Mordvins confirmed loyalty to Russia

The Congress gathered 332 delegates from 36 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as members from Estonia and Kazakhstan. Delegates from Kazakhstan participated from a distance. The Estonian Mordvin delegate who was allegedly present could not be identified by Fenno-Ugria. A total of 700 people attended the congress.

First day of the Congress

On the first day of the Congress, in accordance with the established tradition, the delegates gathered at the Pushkin National Library of the Republic of Mordovia to approve the report of the organisation and elect the Executive Committee of the organisation. The report was read out by the head of the organisation, Yuri Mishanin. He noted in his report that the resolutions adopted at the previous Congress in 2019 have been practically 100% implemented and the delegates approved the report. In addition, the name of the organisation was changed, and the official name of the association is now the Interregional Organisation of the Mordvin Peoples. This means that the reference to the Erzya and Moksha people disappeared from the name.

This was followed by the election of the Chairman, the Executive Director and the members of the Executive Committee. Yuri Mishanin, currently Deputy Director for National Relations at the Institute of Humanities of the Government of the Republic of Mordovia, was unanimously re-elected Chairman. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Linguistics at Mordovia State University. Tatyana Larina, a former TV worker, was re-elected as the Executive Director of the Executive Committee. A total of 58 members were elected to the Executive Committee, 29 Erzya and 29 Moksha.

Second day of the Congress

The second day started with the laying of flowers at the monument ‘Centuries together with Russia’. Afterwards, a plenary session was held in Saransk’s most magnificent building, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre. The plenary session was opened by Yuri Mishanin, Chairman of the Organisation, and Artyom Zdunov, Head of the Republic of Mordovia.

The Head of the Republic said: ‘It is important for us to know that there are people who live far away from Mordovia and yet remember their roots, keep their mother tongue and customs. The aim of our congress is to develop contemporary solutions for preserving the spiritual and ethno-cultural heritage of one of the largest ethnic groups in Russia.’

He added that Mordovia is actively working to support national culture and languages. Three years ago, a national programme was adopted, and a reliable contact was established with the Interregional Organisation of the Mordvin People. Much has been done to expand the network of national cultural centres, to support compatriots of Mordvin origin, to strengthen the republic’s links with Finno-Ugric peoples and with the compactly populated areas of the Moksha and Erzya.

At the same time, according to Zdunov, it is necessary to carry out homeland education projects with children, to study nature, mother tongue, folklore, local history and customs of the Erzya and Moksha, as well as to tell them about the real heroes of the Great Patriotic War and special military operations in schools and universities. However, the quality of teaching Mordvin languages is one of the most important issues, in the Head of the Republic’s opinion, because for young people, patriotism and love for their homeland begins with love for their mother tongue. In this regard, active support is being given to schools and universities, teachers of national languages and literature.

The leader of Mordovia pointed out that there are many active, caring young people in national social organisations. Their initiatives are increasingly supported. Over the years, work with the diaspora, including the Mordvin community in Moscow and St Petersburg, has become increasingly systematic.

Russian patriotism

Recently, however, new challenges have emerged, the Head of the Republic noted – ‘our adversaries’ are openly talking about plans to divide Russia on a national basis. There is a deliberate discrediting of the country’s national policy, incitement of nationalist sentiments and false accusations of violation of citizens’ rights, he said.

‘We must defend our children, our young people and ourselves, our people! It is a good thing that the leaders of the national associations of Mordovia express a united position on these issues and agree that the future of the nation lies in unity, in our traditional values and in the successful implementation of the objectives of the special military operation, in supporting the President of Russia!’ said Artyom Zdunov.

After the speech, the Head of Mordovia handed out various awards, the most prestigious of which, the President of the Russian Federation’s Certificate of Appreciation, was awarded to Tatyana Larina, Executive Director of the Executive Committee of the Interregional Organization of the Mordvin People. With her help, the publication of the last independent newspaper, Erzyan Mastor, was completed in 2021 and the activities of the Foundation for Saving the Erzya Language were changed. In her acceptance speech, Larina noted that ‘we are all children of Mother Russia! Mordvins have never let us down. I will continue to strive to contribute to the well-being of my beloved homeland and Mordovia.’

Formal greetings

After Larina’s words of gratitude, the floor was given to Pyotr Tultayev, Senator of the Russian Federation Council and Chairman of the Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples of Russia. He read out the greeting of Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council: ‘The Mordvin people, together with Slavic and other peoples, form a unified civilization and cultural code of our country. The Congress will help strengthen the unity of the Russian nation.’ For his part, Pyotr Tultayev added: ‘I am confident that the decisions of the Congress will be balanced, truly national and wise, as befits the Mordvin people. International unity is the strength of our peoples, the strength of Russia!’

The congress was also greeted by Stanislav Bedkin, Deputy Chairman of the National Relations Agency of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Gulin, Federal Inspector of the Republic, and Metropolitan Zinov of Saransk and Mordovia. A video message was sent by the notorious official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, who spoke of the importance of the unity of the peoples of Russia and at the same time noted that her grandmother was Mordvin.

Finally, the newly-elected chairman Yuri Mishanin gave a speech at the plenary session, saying that good relations with the republican authorities were the most important thing behind his work and the successful work of the whole organisation. The day of the plenary session ended with a festive national concert titled ‘Vastoma’.

Third day of the Congress

On the last day of the congress, work was carried out in the following sections: the Mordvin people in the Russian society – nationwide civic identity and ethnic self-awareness; ethno-cultural strategy of the region: factors of preservation of traditional spiritual values and vectors of development; mother tongue in multicultural environment; education; communication; traditional family values of the Mordvin people: history and modernity.

On the third day, the Congress also held its closing plenary session, which heard presentations from section leaders and proposals for the preservation of languages and culture. The participants of the Congress proposed to intensify the work of public organisations to implement federal and regional programmes aimed at strengthening the unity and ethno-cultural development of the Russian nation.

Among the proposals was support for an initiative by the rector of Moscow State University to organise a monthly national costume day in the republic. Also, 23 March could become the day of the Mordvin national games – Tyushtyan Nalksema. Proposals were made to revise the system of assessment of pupils’ knowledge of mother tongues and literature, to stimulate the activities of educators and state media, to support the publication of books in the state languages, to promote the development of federal educational programmes in the Moksha and Erzya languages. Taking into account all the proposals, the resolution of the VIII Congress of the Interregional Organisation of the Mordvin People was adopted.