Local Finno-Ugric Minorities Found Union

At their November 29 meeting, local groups founded a union for Estonian-based representatives of Finno-Ugric nations.

Six local organizations signed a founding charter agreement and chose a leadership to represent the rights and culture of the smaller ethnic groups of the Finno-Ugric family.

The leadership includes Voldemar Ahone from a Seto folk song and dance group, Natalja Ermakov from Estonian Mordvin culture society and the new chairman, Vladimir Vari from Tallinn's Ingrian Finnish society.

Estonians, Finns and Hungarians are the only Finno-Ugric nations to have attained statehood. However, several peoples speaking other Finno-Ugric languages live in the Russian Federation, Sweden and Norway.