Toni Tapio Timonen is nurmesian comic artist-entrepreneur in karelian indie comic studio – Sarjičča-ateljie Kuutamo in Nurmes town, North Karelia region of Finland.
About karelians ('cause Sarjicca-ateljie Kuutamo is strongly connected to karelian culture and Eastern Finland): Nowadays they are divided people between Finland (North and South Karelia regions – aka. West-Karelia, in pre-Swedish era, Savilahti (now Savo) was counted to West-Karelia) and Russia (Republic of Karelia – aka. East-Karelia).
Oldest mentions about karelians are in icelandic sagas and novgorodian chronicles. And oldest written finnic document is in old karelian (novgorod birch letter #292). Karelians were known as ”allies of Novgorod republic” but sometimes they fought against Novgorod, and kvens and norwegians in Hålogaland and in area known today as Kainuu.
Recently in 2010s karelian language got european non-regional national minority language status and karelian culture started to recovery from WW2.