Udmurts

The national author of the Udmurts is Kuzebay Gerd (1898–‍1937), who wrote poetry but also translated literature and collected folklore.

In 1920, a book publishing house was founded in Izhevsk. Periodicals published in Udmurtia include the journal Kenesh, the newspaper Udmurt dunne, the children’s magazine Kizili, the women’s magazine Ashalchi and the literature journal Invozho.

There is also a national theatre and several museums in Izhevsk. One of the most famous museums is the Kalashnikov Museum showcasing assault rifles and other weapons.

Famous names born in Udmurtia include composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The members of the ethno-pop group Buranovskiye Babushki are also well-known Udmurts.

Sources

In Murros – Suomalais-ugrilaiset kielet ja kulttuurit globalisaation paineissa [Transformation – Finno-Ugric Cultures and Languages Facing Pressures of Globalisation]. Eds. Sirkka Saarinen & Eeva Herrala. Uralica Helsingensia 3. Helsinki University Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies – Finnish Academy of Science and Letters – Société Finno-Ougrienne – Finno-Ugrian Society.

Uralilaiset kansat – tietoa suomen sukukielistä ja niiden puhujista [Uralic Peoples – Information about Languages Related to Finnish and Their Speakers]. Ed. Johanna Laakso. WSOY 1991.

From the Volga to Siberia. The Finno-Ugric Peoples in Today’s Russia. Ed. Ildikó Lehtinen. Finnish Literature Society 2012.

The native languages of poet Bogdan Anfinogenov (b. 1990) are Udmurt and Russian. He graduated from Udmurt State University and is a post-graduate student at the Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature. In his poetry, Anfinogenov expresses the sentiments of an Udmurt youth who has become Russified and then discovers his Udmurt identity and the Udmurt language. Bogdan Anfinogenov won the main poetry prize in the 2015 literature competition of the M. A. Castrén Society and performed at the Helsinki Book Fair in the same year. Photo: Marina Sergeyeva 2013.
Buranovskiye Babushki (Buranovo Grannies) is an ethno-pop group that represented Russia in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest and finished second with their song “Party for Everybody”, the best-ever performance for a song in an endangered Uralic language. The group members come from the village of Buranovo, Udmurtia, and the group performs not only folk songs but also international pop songs in the Udmurt language. Photo: M. A. Castrén Society 2017.