Ant Museum

The Karelian Isthmus borders the Neva Lowland on the south. On the north the isthmus is formed mainly of granites and gneisses; in the center and south it is composed of glacial and glacial-lake deposits (sand and pebbles, loams, clays). It is characterized by jagged relief with predominating altitudes of about 50 m. In its southern portion the topography is of a hilly moraine type, with eskers, kames, and moraine plateaus (the Lembolov-skaia Upland, altitude, to 173 m). The isthmus is crossed by the Vuoksi River, which is abundant in water, and there are numerous glacial lakes. Evergreen forests predominate, with spruce in the north and groves of pine in the south. The cities of Vyborg, Priozersk, and Vsevolzhsk are located on the isthmus, and there are numerous resorts and settlements of summer homes on the shore (Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk, Repino), part of the Leningrad Resort District. There is a developed tourist industry.The Karelian Isthmus was part of Rus’ from the ninth century onward. It was seized by Sweden at the beginning of the 17th century. The isthmus was returned to Russia by the Treaty of Nystadt of 1721. Between 1918 and 1940, a large part of the isthmus belonged to Finland, and between 1927 and 1939, with the help of Western European powers, a strongly fortified line (the Mannerheim Line) was constructed. After the Russo-Finnish War of 1939–40 the isthmus was returned to the USSR (by the peace treaty of Mar. 12, 1940). During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45 the isthmus was occupied (in July 1941) by German and Finnish forces. As a result of the Vyborg Operation of 1944 the isthmus was liberated by the Soviet Army and, in accordance with the armistice of Sept. 19, 1944, it once more became part of the USSR.