Scientific activities in Karelia started developing in 1930, when the decree was adopted "On establishing the Karelian (Integrated) Research Institute – KRI". Seven years later, the institute was reorganized into the Karelian Culture Research Institute (KCRI). The foundation of the Karelian-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 called for new initiatives to advance science in Karelia and the question of establishing a republican branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences came to the agenda. However, the realization of these plans was hindered by the Great Patriotic War. The archives were moved inland, and the KCRI was evacuated to Syktyvkar. There, the Institute’s activities were paused in 1942 to be resumed in Belomorsk in 1943. At that time, the Institute's staff was only five persons. Their task was to collect materials about the war, including the Karelian Front, the home front, and the partisan (guerilla) movement. The KCRI returned to Petrozavodsk immediately after the city's liberation in the summer of 1944. Some of the unique material collected by the Institute's staff are available on the dedicated online portal "Путь к Победе".

On January 31, 1946, an administrative meeting of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences considered the issue question of "Establishing the Karelian-Finnish Facility of the USSR Academy of Sciences". The Facility’s structure, leadership, and Academic Council members were approved. Academician Alexander Polkanov, a prominent scientist, specialist in petrography was appointed to be the director. The units were headed by outstanding researchers of the time. As of late 1946, staff of the Karelian-Finnish Facility of the USSR AS numbered 59 researchers, including 5 doctors and 14 candidates of sciences.


Scientists who laid the foundations of the Karelian-Finnish Research Facility of the USSR AS:
Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy V.S. Slodkevich, Doctor of Biology M.A. Toikka,
Doctor of Biology A.Ya. Kokin, Candidate of Economics V.V. Stefanikhin,
Doctor of Biology S.V. Gerd. 1946

In April 1963, after yet another re-organization, several large regional branches of the USSR Academy of Sciences, including the Karelian branch, were closed down. Only the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History was retained within the Academy of Sciences framework. All other units became subordinated to ministries and government agencies. Three years later the Karelian Branch of the USSR AS was re-established, comprising six research institutions. Since then, the center’s name and structure have changed multiple times. In 2017, it was re-organized into the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the status of a federal research center.

The Center’s pivotal feature then as well as now is its multidisciplinarity. The KarRC RAS comprises the following scientific divisions: Institute of Biology, Northern Water Problems Institute, Institute of Geology, Forest Research Institute, Institute of Applied Mathematical Research, Institute of Economics, Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History, and the Department for Multidisciplinary Research.


Karelian-Finnish Research Facility building on Uritsky St. (now Al.Nevsky Ave.). 1946

Following the Academy’s traditions, Karelian scientists pursue objectives not only in basic science but also in the practical application of scientific developments for the benefit of the region and the country. Scientists conduct environmental monitoring of water resources and biodiversity in Northwestern Russia, prepare nomination papers for protected areas, develop technologies for the conservation and reproduction of biological resources, and devise methods for forest restoration and sustainable use. They are engaged in the prospecting and exploration of mineral resources, research of the regional economy and development of regional management strategies, investigation of the problems of modern mathematical science, study and preservation of the linguistic and historical heritage of the peoples of Karelia, among many other issues.

Leading scientists of the Karelian Research Centre RAS hold the titles of the Russian Academy of Sciences fellows, and are members of RAS scientific councils, including those for Arctic and Antarctic studies, Forest, Soil Science, Regional Policy, International Council on the Development of the Union State, and many others.

The KarRC RAS actively engages in international activities: over the years, the Centre has implemented dozens of research projects in collaboration with foreign colleagues from different continents. Since 2022, the KarRC RAS has been working on the national level to develop cooperation with scientific organizations in BRICS+ countries.

Officially, the events marking the 80th anniversary of the KarRC RAS will commence on February 6 with a formal meeting of three Academic Councils timed to the Russian Science Day. The main anniversary-related events are scheduled for September 2026.

Photos: Igor Georgievsky; KarRC RAS Scientific Archives holdings