Kuusamolle tyypilliset vaara-alueet muodostuivat viimeisimmän jääkauden aikana. Rukalle sen nimen antoivat alueen varhaisimmat asukkaat, saamelaiset. Rukan arvellaan tarkoittavan pihkaa.
Savolaisia uudisasukkaita alkoi siirtyä alueelle 1600-luvulta lähtien. Virkkula, Tahkovaara, Aikkila, Pyhäjärvi, Kuontivaara ja Salminen sijaitsevat järvien lähettyvillä korkeilla vaarojen rinteillä. Sodan jälkeen siirtolaisten, luovutetun Kuusamon asukkaiden asutustoiminnan seurauksena syntyivät Heikkalan,
The forest covered hills typical of Kuusamo were formed during the last Ice Age. Ruka was given its name by the area’s earliest inhabitants, the Sámi. Ruka is thought to mean resin.
Settlers from Savo started moving to the area from the 17th century. Virkkula, Tahkovaara, Aikkila, Pyhäjärvi, Kuontivaara and Salminen are located on high hill slopes close to the lakes. After the war, the villages of Heikkala, Teerisuo and Ollinsuon were born as a result of the settlement activities of the emigrants, the residents of the ceded Kuusamo; along with the frontline farms, Petäjävaara and Matosuo. People of Rukajärvi had to be evacuated twice as well.
Farming, reindeer husbandry and forestry have provided bread for the village. Today, Rukatunturi with its tourism is the biggest employer.
The top of Ruka was considered worthless during the Great Partition. During the summer from the 1950s to the 1980s, there were platforms for dancing on the slopes of Ruka, and Hilda Jurmu ran a ski cafe already in the 1950s. Maamiesseura was founded on March 3rd, 1935. Before the wars and after the war, the White Guard ran the Rukajärvi Maamiesseura. The villages of Salminen, Nissinvaara and Virkkula were once part of the Rukajärvi Maamiesseura.
In 1949, the first common owned Ford brand tractor came to the village, and it was in heavy use, even in two shifts during the busiest time.
In the 1960s, the village was quiet, smoke rose only from a few chimneys. Today, not a single house is empty and new houses are being built. Before, 10 people lived in the houses and today 2 people, so the number of residents has remained around 600 people.
Shop, school, and post office
There have been two stores in Aikkila, the Talouskauppa and the Cooperative Shop, which were built right after the war. Twenty years ago, the shop was moved to Ruka. The school started in the 1930s in Tahkola and lasted about four years until it was moved to Aikkila. In 1930, the first radio was received in Rukajärvi, when a teacher brought a radio with them. A new school building had just been completed before the war, but it was burned down by the Finns. After the war, the school was held in Ojala, and in 1948 a new school was built. The post office operated in the shop and the last post van ran in 1995, after which the post office was moved to Ruka.
Traffic communications
At the turn of the century, the Kemijärventie road was built, which made life easier for the villagers, since now it was possible to go on horseback even in the summer to pick up essential goods from the church village. The road to Tahkolanranta was built only in the 1950s and it was extended to Petäjävaara at the end of the decade. Around the same time, the road to Matosuo was also opened. At the end of the 1940s, Kuontivaarantie was built and Moisasensuontie was completed in 1955. The road to Päiväniemi was built in 1965. Construction of Mustosenvaarantie started in 1939. Roads to Ollinsuo, Holtinniemi and Rönnynranta were built in the early 1950s.
Despite the roads, traffic connections were difficult in winter because the roads were not ploughed. The flow of information depended on visits and mail applicants. Even information about important thinks could be delayed. In one case, one of the women in Salminen had just lost her mother in Kitka and she only found out about it after the funeral. The side roads were only ploughed from the end of 1957, and then the winter roads disappeared from the lakes.
The history of Ruka – The birth of the tourist area
The proximity of Ruka and other forest covered hills brought its own distinctive addition to the livelihoods of the Rukajärvi area. Already in the 19th century and especially from the beginning of the 20th century, tourists visited Ruka in the summer to admire the beautiful scenery. Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Ilmari Kianto and I. K. Inha have been the most famous portrayers of the area.
Already in the 1930s, a tourist centre was planned on Ruka, but development stopped due to the wars. Already at the end of the 1940s, “curvy hills” were skied on Ruka’s slopes, and in 1954 the clearing work of Ruka’s first ski slope began. The first slalom competitions were held in 1955 and the first ski lift started operating in 1957.
During the summer from the 1950s to the 1970s, there were dance platforms on the slope of Ruka, and Hilda Jurmu had already run a ski cafe in the 1950s.
Since then, the Ruka area has gradually developed into one of Finland’s largest ski resorts. From the beginning, the development of Ruka has given work and livelihood to the residents of the area. Nowadays, many residents of the area work in the tourism industry or other service industries closely related to it.