Irina Takala

Irina Takala (; born December 28, 1955) is a Russian historian and educator. Her interests include history of Finland and Karelia, Finland–Russia relations, Stalinism, and alcoholism in Russia.

Education and research In 1978 she graduated from Petrozavodsk State University specializing in history. In 1984 she earned Ph.D. with thesis ["Russia and Finnish Social Thought (1820s – early 1860s)"].

Books 2002: Финны в Карелии и в России: История возникновения и гибели диаспоры 2002: «Веселие Руси». История алкогольной проблемы в России 2014: (with Alexey Golubev Alexey Golubev) Search for a Socialist El Dorado: Finnish Immigration to Soviet Karelia from the United States and Canada in the 1930s. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press; Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba Press 2019: (Russian translation, expanded with new material): В поисках социалистического Эльдорадо: североамериканские финны в Советской Карелии 1930-х годов 2021: Taistelua ja kuolemaa: Neuvosto-Karjalan suomalaiset 1920- ja 1930-luvulla The book is about the history of Finns who emigrated to the Soviet Union from Finland and North America in the 1920s and 1930s, in search for better future. However the Great Terror that happened the second half of 1930s brought tragedy for them.