Russian,
Finnishother Finnic peoples
The Ingrian Finns (inkeriläinen or inkerinsuomalainen) are the Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast of Russia) descending from Lutheran Finnish immigrants introduced to the area in the 17th century, when Finland and Ingria were both part of the Swedish Empire. In the forced population transfers before and after World War II they were relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union. The Ingrian Finns still constitute the largest part of the Finnish population of the Russian Federation. According to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the Saint Petersburg region.
The Ingrian Finns originate mainly from the Lutheran resettlers and work-migrants who resettled to Ingria during the period of Swedish rule 1617–1703 from Savonia and Karelian Isthmus (mostly from Äyräpää), then parts of the Swedish realm[1]; and to lesser extent from more or less voluntary conversion among the indigenous Finnic speaking Votes and Izhorians were was approved by the Swedish authorities.[citation needed] The proportion of Finns in Ingria made up 41.1% in 1656, 53.2% in 1661, 55.2% in 1666, 56.9% in 1671 and 73.8% in 1695.[2]
