Viipuri Province

Infobox Former Subdivision
native_name = "Viipurin lääni
Viborgs län"
conventional_long_name = Province of Viipuri
common_name = Viipuri
subdivision = Province
nation = Finland
event_start = Established
year_start = 1917
date_start = December 6
event_end = Paris Peace Treaty
year_end = 1947
date_end = February 10
event1 = Moscow Peace Treaty
date_event1 = March 21, 1940
event2 = Moscow Armistice
date_event2 = September 19, 1944
p1 = Governorate of Vyborg
flag_p1 = Flag of Russia.svg
s1 = Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic
flag_s1 = Flag of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.svg
s2 = Leningrad Oblast
flag_s2 = Flag of Russian SFSR.svg
s3 = Province of Kymi
flag_s3 = Flag of Finland.svg

---

image_map_caption =
capital = Viipuri¹
stat_area1 = 32134
stat_year1 = 1939¹
stat_pop1 = 620838
footnotes = ¹ _sv. Viborg
leader1 = Antti Verner Hackzell
year_leader1= 1918-1920
leader2 = Arvo Manner
year_leader2= 1925-1944
footnotes = ¹ About 43 thousand km² with the surface of the Finnish part of Lake Ladoga.

The Province of Viipuri ( _fi. Viipurin lääni", commonly abbreviated" Vpl, _sv. Viborgs län "or" Wiborgs län) was a province of Finland from 1917 to 1947.__NOTOC__

History

The province was established from the Governorate of Vyborg of the Grand Duchy of Finland, following the declaration of independence on December 6, 1917. In 1918, during the Finnish Civil War, the western part with Viipuri was held for a brief time by the short-lived Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic.

In 1939 Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact invaded Poland and started World War II. With-in months the Soviet Union also invaded Finland in what came to be known as the Winter War. The Soviet invasion failed and despite losing the conflict it was able to pressure Finland in ceding territory, including parts of the Province of Vipuri to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Peace Treaty in early 1940. Finland lost its natural borders by the Kymi River ( _sv. Kymmene älv) in the west, and Rajajoki ( _sv. Systerbäck) in the south. The Province of Viipuri lost 22,973 km², or 71.5 percent of its territory on the Karelian Isthmus, with the cities of Viipuri and Sortavala, to the newly established Karelo-Finnish SSR in the Soviet Union. Following the peace treaty the entire population of the ceded territories of more than fourhundred thousand people was voluntarily evacuated to central Finland.

In 1941 the Continuation War broke out and Finland recaptured the territories, but in 1944 it retreated and by the Moscow Armistice on September 19, 1944 and the Paris Peace Treaty in 1947 the territorial losses were confirmed again.

The Karelian population that had returned during the Finnish occupation was evacuated again, and the territories were repopulated by people from other parts of the Soviet Union. This time Karelian Isthmus became part of the Vyborgsky and Priozersky districts of the Leningrad Oblast, and only Ladoga Karelia and Border Karelia became part of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

While Ladoga Karelia retained most of its original toponyms, the vast majority of toponyms in the Karelian Isthmus were renamed by the Soviet government around 1948. In 1945 the parts of the province which remained in Finnish hands were renamed Province of Kymi with its center at Kouvola. The Province of Kymi was in turn merged with other provinces into the larger Province of Southern Finland in 1997.

Administrative divisions

Cities, towns and municipalities as of 1939:Cities, towns and municipalities ceded to the Soviet Union during WWII are given "in italics".

Cities

*Hamina - Fredrikshamn
*Kotka
*"Käkisalmi - Kexholm"
*Lappeenranta - Villmanstrand ( [http://www.lappeenranta.fi/ website] )
*"Sortavala - Sordavala" ( [http://www.sortavala.fi/ website] )
*"Viipuri - Viborg" ( [http://www.viipuri.net/ website 1] , [http://www.virtuaaliviipuri.tamk.fi/ website 2] )

Towns

*Kouvola
*"Koivisto - Björkö" ( [http://www.koivistolaiset.net/ website] )
*"Lahdenpohja" ( [http://www.lahdenpohja.org/ website] )
*Lauritsala (merged into Lappeenranta in 1967)

