In the Cultural Capital of the Finno-Ugric peoples
Narva is not only a Russian city, but also a melting pot of different cultures. Time and again, migration has brought new people to the city and entire peoples have moved back and forth to regions with better living conditions. They left their mark everywhere and influenced the respective culture. "There are many people with Finno-Ugric roots in Narva, but they all think they are Russian. Some don't even know where their ancestors come from," says Ekaterina Kuznetsova at the Ingria cultural centre in Narva.
2025 is a special year for the association, as Narva is currently the cultural capital of the Finno-Ugric peoples. This is an initiative to promote and preserve the diversity of languages and cultures. Some languages are threatened with extinction. Some peoples are recognised as indigenous. ‘This is a good opportunity to find out something about your own biography and the origins of your family,’ says the 50-year-old. She is the main organiser of the ‘Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture Narva 2025’ programme and director of the Ingria Cultural Centre in Narva.
The Finno-Ugric peoples belong to one language family. Finno-Ugric is a main branch of the Uralic language family. The best-known Finno-Ugric peoples include Finns, Estonians and Hungarians. However, many small peoples in the Baltic region such as Karelians, Vepsians, Votians, Ingrians/Izhorians, Ingrian Finns and Seto also belong to this family. The Sami also belong to the same language family.
Throughout the year, Narva organises many events on the culture of the finno-ugric peoples. ‘Our traditions, languages and cultures are similar, but we also all have our specialities,’ explains Ekaterina. ‘And we want to highlight and showcase these.’ On this afternoon, women come together in the cultural centre, bringing small snacks and various herbs with them. They present their little treasures and give explanations. Eight-year-old Diana proudly shows off the cookies she baked with her mother and decorated with various meadow flowers. There are pickled rowan trees and young pine cones in sugar. The women are passing round tins of tea herbs, smelling them and commenting. On the table are several pots of different teas made from herbs they have collected themselves. Ekaterina explains that these meetings always have a different theme. ‘Sometimes we focus on language, sometimes on music, sometimes on handicrafts or traditional clothing.’ During the festival year, there are many public events at which the individual ethnic groups can present themselves. ‘Afterwards, there are always people who are inspired by this and search for their own roots. Many remember hearing certain songs from their grandparents or having certain dishes on the table that indicate belonging to a certain ethnic group.’ Ekaterina emphasises that her commitment is not about setting herself apart from others, but about seeing the different traditions as a treasure that can be cherished and shared with others to enrich them.
Ekaterina Kuznetsova herself belongs to the Votes, a very small people related to the Estonians. Her grandparents lived east of the Narva River. "Everyone in our family was an artist, and we moved to St. Petersburg together. That's also where I grew up." In the Soviet Union, people didn't talk about their ethnic roots. ‘I spoke Russian as a child, but I remember that my grandmother spoke a different language at home and did sing Votic songs.’ It was only when the Soviet Union collapsed that she began to research her roots. "There was the village Luutsa in Russia north-east of Narva where this language survived. I travelled there again and again and got to know my grandmother's language and culture." "In the early 2000s, the artist was involved in setting up a museum in this village together with the local population. She talks about a lively exchange with Estonia about the Finno-Ugric peoples and the culture of the Votes. As a musician, she has performed at festivals and presented traditional Votic music In 2010, she designed part of an exhibition in Narva about her people. She later worked for the museum in Narva. "At that time, I often traveled back and forth between St. Petersburg and Narva. The work became more and more extensive and we moved to Narva completely."
Until the Russian war of aggression, we worked a lot with museums and the people in the Russian villages who still maintain the old culture. That's all over now. Instead, she now has her own YouTube channel, where she offers online language courses in Votian for children and other videos in Votic language.
The cultural centre is decorated with colourful flags. Ekaterina displays, among other things, the historic flag of Ingermanland from 1919, which symbolises the connection between Sweden and Ingermanland with its cross. The Votic flag is comparatively new. It dates from 2002 and its blue triangles indicate that the land of the Votes lies in the area between Lake Pskov and the Gulf of Finland. The red cross symbolises eternity and is a reminder of the connection between generations and ancestors.
"The flag of Ingermanland was also a flag against the Soviet dictatorship. First we all used this flag. But then we started to fight against the construction of a port in Ust-Luga, for which the traditional Votic village Luutsa was to be destroyed. That's why we founded our Votic culture association and designed our own flag."
After Finland, Estonia, Russia and Hungary, a city in the USA will be the cultural capital of the Finno-Ugric peoples for the first time in 2026: Hancock in Michigan is considered the capital of Finnish-American culture with various festivals celebrating Finnish cultural heritage.
