The Head of the Republic of Komi had a meeting with Finnish journalists (VIDEO)

The Head of the Republic of Komi Vladimir Torlopov had a meeting with a group of Finnish journalists.

The journalists develop environmental topics. Their trip was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Komi at the assistance of Timo Sipola, Barents-Press Association Director.

Russia’s Indigenous Minorities Organize to Resist Moscow’s Policies

Russia’s numerically small indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East are marking the International Day of Indigenous Peoples this weekend with expressions of concern about the ways in which Moscow’s policies threaten their survival and with efforts at creating organizations to resist those policies by attracting support from abroad.

The Congress of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples to be held in Petrozavodsk

Within the scope of the Year of Youth in the Russian Federation and the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People on August 14-15 Petrozavodsk will host the IXth Congress of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples (MAFUN/YAFUP).

The Association’s primary intent is preservation and development of Finno-Ugric cultures and languages, as well as distribution of information on them.

Mari teenagers studying journalism (VIDEO)

The Mari children’s magazine, Keche (“Sunshine”), is holding a forum for young Mari reporters. The forum has received financial support from the Finnish M. A. Castrén Society:

Source: Mari El TV

Moscow will Destroy Russia by Copying Soviet Nationality Policy, Middle Volga Peoples Say

The draft program for Russia’s future nationality policy prepared by the Moscow Institute of Ethnology calls for “the systematic destruction of the federal and democratic foundations” of the Russian Federation and contains elements from Soviet practice that could lead to “the disintegration of the country,” Middle Volga activists say.

Deadly Ethnic Clash in Closed City Adjoining Russian Missile Test Site

A deadly clash between ethnic Chechens and ethnic Russians in a closed city near a missile test site in Astrakhan oblast on July 19th both has sparked fears among many Russians of a new wave of Kondopoga-type violence across that country and raised questions about security in some of Moscow’s most sensitive military facilities.

And these concerns have been intensified because Russian officials first tried to suppress media coverage,

Mari Wedding dance (VIDEO)

Morko region Wedding dance – Mari El dance company:

Source: Mari TV

Human Rights Groups in Kazan Targeted

Police and tax auditors raided the offices of two human rights organizations in Kazan, the capital city of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, on 20 July 2009. The raids targeted the interregional human rights association AGORA and the Kazan Human Rights Center, disrupting their work.

The authorities confiscated the computer of AGORA’s chief accountant and more than 2,000 documents.

Moscow Should Subsidize Only Ethnic Russian Mothers, Historian Says

When the Russian government adopted a program several years ago intended to boost the country’s low birthrate, some commentators worried that it would increase that rate among non-Russians where it was already high and do little to raise it among ethnic Russians where the current fertility rate is far below replacement levels.

‘Europe’s Last Pagans’ Worship in Marii El Grove

More than 50 worshippers gathered in a sacred grove on a hot June afternoon outside the village of Marisola. The crowd, mostly women dressed in national costumes and colorful headscarves, stood on a glade opposite a spruce where men were busy conducting prayers.

The congregation kneeled while the men under the spruce, dressed in suits, white felt hats and linen towels cast over their shoulders, said prayers in a low, monotone murmur.