{"id":801,"date":"2026-09-09T14:47:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T11:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inyazoro.info\/?p=801"},"modified":"2026-09-09T17:49:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T14:49:49","slug":"statement-of-the-erzya-council-of-elders-on-the-anniversary-of-albert-razins-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inyazoro.info\/?p=801&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Statement of the Erzya Council of Elders on the anniversary of Albert Razin’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/span>

On 10 September 2019,<\/span> in the centre of Izhkar,<\/span> a man set himself on fire.<\/span> He had spent his whole life defending his native language and his people.<\/span> His name was Albert Razin.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

He was a civic and religious figure and held a candidate&<\/span>#8217;s degree in philosophy.<\/span> Officials in Moscow were quick to call his act a <\/span>“provocation&<\/span>#8221;<\/span>, and some were shameless enough to speak of a <\/span>“mental disorder&<\/span>#8221;<\/span>\u2026<\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

Albert Razin was a wise man and an Udmurt nationalist,<\/span> and at the end of his life he saw it clearly:<\/span> everything he had tried to hold on to and to save would not survive,<\/span> but would disappear without a trace under the boot of the Russian state.<\/span> Setting himself on fire was an act of despair <\/span>\u2014 a call to others to look at how the Udmurt language is being destroyed in Russia,<\/span> and the other languages with it.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

Was his final wish granted?<\/span> It was.<\/span> A great many people,<\/span> in Russia and beyond it,<\/span> understood what had driven this old man.<\/span> But not one Russian official was among them.<\/span> The pressure on native languages in Russia has only grown.<\/span> Our children are made to sing songs that are not theirs,<\/span> made to call themselves Russians,<\/span> made to name Russian as their mother tongue.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

Not one official felt shame.<\/span> Expect none from them:<\/span> their conscience withered long ago.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

On 16 May 2022 the A\u0165a\u0144 Ezem,<\/span> the Erzya Council of Elders,<\/span> named Albert Razin <\/span>\u2014 a true friend of the Erzya people <\/span>\u2014 Person of the Year <\/span>(Tedide\u0144 loma\u0144)<\/span> and awarded him the highest Erzya order,<\/span> &<\/span>#8220;Er\u017aa\u0144 \u0164ok\u0161kazne&<\/span>#8221;<\/span>.<\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

The time will come when a monument to this Udmurt teacher of his people rises in Er\u017aa\u0144 Mastor:<\/span> to the man whose death lit a fire in the hearts of those who came after him.<\/span> The time will come when a memorial stands in the centre of Izhevsk as well.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

And today,<\/span> Erzya,<\/span> remember Albert Razin&<\/span>#8217;s name.<\/span> Light a candle.<\/span> Think of him.<\/span> The old man gave his life to save not only the Udmurt people\u2026 but the Erzya people too.<\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

<\/span><\/span>In\u00e4zor Bola\u00e4\u0144 Syre\u015b<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

<\/span><\/span>\"\"\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/figure><\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>

\u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0442\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0442 \u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0449\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f \u0438 \u0440\u0435\u0434\u0430\u043a\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u043f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043a\u0430<\/span> \u043e \u0420\u0430\u0437\u0438\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u2014 <\/span>\u0432 \u0438\u0437\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0438 Er\u017aa\u0144 Mastor<\/a><\/span>.<\/p><\/span>\n