Editing Karelian question (section)

== 21st century  ==
{{Update section|date=October 2024|reason=This section does not mention any polls or discussions after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine}}
[[Image:street in Vyborg.jpg|thumb|right|Finnish era buildings in [[Vyborg]]]]
[[Karjalan Liitto]] is an interest group of Karelian evacuees which hopes that Karelia will once again become part of Finland at some point, but does not openly demand it. Some smaller groups, such as [[ProKarelia]], continue to campaign for the peaceful return of Karelia. However, no serious political party has openly supported this goal, and Finnish politicians generally say there is no need for it, citing Finland's peace treaty with Russia. There are some individual politicians who support the return of Karelia, such as [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]] [[Ari Vatanen]], and two candidates in the [[2006 Finnish presidential election|presidential election of 2006]]: [[Timo Soini]] and [[Arto Lahti]]. Other candidates have stated that Finland has signed a [[peace treaty]] and should not campaign for the return of what are now Russian-developed territories.<ref>Diplomatic Diary. Presidential candidates meet the international press. [[Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland]] [http://www.formin.fi/netcomm/news/ShowArticle.asp?intNWSAID=45952&intSubArtID=19294&intIGID=2&LAN=FI&contlan=&Thread=&intThreadPosition=0&intShowBack=0&intOrgNews=0]{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> During a debate prior to the [[2012 Finnish presidential election|2012 presidential election]] Timo Soini reiterated his view that, if elected, he would advance the issue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/presidentinvaalit2012/index.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2011/12/1460460/soini-keskustelisi-karjalan-palauttamisesta-venajan-kanssa |title=Soini keskustelisi Karjalan palauttamisesta Venäjän kanssa - MTV3.fi - Uutiset - Kotimaa |website=www.mtv3.fi |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130106193031/http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/presidentinvaalit2012/index.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2011/12/1460460/soini-keskustelisi-karjalan-palauttamisesta-venajan-kanssa |archive-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Official opinions ===
Both Russia and Finland have repeatedly stated that no open territorial dispute exists between the two countries. Finland's official stance is that the borders may be changed through peaceful negotiations, although there is currently no need to hold open talks, as Russia has shown no intention of returning the ceded areas, or discussing the question. In 1994 [[Boris Yeltsin]] commented that the "seizure of Finnish Karelia" was an example of Stalin's totalitarian and aggressive politics.<ref>[http://www.formin.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=53731&contentlan=1&culture=fi-FI Valtiosihteeri Jukka Valtasaaren puhe Karjalan Liitto ry:n seminaarissa 19.5.1998 Helsingissä] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014838/http://www.formin.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=53731&contentlan=1&culture=fi-FI |date=2015-09-24 }}. (Speech by ''valtiosihteeri'' Jukka Valtasaari. Finnish Foreign Ministry 1998-05-19. Retrieved 2015-08-15. {{in lang|fi}}</ref> Later in 1997 he stated that the matter was closed. In 2000 Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] stated that such discussions may endanger Finnish–Russian relations, and in 2001 he said that "changing borders is not the best way to resolve problems", but that possible solutions would be "integration and cooperation".<ref>Sergei Prozorov: Border Regions and the Politics of EU-Russian Relations, p. 4. January 2004 [http://www.euborderconf.bham.ac.uk/publications/files/WP3EuropesNorth.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316072949/http://www.euborderconf.bham.ac.uk/publications/files/WP3EuropesNorth.pdf|date=2009-03-16}}, Helsingin Sanomat 9/5/2001 {{cite web |title=HS Foreign 4.9.2001 - Tones of reconciliation during Putin visit |url=http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20010904IE3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930072238/http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20010904IE3 |archive-date=2007-09-30 |access-date=2006-05-01}}</ref> <!-- please notice, that this ref is for the whole paragraph -->

In 1998 [[President of Finland|Finnish President]] [[Martti Ahtisaari]] said that "Finland's official position is that it does not have territorial demands on Russia. However, if Russia wants to discuss returning the ceded areas, Finland is ready for that."<ref>Martti Ahtisaari. In press meeting, Kuopio 30 July 1998.</ref> Several other politicians holding government office, such as the former foreign minister [[Erkki Tuomioja]] and prime minister [[Matti Vanhanen]], have made statements along the same lines.<ref>Tuomioja's reply to [[Risto Kuisma]]'s question in Eduskunta [http://www.ristokuisma.net/html/kuisma2004/ristokuisma041222.htm]{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>Matti Vanhanen in [[YLE]]'s "Pääministerin haastattelutunti" (Interview of the Prime Minister) on 21 November 2004</ref>

