Play traces Ingrian Finns’ history through family stories

A new production by VAT Theatre and Vaba Lava uses family stories to explore the history and displacement of Ingrian Finns, according to a review by Madis Arukask published by ERR. The review first appeared in Sirp.

The production, “When Roots Are Cut…”, features nine performers. All but one speak Estonian as their first language, and they may appear to audiences as entirely Estonian, Arukask writes. He says the identity of Ingrian Finns and their descendants in Estonia has long been complicated by pressure not to be seen as “non-Estonian” — with people instead regarded as Estonian or Russian.

Arukask notes that Ingrian Finns have faced persecution and displacement because of their national identity, including killings, deportations and transfers between authorities and states. After the Second World War, an official stamp in their identity documents barred them from returning to their home villages. Many were deported to famine-stricken regions of inner Russia, from where some escaped, including to Estonia. According to the 2021 census, 298 Ingrian Finns lived in Estonia.

In the production’s first half, performers take turns telling their family histories, offering a fragmented account of Ingrian Finns’ lives in Estonia, Finland, the Soviet Union and their homeland, Ingria. The stage uses chairs, a small accordion, and a screen showing photographs, a map and a family tree.

Arukask describes Ingrian Finnish culture as shaped by migration and survival. In the 17th century, thousands of Lutheran peasants from southeastern Finland and the Karelian Isthmus moved to Ingria under Swedish state policy. The region, which had Votic, Izhorian and Russian villages, became Sweden’s easternmost province, with Narva as its capital, before St Petersburg was founded.

The production was directed by Merle Karusoo, with set design by Pille Jänes, video art by Laura Romanova and lighting design by Terje Kagovere. It premiered on September 17 in the large hall of the Sakala 3 theatre building.