9 July 1919, the unrecognized Republic of North Ingria (commonly called the Republic of Kirjasalo) was established in a small area of the southern Karelian Isthmus, controlling around 30 square kilometres and five villages with a population of around 400 people, with Kirjasalo as its capital.

  2. 2.

    Claim: The North Ingria Regiment, a volunteer force numbering between 580 and 1,700 at various points, was commanded by Georg Elfvengren for most of the republic's existence.

  3. 3.

    Claim: The Treaty of Tartu, signed on 14 October 1920 between Finland and Soviet Russia, assigned Ingria to Russia; the Republic of North Ingria was dissolved on 5-6 December 1920.

  4. 4.

    Claim: From 1929 to 1942, Soviet authorities carried out repeated waves of deportation, forced collectivization and persecution against the Ingrian Finn population, including deportation waves of around 18,000 people (1929-1931), 7,000 (1935) and 26,000-27,000 (1936), and the deportation of essentially all remaining Ingrian Finns (around 20,000) in early 1942; the pre-persecution Ingrian Finn population of 140,000-160,000 had fallen to around 50,000 by 1939.

    • Genocide of the Ingrian Finns (Wikipedia) link, Timeline and deportation-figures sections. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: Russian legislation in the 1990s characterized the Soviet-era persecution of Ingrian Finns as genocide, and President Boris Yeltsin rehabilitated Russian Finns after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, though the Russian state did little to provide compensation or property restoration; the characterization of these events as genocide, as opposed to another category of mass persecution, remains disputed among scholars.

    • Genocide of the Ingrian Finns (Wikipedia) link, Terminology and recognition section. Source record
  6. 6.

    Claim: Free Ingria, a Saint Petersburg-based regionalist and separatist movement seeking broad autonomy or independence for Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast under the name "Ingria," was founded in 1998.

  7. 7.

    Claim: Russian authorities have repeatedly acted against Free Ingria activists, including the 2016 FSB detention of the movement's VKontakte administrator Artem Chebotarev, a 2017 website block and the detention of activist Mikhail Voitenkov on weapons charges, and the 2023 designation of coordinators Pavel Mezerin and Maxim Kuzakhmetov as "foreign agents."

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Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/ingria/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.