Finno-Ugric Calendar 2026 is out

In collaboration with linguist, emeritus professor at the University of Tartu, and Finno-Ugric scholar Tõnu Seilenthal and Finnish artist Li Taiga, the Finno-Ugric Calendar 2026 has been created, presenting 13 Finno-Ugric scholars whose work has been groundbreaking in the history of linguistics.
The calendar was created for the international CIFU congress of Finno-Ugric scholars in Tartu, but it is intended for learning about and popularising Finno-Ugric studies and is understandable without any philological background.

Li Taiga (Alexandra Harald) worked at the Finnish Institute in Estonia some time ago and also gained attention in Estonia with her portraits of Finnish cultural figures.
The 12 portraits are of Finno-Ugric scholars: Janos Sajnovics & Samuel Gyarmathy; Antal Reguly; Jozsef Budenz; Jozsef Szinnyei; Matthias Aleksanteri Castrén; Emil Nestor Setälä; Erkki Itkonen; Wolfgang Steinitz; Vasili Lytkin; Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann; Mihkel Veske; Paul Ariste.
The texts are in three languages: Estonian, English, and Russian. The design is by Eva Sepping.

Every year, Fenno-Ugria compiles a colourful and informative wall calendar that provides new insights into the lives of our kindred peoples over the course of twelve months. The wall calendars are intended for anyone with a broad interest in the history and culture of our kindred peoples.

Finnougristics

Finnougristics has developed into an exact science over the last 250 years. The pioneers of this science were Janos Sajnovics and Samuel Gyarmathy. The great collectors of linguistic material were Antal Reguly and Matthias Aleksanteri Castrén. Finnougristics achieved scientific precision through the work of Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, Emil Nestor Setälä, Jozsef Budenz, and Jozsef Szinnyei. The goal of classical Finnougristics, which they created, was the historical-comparative study of Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic languages with the aim of reconstructing the proto-language.

It may be important for Estonians and language enthusiasts to know that even the study of small languages can provide universal knowledge about languages around the world. The recognition of the relationship between Finno-Ugric languages has also given rise to ethnology and folklore studies concerning Finno-Ugric peoples, as well as the tradition of kindred people movement as cultural interaction, which is important for Fenno-Ugria.

Finnougristics was one of the earliest fields to apply the comparative method to determine the relationship between languages. Studies of Finno-Ugric language contacts have provided valuable information about language change. This field of research has also contributed to studies on language vitality and preservation, as well as language revitalisation.