Russian storytellers performed their tales alone, surrounded by attentive listeners. The singers of the 'Kalevala' sat opposite each other, holding hands and beginning a dialogue.

In Karelia, Russians, Karelians, and Finns lived side by side. These two Finno-Ugric peoples had long divided: some remained in tribal life, while others in the north established a state and became the protectors of the former. Karelia, poor in new customs, cold and marshy, became a treasure trove of folklore.

The harsh life on the brink of hunger, hunting and fishing for survival amid uncertain rye and oat harvests is reflected in the stern, tense faces of Russians, Finns, and Karelians captured in photographs at the museum. This is also evident in the runes of the sons of Kaleva:

They fed on tasty fish
And soft pine bark...

Kaletki, gray oval pies with mashed potatoes or millet porridge, with hard corrugated edges and a pungent aroma of rye, were not everyday food but a luxurious dish of past times. In Finland, they are called 'Karelian pies.' Life has always been hard, but Russians and Karelians did not mix material food with spiritual.

The Russian epic tells of the feats and adventures of heroes who cleanse the land of monsters, pave trade routes, fight Asian enemies, rage and atone for the consequences of their anger with death. The 'Kalevala' describes a completely different, archaic world. 'Old wise Väinämöinen' is old because he spent seven hundred years in the womb of the primordial mother. He, noble yet powerful, is a magician who knows the origins of things and can weave and subdue them through storytelling.

The world of Karelian runes represents the primal connections of man with the layered heavens, giants, and the mistress of the dark world of Pohjola. When Väinämöinen wounds himself with an axe to heal, he must discover the origin of iron. In search of this knowledge, the hero comes to the giant Vipunen, who swallows him. Väinämöinen sets up a forge in his belly and gains magical knowledge.

We are rich with our 'Kalevala' and 'Song of Hiawatha.' Leonid Belsky translated the Karelian epic in 1888, and Ivan Bunin, the American poem in 1903. Both received the highest literary award of pre-revolutionary Russia, the Pushkin Prize.