Speech by A. N. Golovkin, Tver Karelians

Speech by A. N. Golovkin at the plenary session of the 4th World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples

Tallinn, Estonia, 16 August 2004

Dear participants and guests of the Congress,

May our delegation, on behalf of the Tver Karelians, welcome you at this distinguished assembly. The matter of our concern is that, during seventy years from 1930 to 2002, the Tver Karelian population has decreased tenfold from 150 thousands to 15 thousands. This is connected, above all, with the state of economy in Russia and in the Tver region in particular. Since there are no jobs in the country, Karelians leave for towns where they are assimilated into the Russian population. Traditional villagers, Tver Karelians tend to better keep their language and culture in the country. The current problems in agriculture prevent them from living their habitual way. Unlike other peoples of small number, Tver Karelians enjoy no support from the State. Their situation is still more aggravated by lacking the status of an indigenous population, although they have been living in the area of Tver for some 500 years.

The autonomy of Tver Karelians applies considerable effort to strengthening the economy of Karelian villages. In 1999–2000, jointly with the staff of Helsinki University, a programme was drawn up for development of ten rural districts that have mixed Karelian and Russian population.

However, these regional programmes have not been carried out. The Tver Karelians had hoped that while there is no general programme for development of Russia’s Finno-Ugric peoples, local development programmes might be applied.

Our hopes have proved futile.

Currently Russia is busily implementing the Federal law On the General Principles of Local Government in the Russian Federation. Our autonomy is trying to make use of this law by establishing ten Karelian rural districts for which development programmes for periods of 10 to 15 years have been prepared.

Heads of regions, however, reject the autonomy’s appeals. Still hoping for the better, we go on with this work.

Teaching of the Karelian language has its obstacles as well. In the Tver region the Karelian language is not protected by legislation and its teaching is optional. The language can thus hold on just for some years, spoken at most by one or two generations. The Tver Karelian autonomy does its best to prevent the Karelian language from the decline. However, globalisation has started playing its role, particularly the expansion of English as an international lingua blanca.

To preserve and develop the Tver dialect of Karelian, it must be studied at the kindergarten and the school and continued to be taught at other, above all higher educational institutions. Ways must be searched to apply Karelian in all areas of life, to create conditions for its functioning.

To retain the Karelian language and culture, attention must be focused on youth. We have children's traditional art groups and we hold festivals of Karelian artwork.

The Tver Karelian autonomy has its youth branches at the regional and district level. We have vigorous people among our young generation who are not indifferent to the fate of the Karelian people. We must use this potential proficiently. First of all we must give our young people good education and then ensure that they have prospects for activities where they might, beside their professional skills, apply their knowledge of Karelian culture and language. We find that a complex programme is needed for training and job placement of Finno-Ugric youth. We hope for financial support from the State that would permit us to teach our native Karelian language, to develop Karelian culture, to maintain folk crafts, to decently live and work in the land that has become native to us.

We would like to hope that the problems of our region would not be neglected and an effort would be applied to solve them. We believe that, following the Congress, the Finno-Ugric youth will join their efforts in cultivating the heritage of our fathers and grandfathers. Together we must move on, searching for ways of development.