1. Historical Maps of Finno-Ugric Inhabitation of Europe and Asia (1935):

Directory of Maps - FINMAPS.HTM

Laatokan Karjala (Ladoga Karelia) - lkarjala

2. Origins of the Finno-Ugric, Finnish People and Related Topics:

Early History of the Finnish People - EARLYFIN.HTM
History of the Finno-Ugric People - FGPEOPLE.HTM
Classification of Uralic Languages - LANGCLAS.HTM
White Sea Area 13th - 14th Century - KOLA.HTM
Hungarian, The Ugric Branch - UGRIC.HTM
Finno-Ugric place-names based on the root "sum" - SUM.HTM
Finno-Ugric Cooperation - FINCOOP.HTM

3. Finland and its Neighbours in WW 2:

Finno-Russian War of 1939-1944 - AREDSNOW.HTM
The War Experiences of Antti Joronen, Good-bye Karelia - ANTTI.HTM
Säkkijärvi displaced person - EVAKKO.HTM
The Fate of Eastern Baltic Countries in WW II - EASTBALT.HTM
Antti Joronen's War Photo Gallery - JORONEN.HTM
Rahmasaari Battle on Lake Laatokka - RAHMASAA.HTM
Antti's Russian Prisoners of War - RUS.HTM
Antti's Family in Sweden - AITIPERH.HTM
Brewster Fighter Aircraft bought in 1939 from USA - BREWSTER.HTM
Stalin: Mass Murderer - MURDER.HTM
Finnish saunas lost to Russian invaders - 3BADGUYS.HTM
Debunking Stalin's excuse for attacking Finland in 1939 - ALIE.HTM

4. Finnish Culture:

a) Food - The Famous Karelian Pie - PIIRAKKA.HTM
- Finnish Bread: Historical background - LEIPA.HTM
b) Literature - Kalevala - KALEVALA.HTM
- Seven Brothers - KIVI.HTM
- Selected books - FINNLIT.HTM
c) Churches in Finland - RELIGION.HTM
d) Sauna Culture - Sauna, the Finnish Bath sauna.htm
e) Finnish Song Book - songbook.htm
f) Finnish Music and culture broadcast in Canada on the Internet. - PIRKKO.HTM
g) Finnish and Karelian Music, international music - MUSIC.HTM
h) Finnish Products Page - PRODUCTS.HTM

5. Finnish History:

a) Finnish war of independence - kapina.htm
b) Russian Attack on Finns 1656/58 - RUSWAR2.HTM

6. Cool Links, Finnish and other - LINKLIST.HTM

Medical ozone and Alternative Therapies - OZONE.HTM

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The Uralic Family Home Page is based on historical evidence of the Uralic people living within and outside the Russian Federation. By using information such as old maps, it forms a picture of these people from the earliest know times to the present. It sometimes offers a view of Finno-Ugric history that is not necessarily politically correct, but gets at the plain truth of the Finno-Ugric struggle for survival which is often a sensitive issue politically, and largely ignored as irrelevant in the west. In fact, political correctness, which has often gone too far, is not a criteria in this site at all. Instead, I believe we individually must accept responsibilty for being sensitive to others' feelings and fairness.

Despite the fact that there is no "Finno-Ugric" or "Uralic" race as such, there are still many distinguishing features of these people that make them physically, culturally and linguistically unique and worthy of study. Language and character of the original people have been preserved to a great extent, and it is a well-known fact that Finnish language is like an ice-box in the sense that many archaic structures have been preserved. In this regard, I believe that it is partly the language that preserves certain aspects of the Finno-Ugric character by structuring thought.

This web page is also about the rejection of the notion that being proud of your origins is unpatriotic, nationalistic, or even racist. In today's rapidly changing world, we need solid reference points about who we are and where we came from. That is one reason I think that many people today are more interested in their family history, and history in general. The Finno-Ugric people are a group of people with common problems and interests, linguistically and culturally related. Their struggle for survival is not nationalism in the sense we have grown to understand it since WWII. It is simply the desire to live, thrive and not be absorbed by other nations - to retain language and identity and live in peace. Critics sometimes say all national, linguistic feelings are dangerous and must be banished. This is false. We should not all be the same, stamped by the identical little socialist cookie-cutter, and oppressed by the same. Any system that does not protect its weakest, most linguistically vulnerable, is a tyranny. Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader's words have a ring of truth: "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...justice delayed is justice denied." The weaker and smaller languages want to protect themselves and quite rightly. Wars are created by evil men and ideologies, not the linguistic differences between humans.

It is hoped that this information will increase awareness and that some of the injustices of the past may be corrected in this new millennium of hope. And above all, it is hoped that this page will help to give the Finno-Ugric and all minority people of Russia the desire to reverse the trend toward oblivion, and continue the struggle against the sea of overwhelming odds that pervasively threatens to overrun their language and culture.

The largest political group of Finno-Ugric related people in the north are the Finnish people. This page contains first-hand information of Finland's own struggle against destructive forces that often rise up against these freedom-loving people. You will find a lot of information on the Finnish-Russian War, WWII. A collection of exclusive photos of the Continuation War on Lake Ladoga, Karelia, is presented in Antti Joronen's Photo Gallery. Sometimes the treatment of Russian history and religion with respect to Finno-Ugric destruction appears harsh and unfair. I will try to tone down this aspect in the future.

