Culture

The national author Ivan Kuratov (1839–‍1875) is regarded as the father of Komi literature. Kuratov wrote many poems and also translated them from other languages.

Author Viktor Savin (1888–‍1943) wrote poetry, stories and plays and founded the Komi National Theatre in 1930.

There are a few newspapers and magazines as well as TV and radio programmes in the Komi language in Komi.

The capital city, Syktyvkar, also has a national museum and national gallery.

There are no newspapers or magazines published in the Komi-Permyak language, but Permyaks have a theatre with performances in their own language.

Komi fiction has also been translated into Finnish: Vladimir Timin’s Tikö Vähä-Permin poika. Kertomus kaukaisista ajoista. Translated from Komi by Paula Kokkonen 2016. Orig. Tikö – Ezva perymsa zonka (Тикӧ – Эжва Перымса зонка) 2000.

The historical (youth) novel is set in the late 1400s and tells the story of the journey of the protagonist, the 15-year-old Tikö, to Siberia and back. The novel by Vladimir Timin attracted a great deal of attention when published and is still part of the school curriculum in Komi.