Five years ago, Udmurt scholar Albert Razin sacrificed his own life

On 10 September 2019 at 8.30 a.m., Udmurt scholar Albert Razin came to protest in front of the Parliament of the Republic of Udmurtia, holding Russian-language posters. One of the posters featured a poem by the Avar poet Rasul Gamzatov entitled ‘If tomorrow my language disappears, I am ready to die today’ and the other a question: ‘Do I have a fatherland?’. At 9.45 a.m., he doused himself with petrol and lit a fire.

Prior to the protest, he had sent an eight-page address to MPs. In it, he criticised their actions and asked them to debate the national question in parliament. In his address, he argued that there is no equality between Udmurt and Russian in the Udmurt republic. Udmurt-language television and radio broadcasts are short and are aired at inconvenient times. Udmurt is not required in state institutions or educational establishments. Even kindergartens are ordered to speak Russian. Unfortunately, there is also no policy aimed at developing a Udmurt-language cadre policy, Razin wrote.

On the occasion of the day, the Free Nations League called for the commemoration of Albert Razin, who saw no alternative but to sacrifice his life to defend the Udmurt language.