Even if the Institute's main research focus was shaped in its early years, the unit’s structure has evolved since then. In the 1930s, the Revolution History and the Ethnography and Linguistics Sections were launched. After WWII, while the Institute was operating in evacuation in Syktyvkar, the Sections for History, for Literature and Folk Art, and for Linguistics were formed. Their later divisions resulted in the formation of the Archaeology Section (1967), Literature Section (1970), Ethnosociology and Ethnography Section (1983) – later renamed as the Ethnology Section – and the Folklore Section (1983). In 2019, the Section of Folklore and Literature Studies (incl. Audio Records Archives) was added. Currently, five sections and the NORDICA Interdisciplinary Research and Education Center operate within the Institute. ILLH has 66 staff members, including a RAS Corresponding Fellow, 8 Doctors of Sciences, and 34 Candidates of Sciences. Ten doctoral students are getting training in 8 scientific specializations. Over the years of ILLH history, its staff have produced monographs, dictionaries, document collections, learning aids, many of which are now regarded as classical works that specialists keep as desktop books. Modern trends adopted by the Institute include digitization of scientific knowledge, promoting interdisciplinary approaches, and popularizing the liberal arts dimension of sciences in Karelia.
Award handed over to Elvira Dzhioshvili
Some awards were handed over to the Institute’s employees during the Learned Council session. First, however, the leader of the Karelian Research Center RAS Olga Bakhmet congratulated the ILLH on its anniversary. She highlighted the key milestones in the Institute's development and acknowledged the renowned scientists who have worked there. On behalf of the Research Center, as well as federal and republican authorities, Olga Bakhmet presented awards to the institute’s current and emeritus employees.
KarRC RAS CEO Olga Bakhmet and ILLH Director Irina Novak
Congratulations go to Alexander Krivonozhenko
A scientific lecture about a legendary director of the Institute titled “Devotion to science and the cause of the society: on the 100th anniversary of birth of ILLH KarRC RAS ex-director M.N. Vlasova” was presented by Candidate of Historical Sciences Elena Dubrovskaya. The contribution of Maria Vlasova, Merited Scientist of the Karelian ASSR and Honorary Citizen of Petrozavodsk, to the unit’s development was so grand that the lecture effectively covered the entire ILLH history. A historian specializing in studies of Karelia, a native of the Town of Olonets and an alumnus of the Moscow State University, Maria Vlasova completed her doctoral studies at the Institute and began working there in 1952. For over 20 years, from 1965 to 1988, Maria Vlasova served as ILLH Director, being at the same time a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Karelian ASSR. On top of that, she was a participant of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Dakar and Vienna, and chaired the Soviet side of the Soviet-Finnish Working Group on Scientific Cooperation in History. Maria Vlasova has authored around 80 academic papers.
The 2025 launch of a new online academic journal, Studia Nordica, was announced by RAS Corr. Fellow Irma Mullonen. The new journal, successor of the Nordic and Baltic Studies Review, was conceived as a professional forum for specialists in the humanities and social sciences who explore the history, languages and cultures of Northern Europe, the Baltic region, and Northwest Russia, especially Karelia. It sets out as an open-access, anonymously peer-reviewed online outlet published in Russian and English first biannually and potentially quarterly.
- The journal is meant to promote and strengthen contacts between researchers in history and philology. Our journal aims to generate new knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. Another objective is to raise the next generation of scholars. We encourage young authors to submit, - said Irma Mullonen.
The ILLH was congratulated on the anniversary by representatives of various organizations. In addition to the Ministry of Ethnic and Regional Policy of Karelia, greetings were delivered by representatives of the regional Ministry of Culture. The team of the Republic of Karelia National Library congratulated the Institute on its 95th anniversary. Mikhail Goldenberg, Director of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia, reminded the audience of the bonds between the Institute and the regional local lore museum and thanked the Institute for its tremendous support in the museum's work. The Kizhi Open Air Museum acknowledged the fruitful cooperation and shared plans for future collaboration with the Institute's staff. Representatives from Petrozavodsk State University, specifically from the Institute of Philology and the Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences, also spoke about their collaborative projects. Active cooperation was also at the core of the congratulations from another Karelian higher educational institution – Glazunov Petrozavodsk State Conservatory.
In conclusion, the gathering watched a film produced for the Institute's anniversary by SAMPO TV 360°. The channel released a number of episodes of the Territory of Culture program, featuring the Institute's staff and their research. Journalists covered various aspects of ILLH researchers’ work, both in the ‘office’ and in the ‘field’.
Learned Council. ILLH anniversary
- On this day, I would like to wish prosperity and progress to all the staff of the Institute and the Karelian Research Center as a whole. On behalf of the entire KarRC RAS team, I wish you every success. Once again, congratulations! – concluded KarRC RAS leader Olga Bakhmet, adding that the gift for the Institute in general will be an upgrade of its sci-tech facilities.
Photos: Igor Georgievsky