Finland & Russia

Melinda & Courtney

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT

RUSSIAN AND FINNISH CULTURE?

Russian Culture

In addition to being the largest, the Russian Federation is one of the world's northernmost
countries. It encompasses 6,592,658 square miles (17,075,000 square kilometers), from its borders
with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus

The climate of much of European Russia has long, cold winters and short, hot summers. In the
northern areas, winter days are dark and long; in the summer, the days are long and the sun rarely
sets.

With the exception of the black earth belt, Russia has fairly poor soil, a short growing season and
low precipitation. These factors limit agricultural production and account for the frequency of crop
failures; what is produced requires substantial labour.

In July 1999, the population was estimated at 146 million a decline of more than two million since
the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current figure includes several million immigrants and
refugees from newly independent former Soviet republics. Since 1991, a stark drop in the birthrate
has combined with a dramatic rise in the mortality rate. Average life expectancy for both men and
women has declined since the 1980s.

This population decline is expected to worsen in the next decade. It is largely the result of the
economic and social upheavals of the postsocialist period, which have impoverished the population
and caused a decay of social services.

Growing unemployment, long-term nonpayment of wages and pensions, paid wages that are below
the poverty line, unsafe working and road conditions, the spread of infectious diseases, and the
impoverishment of public health care systems have caused stress, depression, family breakdown,
and rising rates of alcoholism, suicide, homicide, and domestic violence.

Russian Alphabet

Finnish Alphabet

Finnish Culture

The Republic of Finland

Finland is a Northern European country bordering Sweden, Norway, and Russia.
Finland is 130,558 square miles total (338,145 sq km).
It has a population of 5,268,799 (Est. 2014).
Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish.
In Finland, the religion/denomination which most people identify with is Lutheran.
Finland has an average growing season of 180 days in the Southwestern area and about 140
days in Lapland.
A large portion of Finland is within the Arctic Circle.
Furthest North, they have 73 polar days a year where the sun does not set.
In Southern Finland, the longest day (approx. Midsummer) is 19 hours long.
Furthest North in Finland, there is a time during the winter called polar night, where the
sun does not rise for 51 days.
In Southern Finland, their shortest day (with light) is approximately 6 hours.

Finnish Culture (cont.)

Finland became an independent country on December 6, 1917.

Prior to this Finland was joined with Russia from 1809-1917 as a Grand Duchy.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland with a population of about 1.17 million.
Other large cities in Finland: Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa, & Turku.
Finlands currency was the Finnish Markka until 2002, when they changed it to the Euro.
Finland fought in the WW2, unsigned to the pact, with the Axis against the USSR to regain land
lost during the Winter War of 1939-1940.
They signed an agreement to quit fighting with the Soviet Union in September 1944.

Bid Ideas
Different groups may experience the same
development or event in different ways.
Different groups may experience Canada in
different ways.
Focus on perspective

UNIT PLAN:
Monday
What do they
know?
Stereotypes of
Finnish and
Russian People
eg: Accents,

Tuesday

General
background of
Finland and
Russia
Traditions/
Foods
Time to work on
Violence culminating task
Introduction
to culminating
activity

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Skype with class in

Finland or Russia
Guest Speaker of
Russian or Finnish
immigrant
Graphic
organizer for
culminating task

Russian and
Finnish
Communities
in Canada

Presenting of
culminating tasks.
The community
Festival Project
presented at the
class community
festival. Parents
are invited to come
that day

Culminating Task:
The class will be split into 2 groups
Half the class will do poster boards on FInland and their journey to
Canada/their cultures and the other half will do Russia and their journey
to Canada/ their cultures
Each student will make a poster board and will present this on day 5
during our community festival class
Parents and families are welcome to join during this class to learn more
about Finland and Russia.

