In November 2025, the authorities of the Republic of Karelia unveiled a monument commemorating Irina Andreyevna Fedosova. Irina Andreyevna is a well-known and well-respected Karelian folklorist whose life’s work contributed immensely to the preservation of traditional Karelian oral poetryi. Despite her central role in Karelian culture, the inscription on the monument identifies her as “Russian folk artist”. Local media further described her contributions as part of “Russian folklore”.
As highlighted in the Monthly Report on Human Rights Violations in Kareliaii, such misrepresentation constitutes an act of cultural appropriation and may amount to cultural assimilation. It undermines the cultural rights of the Karelian people and may violate Article 27 of the ICCPRiii, Article 15 of the ICESCRiv, and Article 27 of the UDHRv, all of which guarantee the rights of minorities to enjoy and maintain their own culture.
Presenting Karelian cultural expression as “Russian folklore” also undermines the community’s ability to define and maintain its own cultural identity. This contradicts the cultural dimension of the right to self-determination as set out in Common Article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR, which affirms that all peoples have the right to freely pursue their cultural development. It further conflicts the CESCR General Comment No. 21, which stresses that cultural identity, heritage, and artistic expression are integral to the right to take part in cultural life and must be respected and protected. In this light, the misrepresentation of Irina Andreyevna constitutes an infringement of the Karelian people’s right to cultural self-determination.
The importance of culture in the lives of peoples should not be downplayed, even in times when civil, political, and socio-economic rights are being violated on a large scale. Cultural elements, both tangible and intangible, form the foundation of a people’s identity. Culture shapes values, worldviews, and collective memory; it fosters community and belonging. Cultural rights are therefore inseparable from human dignity, identity, and social development. Furthermore, promoting cultural rights is essential for maintaining positive social interaction and mutual respect in a diverse, multicultural worldvi
Given that cultural includes oral literaturevii, and that ethnic minorities must be able to maintain their cultural traditions in order to enjoy themviii, the mislabeling of Irina Andreyevna as a “Russian folklorist” effectively removes an important figure from the Karelian cultural narrative. Over time, such actions contribute to the weakening of Karelian cultural identity and its gradual replacement by the dominant Russian cultural identity, a process that could ultimately lead to full assimilation.
A local Karelian civil society activist, who must remain anonymous for safety reasons, commented:
“A favored Russian-imperial narrative, inherited from the USSR, is to attribute Finno-Ugric national, cultural, and scientific figures to the Russians in order to portray the native peoples as immature, displaying a kind of infantilism. In this example, we see a cliché that has been imposed for decades and widely propagated: that national minorities supposedly cannot have their own unique culture and traditions of national sovereignty. Through such methods of neutralizing distinctiveness, a systematic process is underway to erode the ethno-cultural identity of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian Federation”.
Harsh as these words may sound, they reflect a widely shared sentiment within the Karelian community. Many fear that the misrepresentation of Irina Andreyevna’s legacy is yet another step in the ongoing erosion of Karelian culture. Without corrective action, they warn, such practices may contribute to the complete loss of Karelian cultural identity.
i https://t.me/Karjalan_Kansallinen_Liike/236
ii https://ombudsman.media/report-november-2025-karelia/
iii International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 27: In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the rights,, in community with other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.
iv International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 15 (1)(a): The states Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life.
v Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Article 27:
Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
vi Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No 21, paragraph 1.
vii Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No 21, paragraph 13