Description
Book SynopsisIn the early 1930s, approximately 6,500 Finns from Canada and the United States moved to Soviet Karelia, on the border of Finland, to build a Finnish workers’ society. They were recruited by the Soviet leadership for their North American mechanical and lumber expertise, their familiarity with the socialist cause, and their Finnish language and ethnicity. By 1936, however, Finnish culture and language came under attack and ethnic Finns became the region’s primary targets in the Stalinist Great Terror.
Building That Bright Future relies on the personal letters and memoirs of these Finnish migrants to build a history of everyday life during a transitional period for both North American socialism and Soviet policy. Highlighting the voices of men, women, and children, the book follows the migrants from North America to the Soviet Union, providing vivid descriptions of daily life. Samira Saramo brings readers into personal contact with Finnish North Americans a
Trade Review
"Saramo’s scrupulous respect for these hitherto buried voices has real value." -- Charlotte Gray * Literary Review of Canada *
Table of Contents
Map of Karelia Introduction 1. The Question of Karjala: Contextualizing the Karelian “Fever” 2. Our Comrades Are Leaving Again: Moving to Soviet Karelia 3. ... Of Course Not Like There: Karelian Living Conditions as Experienced by Finnish North Americans 4. The Golden Fund of Karelia: Childhood in Finnish North American Karelia 5. Isn’t It a Different Land, This Sickle and Hammer Land?: Working in Soviet Karelia 6. All Kinds of Hustle and Bustle: Social Life, Community Involvement, and Leisure 7. Karelia Is Soaked in the Blood of Innocent People: Writing about the Great Terror Conclusion Bibliography
