Members of the European Parliament expressed their protest against the closure of Mari schools in the Perm Krai

Two members of the European Parliament from Finland directed a letter to the authorities of the Perm Krai and Suksun District in which they expressed concern about the liquidation of the Vaskino school. Heidi Hautala, chairperson of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament and MEP Satu Hassi wrote the following:

Dear Recipient,

We would like to express our deepest concern regarding to closing the only school in the Perm region where Mari language has been taught.

Discrimination of Mari ethnic minority in Perm krai (Russia)

The residents of the three Mari villages decided at the general meeting to attempt to preserve the Vasinsko primary school and to give it the status of a school with in-depth study of the native Mari language. In their letter titled «Cry of the Soul», they stated that they would not send their children to a school where people conversed only in Russian and where Mari was not taught.

FINROSFORUM 2010: Address to Finnish and Russian Presidents

Address to the Presidents of Finland and the Russian Federation by participants of the 4th annual Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010

Helsinki, 20 July 2010

Dear President Halonen,
Dear President Medvedev,

While you are meeting today in Finland, we, representatives of Russian and Finnish civil societies, are also gathering here to discuss how non-governmental actors can contribute