When commenting on poll results on 18 January 2005, the Foreign Minister of Russia [[Sergey Lavrov|Sergei Lavrov]] stated that if Russia were to be asked to return the ceded areas, "the answer would be absolutely negative".<ref>Vainio, Riitta: [https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000004331311.html Provokaattoreita ja sovittelijoita], ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' 21 August 2005. Accessed on 17 September 2019.</ref>

===Polls and popular opinion===
The latest{{when|date=October 2021}} polls show that approximately 26% to 38% of Finns would like to see Karelia return to Finnish control and some 51% to 62% would oppose such a move. In Russia, people associate the word "Karelia" with the [[Republic of Karelia]] instead of [[Finnish Karelia]], which makes conducting polls more difficult. In a 1999 poll by [[MTV3]], 34% of the people of [[Vyborg]] supported returning Karelia to Finland and 57% were opposed. [[Vyborg]] and the rest of the ceded Karelia outside the [[Republic of Karelia]] nowadays contain very few ethnic Finns, and is almost exclusively inhabited by people who moved there during the Soviet era and their descendants.

In a poll conducted by the newspaper ''Karjala'' and the research institute ''MC-Info Oy'' on 13 October 2005, 36% of Finns supported the return of ceded territories, compared to 51% who are opposed. In August 2005, a poll by ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' and Suomen [[Gallup International Association|Gallup]], determined that 30% of Finns supported and 62% opposed the return.<ref name="HS Gallup">[http://www.hs.fi/uutiset/tuoreet/artikkeli/1101980677358 HS-Gallup: Selvä enemmistö ei halua Karjalaa takaisin]</ref> In a poll by Taloustutkimus and Karjalan Liitto conducted in May 2005, support was 26% while 58% were opposed.<ref>[http://www.karjalanliitto.fi/3/taloustutkimus.html  Karjalan Liitto and Taloustutkimus] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070623124037/http://www.karjalanliitto.fi/3/taloustutkimus.html |date=2007-06-23 }}</ref> A year earlier, a poll by STT showed 38% supporting and 57% opposing. A poll by Taloustutkimus was criticized by [[ProKarelia]] for asking [[leading questions]], such as, "Do you support the return of Karelia, even if it would mean more tense relations or even war with Russia?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prokarelia.net/fi/?x=artikkeli&article_id=696&author=10 |title=Eg. ProKarelia's article on 17 October 2005 |access-date=25 May 2006 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803011551/http://prokarelia.net/fi/?x=artikkeli&article_id=696&author=10 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 5% of supporters and of those who declined to respond supported the return even under these circumstances (2.1% of all replies).<ref>[http://www.karjalanliitto.fi/3/taloustutkimus.html  Karjalan Liitto and Taloustutkimus, poll] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070623124037/http://www.karjalanliitto.fi/3/taloustutkimus.html |date=2007-06-23 }}</ref>

Many of the people who were born in Karelia and were evacuated want Karelia to become part of Finland. According to polls, older people (ages 65 and up) and young people (15-25) support the idea more strongly than the generation of their parents (25–65) who grew up during the [[Cold War]].<ref name="HS Gallup"/> Former President [[Mauno Koivisto]] was against a discussion about the question.<ref>Koivisto halusi vaientaa kokonaan keskustelun Karjalan palauttamisesta. (''Koivisto wanted to silence discussion about returning Karelia'') STT-IA 23 January 1998 {{cite web |url=http://www.verkkouutiset.fi/arkisto/Arkisto_1998/23.tammikuu/UKKKAR.HTM |title=Kekkonen Ja Karjala |access-date=2006-05-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/19980224113243/http://www.verkkouutiset.fi/arkisto/Arkisto_1998/23.tammikuu/UKKKAR.HTM |archive-date=1998-02-24 }} (in Finnish)</ref> Support for regaining the ceded areas is also strong among minor [[nationalist]] [[right-wing]] groups.