Researcher, Foundation for the Promotion of Karelian Culture; Jalmari Finne Foundation; Finnish Cultural Foundation (South Savo Regional Fund)
Foundation for the Promotion of Karelian Culture: Borderland Officials – The Changing Administrative Culture of Ladoga Karelia, 1812–1899
Jalmari Finne Foundation: Depictions of childhood in Emmy Berg's memoirs
Finnish Cultural Foundation (South Savo Regional Fund): Disputes in the Borderlands between Sweden and Russia from the Treaty of Åbo to the Years Following the Finnish War
The Changing Administrative Culture of Ladoga Karelia, 1812–1899
This study examines the transformation of local and regional administration in Lake Ladoga Karelia and Border Karelia between 1812 and 1899, during a period when the Russified and authoritarian administrative culture of Old Finland clashed with the Swedish-derived, rule-based legal and administrative traditions of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The focus is on district and parish-level officials, their potential misconduct, legal proceedings for official misconduct, and tensions between the common people and the authorities. Using court records, governor’s reports, and contemporary writings, the study examines what characteristics of good and bad governance were present in the region, how the legitimacy of official actions was established or eroded, and how local governance gradually shifted toward a system of administration based on a culture of written documentation and rule-based governance.