The research topic of my doctoral thesis is Multilocal Karelians in the 2020s. My research focuses on the region South Karelia, which is located in south-eastern Finland. In my research I am interested in memories and experiences of South Karelian origin people born in the 1970s, who now as adults are living somewhere else in Finland. How was the childhood and youth in South Karelia in the 1970s and 1980s? How do they remember the region, and, in their opinion, what was there Karelian that time? Do they as adults identify themselves as Karelians and how does it manifest?

Additionally, I am interested in potential connections the interviewees still have to South Karelia. Has the coronavirus pandemic had any influence on their possibly multilocal life between the permanent home and South Karelia? Could they imagine moving back to South Karelia, and if, under which conditions? Could the multilocal lifestyle, multiple residences and remote working bring something positive to the development of South Karelia and the modern Karelian culture in the 2020s?