Komi Language and Writing Day celebrated by Komi Republic

The celebration of Komi Language and Writing Day has a long history, linked primarily to the commemoration of Bishop Stephen of Perm. In 1372, Stephen of Perm created the Anbur alphabet for the Komi people. In 1992, the Komi people were the first among the peoples of the Russian Federation to have their language recognised as an official state language. From that same year onward, Komi Written Language Day began to be officially celebrated on the commemoration day of Bishop Stephen of Perm. In 2023, the day was renamed Komi Language and Writing Day. The day is celebrated on the third Sunday in May.

Komi language

Although the Komi language has the status of a second official language alongside Russian in the Komi Republic, the language’s situation is very complex and its speaker base is rapidly declining.

For example, an article titled “Our History Reaches Back to Ancient Times,” published on the Bezformata website, describes not only the history of the Komi language’s development but also the current situation in the Ust-Vym district, where the Komi language is taught as a state language (meaning at the elementary level) in six schools, with a total of 1,362 students. The Komi language is taught as a native language (two hours a week) in only one school in the district. Twenty-two children study Komi grammar and literature, and an additional two students in older grades study Komi literature. There are seven Komi language teachers working in the district’s schools and four Komi language educators in kindergartens.

The author of the article, Aleksandr Lyutoyev, notes that the number of children who speak the Komi language is declining every year in our district. The main reason is that Komi-speaking parents, as well as grandparents, do not teach their children or grandchildren to speak Komi. He emphasises: “While in developed countries around the world, multilingualism is the norm and is supported, here it is the exact opposite. We are consciously impoverishing our children by preventing them from becoming multilingual, and in doing so, we are essentially destroying ourselves.”

Celebrations

Nevertheless, Komi Language and Writing Day is widely celebrated in the Komi Republic. Over the course of a couple of weeks, hundreds of events dedicated to the Komi language and literature take place across the republic. This year, the celebration of the anniversary is linked to the 160th birthday of the Komi philosopher and writer Kallistrat Zhakov (18 September 1866–20 January 2026).

As has become customary, the main events of the anniversary took place in libraries. For example, the Central Library hosted a family day titled “Komi lun”, and the Republic’s Children’s Library held a calligraphy course. On Komi Language Day, the online Komi language course “Ökatö-Mökatö” was also presented. It consists of 30 lessons and was initiated by the Komi youth organisation “Komi Youth Union”.

At the same time, the 100th anniversary of the Komi Writers’ Union is being celebrated. The Komi literary and cultural magazine Voivyv kodzuv (Northern Star) also turned 100 years. To mark the occasion, a gathering with writers was held at the Komi Cultural Centre in Syktyvkar, where Komi poetry was read and Komi-language music was performed. The event was conducted entirely in the Komi language, which is a very rare occurrence. So rare, in fact, that it was deemed necessary to make a special note of it in the news.

According to the 2020/21 census, 108,598 people spoke the Komi language; compared to 2010, the number of Komi speakers decreased by one-third.