128 HUMAN LIFE IN RUSSIA
these phenomena by the counter-revolutionary activity oi
kulaks and White Russian nationalists." Comment would be
superfluous. The report shows clearly that the national struggle
continues unchanged.
The lot of the Finns within the Soviet State to-day is al
particularly hard. It is true that their position is theoretical
more advantageous than that of most of the other nations 333
groups, for at the signing of the Peace of Dorpat Finlan
succeeded in inducing Russia to make a binding declaratio
in favour of the Finnish population of Karelia, as well as of tt
Finns of Ingermanland (near Leningrad). By thus entering th
Ksts on behalf of the Finns who have lived outside Finland fc
centuries, the latter state was the first to make a hole in th
doctrine of non-interference in the affairs of the national
of another state. Finland is the only state which has succeeds
in enforcing the view that it is the elementary right of ever
nation to intervene on behalf of its kinsmen outside its OTO
frontiers when their lives and means of existence are threatened
Unlike the pure Finns of Ingermanland, the Karelians are \
separate race of Finnish origin, and were promised by th*
Soviets administrative autonomy and the maintenance of thei
educational and linguistic rights. Soon, however, it was seer
that these concessions were being rendered nugatory by *
number of breaches in practice. No arrangements were made
for any right of supervision to ensure that the promises were
being kept, with the result that the so-called autonomy d
Karelia—which in theory is an independent people's republic
within the framework of the Soviet State—is entirely sub-
ordinate to the dictates of Moscow. Again, a settlement of the
frontiers of the autonomous region had been omitted, and tie
result of the arrangement subsequently enforced by Moscow
was that to-day the Karelians constitute no more than one-
third of the population of this region. The Soviet regime-
according to a fully documented expose furnished by the
Karelian Academic Union of Helsingfors—soon proceeded to