Established by Swedish Crusaders in medieval times, Viipuri has long served as the gateway between Scandinavia and Russia. Located only 130 kilometers from St. Petersburg, whoever controls the Karelian Isthmus had immense ability to control trade within the Baltic Sea, motivating Russia to captured it in the 18th century.

With the overthrow of the Tsars, Viipuri found itself the 2nd largest city in the newly independent Finland, a title which it retains to this day. Nearly the entire population fled from the Bolsheviks, who seized the city in 1940, but just a year later, Finnish troops would triumphantly re-enter the city and return the refugees to their old homes.

Ever since, Viipuri has been one of the preeminent Finnish ports. Today, like most other Finnish cities, Viipuri is experiencing extremely rapid population growth, as tens of thousands of rural Finns migrate into the city.