5 years ago, on 10 September 2019, he committed self-immolation – “tipshar” in the central square of Izhevsk. He was 74 years old. He was a famous scientist. An activist for the revival of the Udmurt language and national customs. He tried to stop the linguicide of the Udmurts by Moscow.
“Tipshar” is a form of extreme protest among the Chuvash and Udmurts, to preserve honour and dignity in a situation that cannot be corrected.
It was not suicide, but a conscious act aimed at preserving national identity. We Ukrainians understand these feelings of Albert Razin like no one else because we ourselves once experienced the attempts of the imperial centre to destroy our language and nation.
We all remember the feat of Oleksa Hirnyk, who set himself on fire in 1978 on Chernechaya Gora in Kanev as a sign of protest against total Russification at the time.
We believe that Albert Razin’s cause will continue and the Udmurts, like other nations enslaved by Moscow, will be free.
