The newspaper was first published in 1874 under the name Karjalatar.[1][2] The founder was a teacher, Henrik Piipponen.[3] In 1917, the paper switched its name to Karjalainen.[3] In the mid-1950s it was published six times per week.[4]
As of 2014 Karjalainen was part of the Pohjois-Karjalan Kirjapaino Group.[1] The paper was previously part of the Väli-Suomen Media group which also owned another newspaper, Ilkka.[5] Its headquarters is in Joensuu,[3][6] and the paper is distributed in North Karelia, a region in eastern Finland.[2][7] The circulation area of the paper is under the influence of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[5]
Karjalainen had close links with the National Coalition party until 1995.[2] The paper has been an independent publication since then.[2] It is a partner of a newspaper association named Väli Suomen Media Oy.[2] As of 2014 Pasi Koivumaa was the editor-in-chief of the daily.[7]
Karjalainen was the first Finnish newspaper to publish the comic strip Phantom, which was published on 1 October 1940 with the title Fantom.[8]
Karjalainen had a circulation of 30,687 copies in 1957.[4] It sold 46,000 copies in 2010.[2] The 2011 circulation of the paper was 44,728 copies.[9] The paper had a circulation of 41,410 copies in 2013.[10]