Finnish Saint-Petersburg. Diversity connects - by students from Russia

Nevanlinna

Saimaa canal

St.Mary’s church

Carl Gustaf Mannerheim

Finnish Saint-Petersburg
The Finns and Finnish traditions have deeper roots on the banks of the Neva than the city Saint-Petersburg. In the XVII century in the mouth of the river Neva there came thousands of Finnish settlers. The trade center of this territory was the fortress Nyenskans (Nevanlinna), which was occupied by the army of Peter I during the Great Northen War.
Finnish, Swedish and Russian people were building the new city. It grew bigger and bigger and icluded some Ingermanland (Inkeri) villages.
The Grand Duchy of Finland (Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, Storfurstendömet Finland) was a part of the Russian empire but had its own laws, money, customs, army and post.
The Saimaa Canal was completed in 1856, the railway between Riihimäki and St.Petersburg was built in 1870. In a way Saint-Petersburg was the second ‘Finnish’ city in 1880-s, because only in Helsinki there were more Finns than in St.Petersburg. There lived about 24 000 Finns in St.Petersburg. Finnish centers of the city were around Finnish Railway station (Finlandskiy vokzal) and Finnish Church of St. Mary on Bolshaya Konushennaya street.
The list of Finns of St.Petersburg is long and impressive. Carl Gustaf Mannerheim had profound connections with the city. Many military men made brilliand careers in the Russian Army. About 400 of them became Generals ans Admirals including Mannerheim and Enckell.
Many Finnish companies started to work in Russia before revolution, including those producing granite, leather, juices and diary products Valio.
Finnish peasants from the Karelian Isthmus (Karjalankannas) were bringing food, fish and firewood the the citezens. Finnish workers were considered honest and accurate.
Among the members of the Russian Academy of Science were Eric Laxman, an explorer of Siberia from Savonlinna, Anders Lexell, an astronomer and mathematician from Turku, Andreas Sjögren, a philologist.
Many famous Finnish musician and composers including Sibelius gave their concerts in Saint-Petersburg.
The center of the Finnish cultural life of Saint-Peterburg was in the church of St.Mary, where in 1870 was published the first newspaper in Finnish not in Finland ’Pietarin Sanomat’. Today this church also belongs to the Finnish religious community.
In 1917 a Finnish governmental delegation came to the city to sign papers which gave independence to Finland. But up to now St.Petersburg remains an important city in the Finnish-Russian relations.