Paul
Goble
Staunton, September 13 – The Parma
Society, a group created in 2009 to help preserve and develop the cultures and
languages of Finno-Ugric peoples living in Crimea, is moving to expand contacts
with co-ethnic communities in the Russian Federation, something Moscow will
welcome if influence flows in one direction but not if it flows in the other.
Tatyana Ivanchenko, the group’s
head, told Finougr.ru this week that she hopes to expand links with the Komi
Republic in order to jointly create television broadcasts about the Finno-Ugric
peoples on the occupied Ukrainian peninsula, to expand tourism and local
activism, and to promote scholarly research (finnougr.ru/news/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=12132).
Komi officials are looking forward
to reciprocating. Galina Gabusheva, Komi
minister for nationality policy, said that “our cooperation will be directed
toward providing assistance for the study of the history, language and culture
of the Komi people and acquainting [Finno-Ugrics in Crimea] with the
achievements of the Komi Republic.”
On the one hand, Russian officials
are very interested in promoting such ties. Not only does boosting the status
of such extremely small ethnic communities in occupied Crimea have the effect
of diluting the importance of larger minorities like the Crimean Tatars, but it
also lead another group in Crimea to conclude that their homeland will be part
of Russia forever.
But on the other hand, once such
channels are established, information and ideas often can flow in both
directions. The Maris have an active national movement, and many of them are
very much opposed to the Moscow-imposed republic head under whom they have to
live. And the Maris in Crimea may thus get some messages Moscow would prefer
they not receive.
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