A traveller’s book on Mari El and Udmurtia published
Esa-Jussi Salminen’s book Sankarimatkailijan Marinmaa ja Udmurtia (“An Adventurer’s Mari El and Udmurtia”) was recently published in Finland. This was announced by the author on Facebook and VKontakte.
The guidebook is published by the Rosebud Publishing House in Helsinki. The publication introduces the history and modernity of the state formations of the Mari and Udmurts.
Based on his own experience, Esa-Jussi Salminen vividly tells us that the Russification of tribal peoples was a conscious policy. While immersing readers in the linguistic situation and political struggles, the author also introduces the literature of these regions.
Apart from language problems, which have become more topical than before, Salminen introduces separately Mari El and Udmurtia. He tells about the main attractions of these republics, natural objects and ways of pastime. Esa-Jussi also explores the food culture in the region, giving recommendations on the best restaurants and holiday destinations. The parts of the book can be read in any order.
Esa-Jussi Salminen is a Finnish translator, journalist and ethnographer who has worked for many years as a teacher in Yoshkar-Ola and Izhevsk, as well as in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania. He has translated several works of Udmurt and Mari literature into Finnish, according to the website of Rosebud Publishing House.
