women's past, present, future

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Olena Kamenetska-Ostapchuk

Laila Annikki Pullinen-Ramsay

(21 Jul 1933 Terijoki – 4 Nov 2015 Helsinki)

was a Finnish artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies modernism, in particular classical modernism in sculpture.

She was one of the few Finnish women artists to achieve international recognition.

Pullinen studied art first in Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki 1953–1956, the Accademia Pietro Vannucci in Perugia 1958 and Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma 1961–1962.

In her art Pullinen often employed traditional materials, such as stone and bronze, but occasionally she could try very innovative sculpting methods. Wikipedia

Karakachan Greek girl from Bulgaria in traditional clothing. Photographed by Ivo Daskalov for National Geographic. 

“The Karakachans are known under different names on the Balkan Peninsula. They are called Karakachans in Bulgaria and Sarakatsans in Greece. The group identifies itself by different names: when speaking Karakachan, they call themselves Vlahi (sing. Vlahos), which they translate into Bulgarian as Karakachani (sing. Karakachanin). Upon mention of the ethnonym Vlahos, Vlahi, they promptly proceed to stress that they are different from the Vlachs and have nothing to do with them. Or, as they themselves say, “we are Vlahi in Karakachan, Karakachani in Bulgarian and Sarakatsani in Greek”. Linguists refer the Karakachan dialect to the group of the northern dialects of modern Greek.

In terms of religion, the Karakachans are Orthodox Christians. In the nomadic period their access to Christian churches and contact with priests was difficult due to the remoteness of their settlements from other villages and towns. In their traditional culture, we find many pagan beliefs, customs and traditions that are combined in a unique way with the Christian worldview and holidays. After settling down for life, their contacts with the Orthodox Church became permanent.

Until the middle of the 20th century, the Karakachans were scattered in many parts of the Balkan Peninsula (Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia), but today they live in Greece and Bulgaria only. In Bulgaria, compact groups of the populace inhabit areas of the Balkan Mountain Range, Mountain Rila, and Northeastern Bulgaria.