Kuivajärvi, Suomussalmi
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Kuivajärvi
Kuivarvi | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Orthodox chapel of Kuivajärvi in 1961 | |
  Kuivajärvi Location in Finland  Kuivajärvi Kuivajärvi (Finland) | |
| Coordinates: 64°38′35″N 30°03′36″E / 64.643°N 30.060°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Kainuu |
| Sub-region | Kehys-Kainuu |
| Municipality | Suomussalmi |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Kuivajärvi (Karelian: Kuivajärvi or Kuivarvi)[1] is a village in southeastern Suomussalmi, Finland, near the border with Russia. It is one of three villages in the Kainuu region with a traditionally Karelian-speaking, Orthodox Christian population, along with Hietajärvi and Rimpi.
Kuivajärvi was settled in the late 18th century. Along with Hietajärvi and Rimpi, Kuivajärvi had closer ties to villages in Russian Karelia than to those in Finland until the 1920s, when the border was closed. The village was destroyed during the Winter War, but rebuilt afterwards.
Kuivajärvi is centered around the eponymous lake Kuivajärvi, with most houses being located near the Saavisenniemi cape of the lake. As of 2002, six houses in the village were inhabited.[2] The village forms a nationally significant cultural heritage site along with neighboring Hietajärvi as well as Rimpi in Kuhmo, all traditionally inhabited by Karelians.[3]
The drainage divide between the Baltic and White Sea basins is located south of Kuivajärvi at the border with Russia. Kuivajärvi and Hietajärvi are located over 200 meters (660 ft) above sea level, but height differences within the area are minor; the highest points are the hills Nuolivaara and Iso Hyrynvaara at slightly over 260 m (850 ft).[4] Fields in the villages have been small, as much of the soil is rocky and prone to frost. Agriculture is no longer practiced, but some former fields have been kept as meadows to preserve a traditional landscape.[5]
History
Kuivajärvi was settled sometime in the late 18th century by Lari and Toarie Huovinen, who came from White Karelia and settled in the area as tenants of Jyrki Ahtonen, whose farm was located in Hietajärvi. Toarie was most likely from Ladvozero, while her husband's place of origin is unclear.[6] According to oral tradition, Lari originally came to Finland to avoid being conscripted into the Russian army and married Toarie while working as a farmhand for Ahtonen.[3]
Until the Russian Revolution, the three Karelian villages in Finland were closely connected to ones in Russia, such as Voknavolok and Babya Guba.[6] The villages had little contact with the rest of Finland until the closure of the Finnish–Russian border in the 1920s, beginning the process of assimilation into mainstream Finnish society.[7]
During the Winter War, the population of Kuivajärvi was evacuated to other parts of Finland. The village was destroyed by the Finnish army in February 1940, with effectively no old buildings remaining.[8] This was done to prevent Soviet soldiers from taking shelter in its buildings.[9] When Kuivajärvi was rebuilt after the war, the returning villagers were not allowed to build their houses in the Karelian style, having to follow a standard plan instead.[8]
A road connecting Kuivajärvi to Saarivaara was finished in 1933 and extended to Hietajärvi in 1956.[5]
