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    3. Finland and its Neighbours in WW 2:

    4. Finnish Culture:

    a) Food - The Famous Karelian Pie - piirakka

    5. Finnish History:

    6. Cool Links, Finnish and other - Link list

    8.Medical ozone and Alternative Therapies - Ozone
    Uralica website is based on historical evidence of the Uralic people (Finns, Estonians, Saami, Hungarians and related people) living within and outside the Russian Federation. By using information such as old maps, it forms a picture of these people from the earliest know times to the present. It sometimes offers a view of Finno-Ugric history that is not necessarily politically correct, but gets at the plain truth of the Finno-Ugric struggle for survival which is often a sensitive issue politically, and largely ignored as irrelevant in the West. In fact, political correctness, which has often gone too far, is not a criteria in this site at all. We must all accept responsibility for being sensitive to others' feelings and fairness, individually as well as internationally. If this is the basis of a just society, Russia has a long way to go regarding the injustice against minorities, who are being treated every bit as badly as the colored folk in the United States in years gone by, and still are to a certain degree. Russian "Slavs" are in the dark ages; they have no intention of treating other nations fairly. Their environment is a mess as well. The beautiful country is littered by people who simply do not care, "it's not their problem." There is no movement within Russia to stop Putin from destroying Finno-Ugric cultures such as Mari El. You will find links protesting Russian actions against minorities in this site.

    Despite the fact that there is no "Finno-Ugric" or "Uralic" race as such, there are still many distinguishing features of these people that make them physically, culturally and linguistically unique and worthy of study. One remarkable aspect is that language and character of the original Finnish people have been preserved to a great extent, and it is a well-known fact that Finnish language is like an ice-box in the sense that many archaic structures have been preserved. In this regard, I believe that it is partly the language that preserves certain aspects of the Finno-Ugric character by structuring thought through unique meanings of words. People are different to the extent that their language is different, and the Finnish language is the most different language in Europe, along with Basque. If we value human differences, we should protect languages, no matter how many speakers there are. We have started to protect species much too late, will we do the same thing with languages? We cannot allow Russians or anyone else to destroy these identities, as they are now trying to do under Vladimir Putin, the terrible.

    This web page is also about the rejection of the notion that being proud of your origins is unpatriotic, nationalistic, or even racist.


    In today's rapidly changing world, we need solid reference points about who we are and where we came from. That is one reason I think that many people today are more interested in their family history, and history in general. The Finno-Ugric people are a group of people with common problems and interests, linguistically and culturally related. Their struggle for survival is not nationalism in the sense we have grown to understand it since WWII. It is simply the desire to live, thrive and not be absorbed by other nations - to retain language and identity and live in peace. Critics sometimes say all national, linguistic feelings are dangerous and must be banished. This is false. We should not all be the same, stamped by the identical little socialist cookie-cutter, and oppressed by the same. We have horror stories of attempted destruction of national identity from the experiences of North American natives, who were removed from their homes as children, taken to Catholic boarding schools, stripped of their culture and language, sexually and physically abused, and turned into empty shells of human beings. Today they are rebuilding their culture and language. It is a long road back, but this is what happens when we fall for the lie that we should forget who we are and join some other larger group, such as a New World Order. No, keep your identity, and hang onto it with all your might.

    Any system that does not protect its weakest, most linguistically vulnerable, is a tyranny. Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader's words have a ring of truth: "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...justice delayed is justice denied." The weaker and smaller languages want to protect themselves and quite rightly. Wars are created by evil men and ideologies, not the linguistic differences between humans.

    It is hoped that this information will increase awareness and that some of the injustices of the past may be corrected in this new millennium of hope. And above all, it is hoped that this page will help to give the Finno-Ugric and all minority people of Russia the desire to reverse the trend toward oblivion, and continue the struggle against the sea of overwhelming odds that pervasively threatens to overrun their language and culture.

    The largest political group of Finno-Ugric related people in the north are the Finnish people. This page contains first-hand information of Finland's own struggle against destructive forces that often rise up against these freedom-loving people. You will find a lot of information on the Finnish-Russian War, WWII. A collection of exclusive photos of the Continuation War on Lake Ladoga, Karelia, is presented in Antti's Photo Gallery. Sometimes the treatment of Russian history and religion with respect to Finno-Ugric destruction appears harsh and unfair. It is just my way of stating what is obvious to a Finn: Russian leaders cannot be trusted to leave small peripheral countries alone. Most Finns will go further than that about the Russian (of slavic decent) people as well, but the leaders will do for now. Suffice it to say that the Finns have always enjoyed the moral high ground, and their behavior has been excellent towards Russia considering all they have had to endure over hundreds of years. This is the root of the famous Finnish diplomacy. I will try to tone down this aspect in the future.

                                                                                    About me

    Joronen is an old Karelian name from Johannes, Kaukola, Kurkijoki, Hiitola, Parikkala, Simpelä, Käkisalmi, and Salmi, which covers the area from just East of Viipuri, (Karjalan Kannas or Karelian isthmus) where my father's home is, (but of course the Karelians were moved out of their homes in 1944) to the Northeastern shores of Lake Ladoga. (Map) The Joro form is from Salmi and Suistamo. Today they are spread out all over Finland from Seinäjoki to Imatra. These two names also have the form Joroi which is from Nissilä and connected with the Orthodox church. Family oral tradition states that our relatives originate from a house named Jorossoppi (35 km Northeast of Imatra). The word Joro is possibly derived from Roman Catholic Saint Georgius, or Jorgius, Jorgas, Jorres, Joris, which are of Germanic origin. It's meaning according to one Joro, is the nickname for "wolf" in old Finnish, or it can mean "one who does not speak much." Joronen is the diminutive of Joro, which would be "little wolf." (If you saw and heard my father, you wouldn't think it means the "little guy who doesn't speak much," because he is not little, and the stories just keep coming - about the war, as well as the lost Karelian way of life, and his beloved Viipuri.) This nickname for wolf or "susi" originates from the old Finnish/Karelian myth that to give a name such as wolf would be calling the wolf, whereas a nickname would keep the wolf away.  

