{"id":72549,"date":"2026-04-27T14:54:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fennougria.ee\/?p=72549"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:02:53","slug":"mordvin-languages-day-celebrated-by-quotes-from-putin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fennougria.ee\/en\/mordvin-languages-day-celebrated-by-quotes-from-putin\/","title":{"rendered":"Mordvin Languages Day celebrated by quotes from Putin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erzya Language Day<\/h3>

16 April was previously celebrated as Erzya Language Day in the Russian Federation, as decided in 1993 by the Erzya Language Preservation Foundation. The foundation was named after the Erzya linguist Anatoly Ryabov<\/strong> (1894\u20131838). Starting in 1994, Erzya Language Day began to be celebrated on 16 April, his birthday.<\/p>

Currently, there is no longer an official Erzya Language Day in the Russian Federation, nor does the foundation that established the day exist. The changes speak volumes. First, in 2010, the name of the day was changed; it is now called All-Russian Mordvin Languages Day.  Namely, while the Russian Federation includes the Republic of Mordovia, there is no such thing as a \u201cMordvin language\u201d. Rather, there are the Erzya and Moksha languages. Given the changed ethnic-political situation, there was simply no way to \u201csave\u201d the Erzya language: the question would inevitably arise of who exactly the Erzya language was being saved from.<\/p>

Consequently, in 2019, the foundation was renamed the Erzya Cultural Heritage Preservation and Development Foundation.<\/p>

Mordvin Languages Day 2026<\/h3>

The main event of the celebration was a festive gathering and concert: a ceremony held at the National Drama Theatre. Representatives of the Erzya and Moksha peoples from neighboring republics and regions were in attendance, as were members of the leadership of the Republic of Mordovia. The day itself was dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. This had been proclaimed by President Vladimir Putin<\/strong> at the beginning of the year. <\/p>

The event was attended by the republic\u2019s leader, Artyom Zdunov<\/strong>, who greeted the attendees in the Erzya language. He noted that the republic is doing a great deal to preserve the Erzya and Moksha languages, such as publishing literature and periodicals. He also emphasised the importance of schools where Mordvin languages are taught and where modern information technologies are increasingly being used. The Erzya and Moksha languages are also available on the Yandex translation platform. However, it is crucial that Mordvin languages be spoken within families, Zdunov noted. He honored the most dedicated specialists working with the Erzya and Moksha languages. <\/p>

The event concluded with a humanitarian aid drive for the \u201cMordovia\u201d tank battalion fighting in Ukraine. The battalion is almost entirely composed of soldiers mobilised or recruited from the Republic of Mordovia.<\/p>

Meanwhile, the Volga Finno-Ugric Peoples\u2019 Cultural Centre in Saransk organised a discussion titled \u201cMordvin Languages in Cultural Dialogue\u201d. The event was dedicated to the Mordvin Languages Day. The discussion was moderated by linguist Ivan Ryabov<\/strong>. The main topics of discussion were improving teaching methods for the Erzya and Moksha languages, teaching literature in schools, how to teach Erzya and Moksha in kindergarten, the role these languages should play in culture and the media, and what projects to implement to promote the native languages.<\/p>

Dictation contest<\/h3>

As has become a tradition, Mordvin State University, in collaboration with other institutions, organised an Erzya and Moksha-language dictation contest to mark the occasion. Over a hundred people took part in the contest. The contest was once again dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and consisted of quotations from Vladimir Putin!<\/p>

The Mordvin Languages Day was also celebrated at the Mordvin Pedagogical Institute. The institute has been offering online courses in the Erzya and Moksha languages for the past six years. To mark the Mordvin Languages Day, the institute held an internal competition and prepared video lectures that can be used to teach the Mordvin languages to children.<\/p>

Erzya and Moksha languages<\/h3>

According to the 2021 census, 280,046 people in the Russian Federation spoke Erzya and Moksha. In 2010, there were 431,196 speakers of these languages. The number of speakers of Mordvin languages has decreased by 150,000 over the past ten years. These figures do not, therefore, indicate that sufficient measures are being taken to support the Erzya and Moksha languages.<\/p>

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