Mikhail Bezayev is a chairman of the Finno-Ugric peoples association Soviet of Nizhny Novgorod region and a leader of the Mordvinian consultative centre “Yalgat”. He suggested choosing the members of the Consultative committee of Finno-Ugric peoples not only from titular republics and okrugs of Russia, where Ural ethnic groups live. The activist voiced this idea at the VI World congress of Finno-Ugric people’s in Hungary.

According to him the members of Finno-Ugric peoples who live outside “their” republics are in hard situation as they haven’t got enough support from regional authorities. “Schools with low number of pupils are closed… There is a settlement [in Nizhniy Novgorod oblast]: the first-aid station, the library were closed – 25 active families moved to the next settlement. I don’t resent Mordovia, I’m grateful to the republic for help. But it cannot do everything at the cost of budget funds that should do regional authorities. One cannot say that the Russian federation doesn’t do something for republics – it does. But where is the volume of support in Penza Oblast or Saratov? There is no, -described the situation M. Bezayev. He also suggested the way of the solution of the problem. – With Bashkortostan Mari people we rose the issue that people outside national groups that live at the native territories should be presented in the Consultative committee. Present-day leaders of social organizations in republics are connected with officials. They have to speak only about the good… One the same as me have to speak about the bad: language is not studied at schools, culture is not supported, the field of our work diminishes rapidly. We should speak about problems, but not about such facts that everything is good and everything is done. 

M. Bezayev announced that he had spoken to some members of the Consultative committee of Finno-Ugric peoples  concerning the problem and heard objections.