Joronen is an old Karelian name from Johannes, Kaukola, Kurkijoki, Hiitola, Parikkala, Simpele, Käkisalmi, and Salmi, which covers the area from just East of Viipuri, (Karjalan Kannas or Karelian isthmus) where my father's home is, (but of course the Karelians were moved out of their homes in 1944) to the Northeastern shores of Lake Ladoga. (Map) The Joro form is from Salmi and Suistamo. Today they are spread out all over Finland from Seinäjoki to Imatra. These two names also have the form Joroi which is from Nissilä and connected with the Orthodox church. Family oral tradition states that our relatives originate from a house named Jorossoppi (35 km Northeast of Imatra). The word Joro is possibly derived from Roman Catholic Saint Georgius, or Jorgius, Jorgas, Jorres, Joris, which are of Germanic origin. It's meaning according to one Joro, is the nickname for "wolf" in old Finnish, or it can mean "one who does not speak much." Joronen is the diminutive of Joro, which would be "little wolf." (If you saw and heard my father, you wouldn't think it means the "little guy who doesn't speak much," because he is not little, and the stories just keep coming - about the war, as well as the lost Karelian way of life, and his beloved Viipuri.) This nickname for wolf or "susi" originates from the old Finnish/Karelian myth that to give a name such as wolf would be calling the wolf, whereas a nickname would keep the wolf away.

My grandmother on my father's side is Vanhanen from Rotjanlahti, Pyhäjärvi, on the north side of Lake Ladoga. I certainly recall her house when I was five, at Ruuhijärvi, the coffee grinder, aroma of brewing coffee, and her sharp spoons. My grandmother from my mother's side is from Uusikirkko, between Viipuri and Terijoki. My father's family is from Johannes. Most of my close relatives lived on the Karelian Isthmus, which is now in Russia, where it is hoped that one day they can return to their homes.

On my mother's side, my grandfather was very well known - Viktor Saarnio the Kouvolan Harmonikka (accordion) representative to Viipuri and environs (200 km radius). He was an expert accordion technician (to such accordionists as Vesterinen), and musician which might not sound like much, but in Finland it was an important trade. He moved to Viipuri from Kymi, which is not far from Karelia. To my knowledge, our ancestry is Lutheran.

I was born in Finland (Helsinki) of Karelian ancestry, and immigrated to Canada when I was six, and never went to school in Finland. But no sooner had I seen a Finnish newspaper, than I was beginning to sound out the phonetic Finnish language (Vapaa Sana) at six years old. When I was in Junior High School, the principal told my mother that her kids couldn't speak Finnish on the school property. Right then I decided that I would never give up my Finnish language, nor my heritage. I used to listen to old 78 rpm Finnish records over and over again, fascinated. The songs still ring in my ears though I no longer have them. I made friends with recent immigrants from Finland which increased my vocabulary, especially technical/scientific vocabulary, because Pekka was an excellent electronics technician, even as a teenager. I learned that you can be anything you want to be: a Canadian, a Finn, or even a zoologist or a little of all three. I travelled to Finland by Norwegian bulk carrier freighter MV Tres Fonn from Norfolk Va. to Norway. (Victoria - Vancouver - New York; Norfolk Va: - Trinidad - Sauda, in Saudafjord Norway; Stavanger - Oslo - Stockholm - Turku - Helsinki) and surprised my grandparents! I spent six months of late winter and summer there and enjoyed it greatly, and gained a new respect for Finnishness. Thanks to the fantastic Finnish older couple who took me in off the streets of Helsinki one night in the winter, gave me warm socks and a bed. The old customs die hard.

Before going back to University, I spent several years on two Canadian Coast Guard weatherships, the CCGS Vancouver and CCGS Quadra where I learned respect for the untamed power of the sea.
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I graduated from the University of Victoria (B.C., Canada) in Zoology. I am an Engineering Assistant with the Provincial Government. My hobbies are history, Finno-Ugric studies, hiking and nature, skiing when I have a chance, reading, guitar and music, science, travel, aquarium fish, fishing, swimming and computers. I enjoy watching other sports also but don't consider myself a sports fanatic, and living a clean, healthy and sober lifestyle. My favorite spots to hike have been: Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands.

I hope you like what you see and read. If you find a mistake, I would like to know about it, and I will correct it.






Sincerely,
Osmo Joronen

URALIC FAMILY HOME PAGE

This is a large content web site, that contains information about history and geography plus many other topics. There are many topics in these pages that you can access through links. Some of these topics are: Education, Finnish Spitz, Samoyeds, Cats, Dogs, Pets, On line education, e-commerce, money, spa, bath, Karelia sauna Finland, Finnish dictionary, Finnish language, Finnish translation, Finnish Sauna, Finnish gifts, Finnish names, Finnish food, English-Finnish translation, Finnish mythology, Finnish music, Finnish litarature, Finnish authors, Tom of Finland, Finland history, Map of Finland, Finland map, Better Business bureau, business, home business, stem cell research, alternative medicine, leipa piirakka music linguistics books Uralic Ural video language alternative medicine Uralic Finno-Ugric World War II, WWII, Ladoga, Laatokka, Continuation, Stalin, Hitler, Finnish Navy, Army language maps of Russia Inkeri Mari El Udmurtia Komi Perm Vikings Varangians Ice Age Mordovia Pirkko Kiansten Russia Purge holocaust Lapland, Helsinki, Norway, Germany, Ski patrol, Mannerheim, guns, weapons, attack, Veps Riiga Baltic States Russia Purge Holocaust Baltics CCGS BC sauna sauna sauna sauna Cold Fusion Biological Transmutations Haida skiing Vancouver Island, Sointula, maps, Lord of the Rings