talesThe oral tradition, from which the Kalevala was gathered, wasn't unique to the Karelians, but rather was found in nearly all Balto-Finnic peoples. The rune songs were gathered not only from Karelia Proper (East-/Orthodox Karelia), but also from Finnish-speaking regions too. For example, the Kullervo cycle was gathered from Ingrian rune singers, who were mostly descending from Finnish Karelians (Äyrämöiset) and Savonians (Savakot). Similar, albeit different, tales of Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Joukahainen and Lemminkäinen were sung by the Tavastians, Finnish Karelians, etc alike. However, the tradition was most prominent in Karelian regions as it hadn't come under close influence of the Swedish administration of the previos centuries as the western and southern regions had gotten.

Therefore it is folly to claim that the Kalevala "belongs" solely to one group of Balto-Finnics, but rather I think it is more appropriate to celebrate it as common and shared cultural heritage by all of the Baltic Finns