After the truce in Autumn 1944, the hillocks of Karelia were evacuated from the Finns and replaced by the Russian inhabitants. The settling was done partly by forced transfers of population, partly by evacuees who came voluntarily, induced by the promises of free houses and tax allowances. During the nights many of them were frightened, however, that the Finns would return to revenge the loss of their homes.

The documentary film Dream of Karelia recounts the story of agriculture and the soviet reconstruction of industry in Karelia, above all, from the standpoint of an individual. How did the new inhabitants of Karelia encounter and experience the Finnish environment and culture, the remnants of the Finnish way of life. The new inhabitants were evacuees themselves, who arrived from entirely different culture and living conditions.