Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia

From time to time, strange news comes from the Finno-Ugric regions of the Russian Federation, one of which is undoubtedly the phone call between the Russian and Belarusian presidents to the Pyak family of Nenets reindeer herders.

The Izhevsk City Court convicted Avdeyeva, a doctor and mother of many children, of discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation and fined her 120,000 roubles (about €1200).

On 18 April, the 30th birthday of the only museum dedicated to Saami language and literature in the Russian Federation was celebrated in the village of Revda of Murmansk Region.

On 16 April, the Erzya Language Day is celebrated, as decided by the Foundation for Saving the Erzya Language, which was set up in 1993 to support the Erzya national movement. The Foundation itself was named after the linguist Anatoly Ryabov (1894-1838), whose birthday, 16 April, became the date for the celebration of the day in 1994.

On 4-6 April 2024, the Free Nations League held its first congress in Otepää, South Estonia, bringing together anti-imperialist movements in Russia.

At the Media Centre for Karelian, Finnish and Vepsian Resources in the Republic of Karelia, it was reported that tours in Veps are becoming increasingly popular.

On 23 March, the general meeting of the Mari Republic regional social organisation Mari Ushem was held in Yoshkar-Ola, this time in a commercial venue. The republican, state-funded central institution for national organisations, the 'Friendship of Nations' (Дружба народов), did not provide a venue for the meeting.

According to statistics of the Republic of Komi, 720,610 people were living in the Republic of Komi on 1 January 2024, down from 734,363 on 1 January 2022.

Instead of informing the public about the opening of Komi language classes in the capital's schools, the city's press department announced the opening of cadet classes in all schools, starting from 1 September 2024.

The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is the only part of the Russian Federation where support is provided to young indigenous families for the construction of shelters.

A gathering of reindeer herders, fishermen and hunters, which was to have taken place on 23 March in the village of Ruskinskaya in the Surgut district of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, and which has essentially become a national celebration of indigenous peoples, was cancelled.

Scientists are sounding the alarm: if no action is taken, the Taimyr Peninsula's wild reindeer population could disappear.