Rural municipalities

Finnish/Swedish name. Main village with the same name unless otherwise noted
*"Antrea - S:t Andree" ( [http://www.antrea.fi/ website] )
*Haapasaari - Aspö
*"Harlu" ( [http://koti.mbnet.fi/harlu/ website] )
*"Heinjoki" ( [http://www.heinjoki.fi/ website] )
*"Hiitola" ( [http://www.hiitola.fi/ website] )
*"Impilahti - Impilax" ( [http://www.impilahti.net/ website] )
*"Jaakkima" ( [http://www.jaakkima.org/ website] )
*"Johannes" ( [http://www.johannes.fi/ website] ) - "S:t Johannes"
*Joutseno ( [http://www.joutseno.fi/ website] )
*"Jääski- Jäskis" (partially lost, the rest incorporated into Imatra, Joutseno and Ruokolahti in 1948)
*"Kanneljärvi" ( [http://www.kanneljarvi.fi/ website] )
*"Kaukola" ( [http://www.kaukola.net/ website] )
*"Kirvu - Kirvus" ( [http://www.kirvu.fi/ website] )
*"Kivennapa - Kivinebb" ( [http://www.kivennapa.fi/ website] )
*"Koiviston maalaiskunta - Björkö landkommun (Koivisto rural commune)" ( [http://www.koivistolaiset.net/ website] )
*"Korpiselkä" (partially lost, the rest incorporated into Tuupovaara in 1946)( [http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/torvil/ website] )
*"Kuolemajärvi" ( [http://www.kuolemajarvi.fi/ website] )
*"Kurkijoki - Kronoborg" ( [http://www.kurkijoki.fi/ website] )
*Kymi - Kymmene (became part of Kotka in 1977)
*"Käkisalmen maalaiskunta - Kexholms landkommun (Käkisalmi rural commune)"
*Lappee (became part of Lappeenranta in 1967) - Lappvesi
*"Lavansaari - Lövskär" ( [http://www.lavansaari.net/ website] )
*Lemi - Klemis
*"Lumivaara" ( [http://www.lumivaara.fi/ website] )
*Luumäki
*"Metsäpirtti" ( [http://www.metsapirtti.net/ website] )
*Miehikkälä
*"Muolaa - Mohla (Kyyrölä merged into Muolaa in 1934)" ( [http://www.muolaa.net/ website] )
*Nuijamaa (became part of Lappeenranta in 1989)
*Parikkala ( [http://www.parikkala.fi/ website] )
*Pyhtää - Pyttis
*"Pyhäjärvi" ( [http://www.vplpyhajarvi.fi/ website] )
*Rautjärvi ( [http://www.rautjarvi.fi/ website] )
*"Rautu - Rautus" ( [http://www.rautu.fi/ website] )
*Ruokolahti - Ruokolax ( [http://www.ruokolahti.fi/ website] )
*"Ruskeala"
*"Räisälä" ( [http://www.raisala.fi/ website] )
*Saari (merged into Parikkala in 2005) ( [http://www.saari.fi/ website] )
*"Sakkola" ( [http://sakkola.fi/ website] )
*"Salmi - Salmis" ( [http://www.salmi-saatio.net/ website] )
*Savitaipale
*"Seiskari - Seitskär"
*"Simpele" (partially lost, the rest incorporated into Rautjärvi in 1973)
*Sippola (merged with Anjala into Anjalankosken kauppala in 1975)
*"Soanlahti"
*"Sortavalan maalaiskunta - Sordavala landkommun (Sortavala rural commune)"
*"Suistamo" ( [http://www.suistamo.net/ website] )
*"Suojärvi" ( [http://www.suojarvi.fi/ website] )
*Suomenniemi
*"Suursaari - Hogland"
*"Säkkijärvi" (partially lost, the rest incorporated into Miehikkälä and Ylämaa in 1946)
*Taipalsaari
*"Terijoki" ( [http://www.terijoki.info/ website] )
*"Tytärsaari - Tytärskär"
*Uukuniemi (merged into Parikkala in 2005) ( [http://www.uukuniemi.net/ website] )
*"Uusikirkko - Nykyrka" ( [http://www.uusikirkko.net/ website] )
*"Vahviala"
*Valkeala
*"Valkjärvi" ( [http://www.kolumbus.fi/valkjarvi.luovutettu/ website] )
*Vehkalahti - Veckelax (became part of Hamina in 2003)
*"Viipurin maalaiskunta - Viborgs landkommun (Viipuri rural commune)"
*Virolahti - Vederlax ( [http://www.virolahti.fi/ website] )
*"Vuoksela" ( [http://www.vuoksela-seura.fi/ website] )
*"Vuoksenranta"
*Ylämaa ( [http://www.ylamaa.fi/ website] )
*"Äyräpää (main village - Pölläkkälä)"

