M. A. Castrén Society

The M. A. Castrén Society was founded in Helsinki in 1990,

– to create and promote contacts between Finland and the Uralic-speaking peoples in Russia,
– to promote the knowledge of these peoples' culture in Finland, and
– to support their cultural enterprises and the cultivation of their native languages.

The period of transition in Russia and eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s had a decisive influence on the founding of the Society. Since then, the Society has established ties with Finnish and other sister societies as well as cultural organizations and government officials.

The Society organizes conferences, meetings and other activities, the most important annual event being the Uralic Cultures Day. Information concerning these activities is sent out 4–5 times per year in the membership newsletter. Since 1994 the Society has been responsible for carrying out the Kindred Nation program funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education. Its primary objectives are exchange, collaboration in research, education, museum and library science as well as the preservation of cultural traditions.

A board, consisting of nine members, guides the Society's various activities. Mrs. Ildikó Lehtinen (curator, Ph.D.) serves as chairperson. The annual membership fee is 15 EUR, 6 EUR for students, 100 EUR for a community or lifetime membership and 1000 EUR for a lifetime community membership.

For additional information please contact the Managing Director Marja Lappalainen: firstname.lastname@castren.inet.fi.

Some Finno-Ugrian links.

M. A. Castrén

M. A. Castrén (1813–1852) was one of the pioneers in the field of Uralic studies. On his expeditions to Russia and Siberia he collected material on more than ten Uralic and other languages and their speakers. Shortly before his untimely death he was appointed the first Professor of Finnish at the University of Helsinki. Castrén's fields of interest were so broad-ranging that today a large number of disciplines studying Finnish and related languages, traditions and cultures can regard Castrén as their initiator. Much of Castrén's research was published soon after his death in the 12-volume series Nordische Reisen und Forschungen von Dr. M. Alexander Castrén (1853–1862).