Mari village Shorunzha selected as next Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture

On April 8, the winner of the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2019 competition was announced in Obinitsa (Setomaa, Estonia) during the 2nd Forum of Finno-Ugric Villages. The next Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture will be Shorunzha village from Mari El Republic of the Russian Federation. The other two finalists of the competition were Arkhangelskoye village from Komi-Permyak Okrug of Perm Krai (Russian Federation) and the town of Zirc from Hungary.

Russian Authorities Threaten to Take Away Teacher’s Children Over Hunger Strike

Russian municipal authorities have reportedly threatened to take away a local art school teacher’s children after she protested against low pay.

Yoshkar-Ola art school teacher Yekaterina Sokolova went on a hunger strike in mid-March after her salary was cut by more than half, from 27,000 rubles to 15,000 rubles ($263), the local 7×7 news website reported.