| Press releases
Finnish
journalist denied Russian visa (27.12.05)
Young
Finno-Ugrians at the Congress of Turkic Youth (21.11.05)
International
attention to problems of national minorities in the Russian Federation
is not decreasing
(01.11.05)
Chairman
of Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples attacked in Mari Republic,
Russia
(28.08.05)
Lusatian
Sorbs express their solidarity with Udmurts
(26.08.05)
Ethnic
minority in Russia: media is filled with misinformation
(25.08.05)
Closing
of the 10th International Congress of Finno-Ugric Studies in Yoshkar-Ola
(21.08.05)
Hopeless
Udmurts appeal to Europe for support (19.08.05)
Russian
authorities threatening an ethnic minority organisation (17.08.05)
Scientists
replaced with officials at a scientific congress in Russia (16.08.05)
Tenth
International Congress of Finno-Ugric Studies in Russia (15.08.05)
Estonian
delegation to the 10th International Congress of Finno-Ugric Studies
smaller than expected (12.08.05)
Estonian
and Saami Theatres Start Co-operating with the Kalevala in Estonia
(10.08.05)
An
ethnographic film banned in Russia now available on DVD (09.08.05)
Doctoral
scholarship in Estonia for foreign Finno-Ugrians (06.08.05)
An
open letter to the President of Finland Tarja Halonen
(02.08.05)
Estonian
students caught in the wheels of Russia's internal politics
(02.08.05)
Expulsion
of Estonian students from the Mari Republic of Russian Federation (22.07.05)
The
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation supporting the Mari people
in Russia
(07.07.05)
Ethnic
minority convenes its congress in the underground (07.06.05)
Fascist
group in Russia asserts being instructed by local administration (31.05.05)
Russian
composer did not celebrate his anniversary in his home town (19.05.05)
European
Parliament steps forth in defence of a national minority in Russia (12.05.05)
Federal
Union of European Nationalities examined the situation of a Russia's
minority (07.05.05)
Members of the European
Parliament pass an action plan to improve the situation of Finno-Ugric
minorities in Russia (27.04.05)
Finno-Ugric Minority of Russia Grateful to the European Parliament for Support
(26.04.05)
Estonian Member
of European Parliament on discussion with Russian parliamentarians on
Russia’s minorities (22.04.05)
European
Parliament Examining the Mari Situation in Russia (11.03.05)
Mari
Nation Under Threat in Russia (22.02.05)
Opposition
leaders still persecuted in Mari El: Vladimir Kozlov assaulted
(04.02.05)
Read
more
www.mari.ee
(information and news about Mari people in Mari, Russian, Estonian,
English)
Press releases by the Estonian
Institute for Human Rights:
ESTONIAN
INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLING TO SUPPORT MARI PEOPLE
JEWISH
COMMUNITY SUPPORTING THE OPPRESSED MARI MINORITY IN RUSSIA
Unrepresented
Nations' and Peoples' Organisation
|
HOPELESS
UDMURTS APPEAL TO EUROPE FOR SUPPORT
The authorities
of Udmurtia, an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation, have
practically liquidated the only grammar school in the capital city of
Izhkar (Izhevsk) with the instruction in Udmurt language. The school
had been functioning for eleven years. The lengthy struggle of schoolchildren's
parents for normal conditions for their children has ended with removing
the pupils to schools with the instruction in Russian.
The Kuzebay
Gerd School was named in the honour of an Udmurt enlightener killed
in 1937 by the Russian authorities under the pretext of being a Finnish
spy. As the school has now practically ceased to exist, interethnic
tensions in the Udmurt Republic have strained. The hopeless parents
complained to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
of which the Russian Federation is a member. They accuse the authorities
of disregarding the interests of Udmurts who are the native population
of Udmurtia.
The official
policy was vividly articulated by President of Udmurtia Aleksandr Volkov.
At a recent meeting with leaders of ethnic and cultural associations,
he stated that creation of such "ethnic reservations" is undesirable.
The Udmurts
are a Finno-Ugric people. They live in the Udmurt Republic, an administrative
unit located between the Kama and Vyatka rivers. The territory of Udmurtia
is covered with the forest and forest-steppe, and borders the steppe
zone. According to the 2002 All-Russia population census, the number
of Udmurts is 637 000, with 429 000 (67%) speaking the Udmurt language.
Two-thirds of the Udmurts live in Udmurtia, and one-third reside in
the adjacent republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, and in the Perm
and Kirov districts. The Udmurt language is taught in Udmurtia, as a
rule, only in primary classes of rural schools.
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