Electoral districts

;Western electoral districtAntrea, Haapasaari, Hamina, Johannes, Kanneljärvi, Koivisto, Koiviston maalaiskunta, Kotka, Kouvola, Kuolemajärvi, Kymi, Lappee, Lappeenranta, Lauritsala, Lavansaari, Lemi, Luumäki, Miehikkälä, Nuijamaa, Pyhtää (Pyttis), Savitaipale, Seiskari, Simpele, Sippola, Suomenniemi, Suursaari, Säkkijärvi, Taipalsaari, Tytärsaari, Uusikirkko, Vahviala, Valkeala, Vehkalahti, Viipuri, Viipurin maalaiskunta, Virolahti, Ylämaa

;Eastern electoral districtAntrea, Harlu, Heinjoki, Hiitola, Impilahti, Jaakkima, Joutseno, Jääski, Kaukola, Kirvu, Kivennapa, Korpiselkä, Kurkijoki, Käkisalmen maalaiskunta, Käkisalmi, Lahdenpohja, Lumivaara, Metsäpirtti, Muolaa, Parikkala, Pyhäjärvi, Rautjärvi, Rautu, Ruokolahti, Ruskeala, Räisälä, Sakkola, Salmi, Simpele, Soanlahti, Sortavala, Sortavalan maalaiskunta, Suistamo, Suojärvi, Terijoki, Uukuniemi, Valkjärvi, Vuoksela, Vuoksenranta, Äyräpää

Governors

Governors of the Province of Viipuri:
*1917 Vilho Sarkanen (1884-1940, acting)
*1917-1918 Valfrid Suhonen (b. 1871, acting)
*1918-1920 Antti Verner Hackzell (1881-1946)
*1920-1925 Lauri Kristian Relander (1883-1942)
*1925-1944 Arvo Manner (1887-1962, until 1955 governor of Kymi province)

In 1918 Jalmari Kirjarinta (1881-1938) was appointed provincial commissar by the rebel Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic.

Notable people

*Martti Ahtisaari (b. 1937 in Viipuri), 10th President of Finland
*Erik Bruun (b. 1926, Viipuri), Finnish graphic designer
*Laila Hietamies (b. 1938, Viipuri), Finnish writer
*Gustav Hägglund (b. 1938 in Viipuri), Finnish general
*Max Jakobson (b. 1923 in Viipuri), Finnish diplomat
*Armas Järnefelt (1869, Viborg – 1958, Stockholm), Finnish composer and conductor
*Gustaf Komppa (1867, Viipuri – 1949), Finnish chemist
*Edwin Linkomies (1894, Viborg – 1963, Helsinki), Prime Minister of Finland
*Veijo Meri (b. 1928, Viipuri), Finnish writer
*Ernst Mielck (b. 1877, Viborg – 1899), Finnish composer
*Masa Niemi (1914, Viborg – 1960, Tampere), Finnish comedian
*Algoth Niska (1888, Viborg – 1954), Finnish adventurer
*Juho Niukkanen (1888, Kirvu – 1954, Helsinki), Finnish minister
*Karl Lennart Oesch (1892, Pyhäjärvi – 1978, Helsinki), Finnish general
*Lauri Kristian Relander (1883, Kurkijoki – 1942, Helsinki), 2nd President of Finland
*Usko Santavuori (1922, Viipuri – 2003, Espoo), Finnish radio reporter
*Lauri Törni (1919, Viipuri – 1965, Vietnam), Finnish and American military officer
*Uno Ullberg (1879, Viipuri –1944, Helsinki), Finnish architect
*Johannes Virolainen (1914, near Viipuri - 2000), Prime Minister of Finland

Both the second President of Finland Lauri Kristian Relander and Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, grandfather of the sixth President, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, were governors of Viipuri province.

ee also

*Fief of Viborg (1320-1534)
*County of Viborg and Nyslott and County of Kexholm (1634-1721)
*Governorate of Vyborg
*Karelian Isthmus for the present-day region, which once was the heartland of the province

External links

* [http://www.luovutettukarjala.fi/ Luovutettu Karjala] - Ceded Karelia. Website
*Sopanen, Olli-Matti. " [http://www.luovutettukarjala.fi/HISTORIALLINEN%20BIBLIOGRAFIA.pdf Viipurin läänin historiallinen bibliografia, 1812-1944] Temaattinen kirjallisuusluettelo Suomen autonomian ja itsenäisyyden ajan Viipurin lääniä käsittelevistä teoksista". University of Joensuu, 2004.
*Knipovich, Nikolay. [http://heninen.net/korela/viipurin_e.htm Vyborg gubernia] . "Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary".
* [http://kannas.nm.ru/history.htm История селений] . ИКО "Карелия"