Post #29614

🇷🇺On April 30, President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with representatives of Russia’s Indigenous small-numbered peoples on the sidelines of the federal educational marathon “Znaniye. First”. The event was held on the Day of Russia’s Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples. Established by Presidential Executive Order of 4 November 2025, the holiday is being marked for the first time this year. Read in full 💬Vladimir Putin: Today, we are marking the Day of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples for the first time. I would like to sincerely congratulate all of you – and, indeed, all citizens of Russia – on this holiday. Why all citizens? Because both large and small peoples are all part of the “single family” of the peoples of Russia – this is where our strength lies. Both small ethnic groups and larger peoples must all feel that this is our common home. Only in this case will we feel stable and secure and move forward steadily. ☝️There are 47 Indigenous small-numbered peoples in our country. Each of them is an integral part of Russia and its unique diversity – a custodian of unique traditions, cultures and identities. Every people and every ethnic group that forms part of the fraternal family of the peoples of Russia is undoubtedly our common treasure. Historically – and I would like to emphasise this – Russia took shape precisely as a union of peoples. We often speak about this, but on this holiday it is entirely appropriate to reiterate this fact. As early as the 19th century – in fact, a century before similar efforts began, for example, in North America – Russia was creating conditions for the education and enlightenment of representatives of different peoples, including small-numbered ones. This work continued in the Soviet period and in our country’s modern history. By the mid-1930s, after the establishment of the Institute of the Peoples of the North, many languages of Indigenous peoples acquired their own writing systems. Incidentally, in the 1930s, the first scholars – Candidates and Doctors of Sciences – also emerged from among the representatives of small-numbered peoples. 👉Today, Russian regions are implementing educational programmes for the study of 76 languages of the peoples of Russia, including those of Indigenous small-numbered peoples. A whole range of support measures is in place for traditional occupations, including reindeer herding, hunting and many others. Overall, the state’s efforts are aimed at enabling representatives of small-numbered peoples to preserve the traditions of their ancestors and carefullypass them on to younger generations. As you know, we are now implementing large-scale plans for the development of the Far East, Siberia and the Arctic. At the same time, the interests of people – including those whose ancestors have lived on these lands for centuries – are an absolute priority. ✊I would like to emphasise once again: Russia’s universality and strength lie in its diversity.