On 10 September 2019, in the centre of Izhkar, a man set himself on fire. He had spent his whole life defending his native language and his people. His name was Albert Razin.
He was a civic and religious figure and held a candidate’s degree in philosophy. Officials in Moscow were quick to call his act a “provocation”, and some were shameless enough to speak of a “mental disorder”…
Albert Razin was a wise man and an Udmurt nationalist, and at the end of his life he saw it clearly: everything he had tried to hold on to and to save would not survive, but would disappear without a trace under the boot of the Russian state. Setting himself on fire was an act of despair — a call to others to look at how the Udmurt language is being destroyed in Russia, and the other languages with it.
Was his final wish granted? It was. A great many people, in Russia and beyond it, understood what had driven this old man. But not one Russian official was among them. The pressure on native languages in Russia has only grown. Our children are made to sing songs that are not theirs, made to call themselves Russians, made to name Russian as their mother tongue.
Not one official felt shame. Expect none from them: their conscience withered long ago.
On 16 May 2022 the Aťań Ezem, the Erzya Council of Elders, named Albert Razin — a true friend of the Erzya people — Person of the Year (Tedideń lomań) and awarded him the highest Erzya order, “Erźań Ťokškazne”.
The time will come when a monument to this Udmurt teacher of his people rises in Erźań Mastor: to the man whose death lit a fire in the hearts of those who came after him. The time will come when a memorial stands in the centre of Izhevsk as well.
And today, Erzya, remember Albert Razin’s name. Light a candle. Think of him. The old man gave his life to save not only the Udmurt people… but the Erzya people too.
Inäzor Bolaäń Syreś
Русский текст обращения и редакционная справка о Разине — в издании Erźań Mastor.
