Vuokkiniemi and its old Karelian rune villages behind the Finnish national epicKalevala have been selected to the finals of the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2015 competition. This area includes not only the Russian Karelian villages but covers also rune villages on the Finnish side of the border, Kuivajärvi and Hietajärvi in Suomussalmi. 

On Friday the 4th of July MAFUN, the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples, announced that Vuokkiniemi (Voknavolok)  is selected  to the finals which will be held in St. Petersburg in the first half of August. Three of the best cultural village candidates were selected as finalists based on their applications. The jury evaluated the applications based on their planned Finno-Ugric cultural events, the quality, experience and the ability to arrange such events during the year of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture in 2015.

Vuokkiniemi in White Sea Karelia (Viena Karelia) in the Republic of Karelia, applied to the international Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2015 competition. The geographic and administrative area of the Capital of Culture programme covers Vuokkiniemi village and it’s rune singing villages in the neighbourhoods: Vuonninen (Voinnitsa), Latvajärvi (Ladvozero), Venehjärvi (Cudnozero), Kivijärvi (Kamenoe ozero), Ponkalahti  (Ponga guba), Tsena (Cena), Pirttilahti (Pirtti guba), Mölkkö (Melkaya guba) , Tollonjoki (Tolloreka) and Kostamus (Kostamuksha, in the place of earlier village Kontokki) as well as Kuivajärvi and Hietajärvi on the Finnish side of the boarder as they organically belong to the same Finno-Ugric White Sea Karelia area and thus the same rune area. 

Vuokkiniemi is competing with Obinitsa in Estonian (Setomaa) and Vesprem inHungary. In St. Petersburg  the finalists will be introduced and their applications will be presented in more detail. Finally, a jury of five persons will then select a winner based on these presentations given by the villages.

 The Winner will be awarded a prize of 3,000 euro, but especially it will be granted international publicity. For the inhabitants in Vuokkiniemi this will be crusial as tourism is one of the main financial source for people living in the village.

 Vuokkiniemi Society, Karelian Cultural Society and Kostomukshsky, as well as the cultural and Museum Authority of the city of Kostomukshsky have strongly supported the application of Vuokkiniemi in the competition. Karelian Cultural Society considers the project as very important to promote the Karelian culture.