    My grandmother on my father's side is Vanhanen from Rotjanlahti, Pyhäjärvi, on the north side of Lake Ladoga. Everyone in Karelia was obliged to leave in 1944, leaving only two small parts now called northern Karelia and southern Karelia.  

    I certainly recall her house when I was five, at Ruuhijärvi, the coffee grinder, aroma of brewing coffee, and her sharp spoons. My grandmother from my mother's side is from Uusikirkko, between Viipuri and Terijoki. My father's family is from Johannes. Most of my close relatives lived on the Karelian Isthmus, which is now in Russia, where it is hoped that one day they can return to their homes. 

    On my mother's side, my grandfather was very well known - Viktor Saarnio the Kouvolan Harmonikka (accordion) representative to Viipuri and environs (200 km radius). He was an expert accordion technician (to such accordionists as Vesterinen), and musician which might not sound like much, but in Finland it was an important trade. He moved to Viipuri from Kymi, which is not far from Karelia. To my knowledge, our ancestry is Lutheran.  

    I was born in Finland (Helsinki) of Karelian ancestry, and immigrated to Canada when I was six, and never went to school in Finland. But no sooner had I seen a Finnish newspaper, than I was beginning to sound out the phonetic Finnish language (Vapaa Sana) at six years old. When I was in Junior High School, the principal told my mother that her kids couldn't speak Finnish on the school property. Right then I decided that I would never give up my Finnish language, nor my heritage. I used to listen to old 78 rpm Finnish records over and over again, fascinated. The songs still ring in my ears though I no longer have them. I made friends with recent immigrants from Finland which increased my vocabulary, especially technical/scientific vocabulary, because Pekka was an excellent electronics technician, even as a teenager. I learned that you can be anything you want to be: a Canadian, a Finn, or even a zoologist or a little of all three. I travelled to Finland by Norwegian bulk carrier freighter MV Tres Fonn from Norfolk Va. to Norway. (Victoria - Vancouver - New York; Norfolk Va: - Trinidad - Sauda, in Saudafjord Norway; Stavanger - Oslo - Stockholm - Turku - Helsinki) and surprised my grandparents! I spent six months of late winter and summer there and enjoyed it greatly, and gained a new respect for Finnishness. Thanks to the fantastic Finnish older couple who took me in off the streets of Helsinki one night in the winter, gave me warm socks and a bed. The old customs die hard. 

    Before going back to University, I spent several years on two Canadian Coast Guard weatherships, the CCGS Vancouver and CCGS Quadra where I learned respect for the untamed power of the sea.  
    .
    I graduated from the University of Victoria (B.C., Canada) in Zoology but ended up an Engineering Assistant for the Ministry of Transportation. My hobbies are history, Finno-Ugric studies, hiking and nature, wilderness, skiing when I have a chance, reading, guitar and music, science, travel, aquarium fish, fishing, swimming and computers - and lately I have been developing a portable biomass stove-barbecue. I enjoy watching other sports also but don't consider myself a sports fanatic, and living a clean, healthy (almost vegetarian: and I don't like to see animals suffer...I have this cute Holland Lop rabbit I'm crazy about.) and sober lifestyle. I love animals and can have an instant connection with a receptive animal.

    We arrived on the Pacific Coast from Sudbury. My father had bought a house on Long Lake after working in Canada for one year, having started from nothing. Try doing that today. Anyway, we house sit for a few months until my father got us an apartment to live in. These were tough times. We lived in the Italian section of Vancouver for two years before moving to Victoria BC. On day as I was in a hardware store, I found a dime, and brought it over to the counter. The clerk was sure surprised, probably the first time that someone had done that! The next Christmas a package was delivered to our apartment - a Mechano Set, that you can build many things with. That was perfect for me. It came from the hardware store. Another thing I remember is that I believe it was the United Church, sent us kids to summer camp at Crescent Beach. I never forgot that gesture and I still believe that God had done that for us, somehow.

    I don't believe in Evolution as taught in biology and espoused by everyone who haven't got a clue about the complexities of the simplest organism. Therefore, since I don't believe in something coming from nothing, which Evolution demands, I believe in a supreme being, a creator. So, that means Jesus, not Muhammad, who worshiped the wrong god - Satan. No, Allah and the Christian God are not the same. Allah was the ancient Arab Moon God who resided in the Kaaba, that black building. Then suddenly it was the same as the Christian god. They didn't claim that previous to the last twenty years or so. Muhammad killed everyone who believed in the god of the Christians and Jews, but now the tune has changed; now their god is the same as ours. What a bunch of ()bleep). If you believe that I have some real estate down in Florida...My favorite spots to hike have been: Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands. 

    Best wishes to all of you somewhere out there in cyberspace. From the shores of the beautiful Pacific Ocean... Thank you for dropping by to visit!

Sincerely,
Osmo Joronen
Email: osmo_joronen at hotmail.com

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