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Article: The dying fish swims in water; The Finno-Ugrics.(Russia's minorities in trouble)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 24, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A "suur kala" (big fish) in any language
Russia finds outside support for its ethnic minorities threatening
IF YOU want to embarrass a Finn, and infuriate a Russian, raise your vodka glass to "Suuri Suomi--Uraliin asti!". That means "Greater Finland--to the Urals and beyond". It sounds fanciful, even potty. But it used to be real geopolitics. In the dying days of the Tsarist empire, a swathe of Russia bubbled with nationalist agitation among minorities, many with ethnic ties to Finland.
The Finns themselves got away for good. Their ethnic kinsfolk--the Komi, Mari, Udmurts and the like--managed it only briefly. In 1917-18 there was a big country ...