THE REFORM OF THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE OF FINNO-PERM PEOPLES IN THE USSR, 1920s–1930s

Abstract

Before the October Revolution, alphabets based on the Cyrillic script were developed for many Finno-Permian peoples of Russia. This process continued under the Soviet regime. However, in the 1920s, the first proposals to Latinize these peoples’ written languages emerged. The impetus for this shift was the introduction of Latinized alphabets for peoples who previously used ‘complicated’ scripts (primarily Arabic). Since the Finno-Permian peoples of the USSR did not use ‘complicated’ scripts but the Rusian alphabet – which shares no fundamental differences with Latin – the advocates of Latinization had to devise political justifications for their reforms. By 1930, Latinization efforts entered an active phase. The existence of these ‘politically verified’ justifications initially deterred local authorities in Finno-Perm regions from openly opposing the Latinizers. The campaign was ultimately halted by broader political changes, including the nationwide ban on Latinizing Russian writing. After this, Finno-Permian authorities easily abandoned Latinization, citing two key factors: (1) the preexistence of widely used Cyrillic-based alphabets, and (2) the enduring importance of the Russian language. These trends were consistent across all regions except Karelia, where the native language lacked official status until its brief introduction in 1937–1939.