DAY 2: BACKGROUND/TRADITIONS
Expectations: target grade 6- strand A: Heritage and Identity
Overall:A2: use the social studies inquiry process to investigate different perspectives on the
historical and/or contemporary experiences of two or more distinct communities in Canada

Specific:
A2.4 : interpret and analyse information and evidence relevant to their investigations, using
a variety of tools
A2.6: communicate the results of their inquiries, using appropriate vocabulary (e.g.,
perspective, ethnic group, emigrant, immigrant, entrepreneur, labourer, class) and formats

Traditions- Pancake Week

( Maslenitsa)

Pancake week has been celebrated in Russia from very ancient times, and it is one of the
favourite holidays for Russians. It happens in the last week prior to the start of Lent (about 7
weeks before Orthodox Easter), usually in the middle, or at the end of February.
Day 1 (A meeting) : women start making pancakes. The first pancake is set aside for deceased
family members and relatives. Also on this day, a strawman is made, to symbolise winter.
Day 2 ( Game day) : On Game Day, people head outdoors to play in the snow, making snowballs
and playing other games.

Day 3 ( sweet day): After many games on Tuesday, it is now the precise time for a lot of eating. So,
on Sweet Day at each house tables are filled with different meals and, of course, with pancakes.
Beer and tea are common.

Day 4 ( playing thursday): On Playing Thursday, young men meet to test their strength against one
another.
Day 5 ( mother in law evening): On this day the son-in-law should now thank his mother-in-law and
invite her for pancakes. The mother-in-law should bring all ingredients for baking, and the father-inlaw should also send some food.
Day 6 ( daughter in law day) : On this day a woman must invite all relatives of her husband, set the
table with food and pancakes, and give some gifts to each member of her new family.
Day 7 ( Forgiving Sunday): On the last day the man of straw should be burned and this custom
means that winter has come to the end. People ask for forgiveness from each other, and everyone
tries to make amends and forgive all old disputes. In this way, people meet spring with a clear
conscience and an open heart.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=video+to+show+pancake+week+in+russia&ei=UTF-8&hspar
t=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002

Grade 6 target: each group would receive a Russian or Finnish Tradition and
they would have access to computers to research the tradition and then
present it to the rest of the class.

Each table will get a tradition from either the Russian or Finnish culture.
How would you incorporate this into your classroom?
How can you advocate for these traditions students may celebrate/take part
in?

DAY 4: COMMUNITIES WITHIN CANADA

Expectations: target grade 6- strand A: Heritage and Identity
Overall:
A2. Inquiry: use the social studies inquiry process to investigate different perspectives on the
historical and/or contemporary experience of two or more distinct communities in Canada

Specific:
A3.2 describe some key economic, political, cultural, and social aspects of life in
settler communities in Canada (e.g., with reference to land ownership; agricultural
practices; work; religion; dress and diet; family life and the roles of men, women, and
children; social and service clubs), and identify significant ways in which settlers
places of origin influenced their ways of life in Canada

Finnish Communities

In Canada there are about 131,000 people of Finnish heritage, 2006 census.
www.FinnishCanadian.com is a Toronto based websites that has information
about various Finnish clubs/organizations across Canada.
There is a larger Finnish community within Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Early immigrants came to Canada during the 1820s to work in construction and
farming.
There was another larger amount of immigrants that came at the end of WW2,
largely due to economical reasons (shortage of farmland).
Ontario has the highest amount of Finnish Canadians
Communities with most Finnish Canadians:
Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and New Finland (Saskatchewan)
Finnish Grand Festival is hosted by a Canadian community each year.
this festival celebrates Finnish heritage

Finnish Communities (cont.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCMPa1huoQQ

Russian Communities

The first Russians in Canada were fur hunters, in around 1790, according to
Richard Pierce.

In 2006, 500,600 people in Canada identified themselves as of Russian heritage402, 360 of these people also identified with another heritage.

The Russian Orthodox Church is their main religious affiliation.

The Russian Canadian Cultural Aid Society (RCCAS) was established during the
1950s to help Russian immigrants in the Toronto area.

The RCCAS is still operating in Toronto.

The RCCAS hosts events for Russian New Year, Easter Pancake Week, and an annual
gala.

These events help Russians stay connected to their heritage and traditions.

Russian Communities (cont.)

Grade 6 target: Students will be given time to research different

Finnish and Russian communities in Canada and find something
that interests them to share with each other in their presentations.

Future Learning
Studying different groups of people who came to Canada and doing
more research on these people.
OR
Allowing students to choose country for culminating task at the
festival.
OR
Having festival with other classes at school presenting on different
countries.