Finno-Ugric language speakers in Russia fall by a third

The number of people who speak Finno-Ugric languages in Russia fell by about a third between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, according to a report discussed by ERR. Liis Ermus, head of the archive and a researcher at the Institute of the Estonian Language, says the decline is likely to continue and accelerate.

The report, commissioned by Estonia’s Foreign Ministry and compiled by the Fenno-Ugria Foundation, examines the situation of Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia from 2022 to 2024/25. It describes a worsening outlook for the peoples and their languages. The numbers of Komi, Mari and Udmurt speakers have remained somewhat more stable.

Publication of books in Finno-Ugric languages has been reduced, while newspapers and television and radio programming in those languages have also been restricted. At school, local languages can be studied for one hour a week, and only if parents request it. University courses in Finno-Ugric languages are generally limited to linguistics or teacher training.

Online forums and social platforms have been important spaces for Russian Finno-Ugric communities to share their languages and cultures. But some organisations are under state influence and combine folklore events with state and war propaganda. The work of activists and organisations that defend their languages and cultures is restricted, Ermus says, partly because they maintain contact with European Finno-Ugric organisations labelled undesirable or extremist. Indigenous cultures are most visible in public at festivals and through folk culture such as traditional music groups.

Finno-Ugric communities within the European Union have a much better situation, but Ermus says that status has been secured over many years. Dialects and indigenous languages have historically faced hostility and restrictions. In Estonia, these were particularly severe during the Soviet period, though the restrictions began in the early 20th century. South Estonian languages still have no official status.

In both Russia and Europe, indigenous languages are learned and maintained in multilingual settings. Livonians in Latvia, Setos and Võros in Estonia, and Sámi people in Finland, Sweden and Norway are multilingual. Speakers increasingly live in cities rather than isolated rural communities, and often acquire an indigenous language as a second or third language. This can make passing it on difficult, as can a lack of learning materials and the challenge of learning different writing systems. Young people may also be less interested if a language is associated mainly with an old-fashioned way of life. Liiv linguist Valts Ernštreits has said language revitalisation should involve creating new culture, not just preserving old heritage.

The situation of Finno-Ugric indigenous peoples on both sides of Russia’s border will be discussed at a symposium, “Challenges facing indigenous languages in the modern world,” at the Institute of the Estonian Language on November 5.