Russia is |
Peoples of Russia
Finns
The overwhelming majority of the Finns of Russia are Ingrian Finns. Their self-designation is Inkerilainen or Inkerinsuomalainen (Inkeriläiset), that is, the inhabitants of Inkeri (the Finnish name for the Izhora land – the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus, its Germanized name is Ingermanlandia).
Language
The language has a number of subdialects with very slight differences and belongs to the eastern dialects of the Finnish language. The writing system is based on the Latin alphabet.
Dispersion
The Ingrian Finns live in Karelia, in the Leningrad region, mostly in the Gatchina and Vsevolozhsk districts, and in Saint Petersburg.
Traditional occupations
Their occupations were agriculture and cattle breeding. Of the grains, they mostly sowed rye, summer barley, oats, of the technical cultures, linen and hemp. Ingrians were also employed in various casual and seasonal work – they hired themselves to do timber cutting, pulled bark for tanning, in winter Finnish cabmen (weika) found work in the capital, especially during Pancake week rides.
Food
The diet included gruels from various grits, shchi soup, fish soup, oats starch drink, fish. Bread was made from sour rye dough in the shape of tall loaves. They also baked scones from barley flour. Meat was an infrequent part of the diet. Milk was usually used sour, but altogether dairy was in limited use since it went for sale. The widespread drinks were coffee and tea.
