The main achievement of the DiGe was clearly demonstrating the devastating effects of Russian occupation on the LEK of the studied traditional societies/minority ethnic groups. We detected the erosion, homogenization and standardization of (especially institutionalized) knowledge within state borders and cross-border differences in knowledge transmission. Common patterns among groups belonging to a certain cultural/political system, beyond ethnic background, were found. The traces of centralization within the Soviet Union were evident not only within the medicinal system, which was expected, but also for wild food plant use, which is usually a much more stable system. The continuous erosion and homogenization of wild food, medicinal and ethnoveterinary plant use, especially affected by the centralization of knowledge and practice, was detected at all research sites because of several factors affecting environmental and social changes. However, less erosion during the lifetime of our interviewees was detected in Russian Karelia and Russian Setomaa due to the continuous need to use medicinal plants because of the poverty and unstable medical care in Romanian Bukovina, where plant use remained quite traditional owing to the extreme isolation of the region.
We recorded clear differences in patterns between ex-Soviet and non-Soviet territories, with the exception of Poland, a former Soviet satellite state, where our research site showed, along with bordering Belarusian and Lithuanian areas, rather homogenous erosion in its use of wild food plants. We can perceive the graduality of changes between several blocks of countries, such as those that remained in the post-Soviet nightmare (e.g. Russia and Belarus) and those that eventually joined the EU (Estonia and Lithuania), with Ukraine being in-between. Of all the countries studied, the most distinctive was Finnish Karelia with two clearly distinct developments in local food and medicinal systems. The limited current use of folk medicine is due to excellent medicinal care and the unsupportive attitude of official medicine regarding the use of plants, which was drastically different form cross-border Russian Karelia, where folk medicine was strong and showed clear traces of centralization. Of all research sites, Finnish Karelia, as the only region not belonging to the socialist block, stood out in the confidence with which people spoke about their LEK and practices. Although the region was devastated by the Winter War, people have had the opportunity to reflect and recover, which has shaped their attitudes and, above all, self-confidence in LEK-related decisions.
We have documented the importance of books and other media (now especially the Internet) in LEK transmission in all research sites, except in Romanian Bukovina, where vertical transmission remains the most important. We could also discern patterns of promotion in various media (including books) in our field results. In addition, we detected the influence of religion, as well as local authorities and/or influencers, on LEK.
