Actor accused of insulting Karelian language and extremism

A scandal has been brewing in Karelia over the Karelian language. The head of state of the Republic of Karelia, Artur Parfenchikov, threatened to turn to the investigating authorities because actress Valeria Lomakina has insulted the Karelian language on the social network VKontakte. The Head of State expressed the opinion that the play may contain elements of extremism.

She laughed off the Karelian language in the stand-up comedy ‘The Battle for Time’, shown on federal TV. She called Karelian a funny ‘atavism, like a man’s nipple’. The actress also said that Karelian was the only place where Karelian was spoken is the Karelian National Theatre, whose Karelian-language performances are watched by Karelians with headphones on to listen to simultaneous translation into Russian.

A video clip of Lomakina’s comedy went viral on social networks and caused outrage among Karelian national activists, as well as mass complaints to the head of state. Many of the letters call for the actor to be condemned and severely punished.

Lomakina later apologised and said that it was not Lomakina’s monologue, but that of the character she was playing. She is fully aware that the joke may offend people involved in the subject of the Karelian language, but it does not show her contempt for those people, nor does she reserve the right to speak disparagingly about one language or the whole nation. ‘That is perfectly obvious,’ Lomakina said.

The Karelian People’s Congress Council has condemned Valeria Lomakina’s performance, demanded an apology from the actress and asked the authorities to assess what happened.

Karelian national activists have stressed in their appeals that they must do everything to raise the prestige of the Karelian language and that the scandal should be used to good effect, as it will draw the attention of society to the Karelian language. Perhaps it will also make it possible for the Karelian language no longer to be insulted and humiliated in public?

Some activists have also pointed out that the actor should not be completely trampled underfoot, because in reality it is the local authorities that are to blame for the Karelian language situation and the rapid decline in the Karelian population. A power that does not allow Karelian to have the status of a state or official language. A power that restricts or even stops the publication of newspapers and magazines in the national language, but finds the money to buy arms and humanitarian aid for Karelians fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine.