Rustam Minnikhanov at a meeting with Finnish Tatars: We always hold you up as an example

On December 4, during his working visit to Helsinki, speaking at a meeting with participation of Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Finland Pavel Kuznetsov with Tatar Diaspora in Finland, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Finnish Tatars are an example of how one can successfully adapt in another country and carefully preserve national traditions and language for many decades.

About 100 people took part in the meeting, held in a building that the local Tatars built on their own funds and resources in 1960. Today, it houses the Tatar National Cultural Centre of Finland, a prayer hall, a Sunday school, a kindergarten, the Yoldyz sports club, a library, a concert hall and classrooms.

The Islamic Society of Finland is headed by Golten Bedretdin. In welcoming speech, she informed about the activities of the community and the implementation of various projects for the preservation of the Tatar language. The community has its own teacher organization. Children attend Sunday schools, where they are taught the Tatar language and the basics of Islam. In summer, a summer camp is organized, where students also learn the language, culture and history of the Tatars.

Among the foreign Tatar diasporas, the Finnish Tatars are the most organized and active. The community publishes books and textbooks in the Tatar language and celebrates national holidays. Minnikhanov emphasized that Tatar Diaspora of Finland is characterized by careful preservation of everything related to the national history, culture, language and customs. Due to the efforts of the Finnish Tatars, the Tatar language was included in the official list of minority languages ​​of Europe. 

At the end of the meeting, Minnikhanov handed in awards to the representatives of the Tatar Diaspora, who made a great contribution to the preservation and development of the national language, culture and traditions.