Vladimir Romashkin


Vladimir Ivanovich Romashkin was an Erzya Mordvin folklorist, researcher, musician and documentary filmmaker who is considered a significant figure in the cultural revival of the Erzya, Moksha, Shoksha, and Qaratay people. He also created the musical group Toorama.

Biography

In 1975, Romashkin graduated from the conducting and choral department at Saransk Music School. By 1980 he is part of conducting and choral faculty at the Kazan Conservatory, and in 1986 postgraduate study at MNIIYALIE. From 1980 to 1989, he was a research in folklore and art at the Mordovia Research Institute of Language, Literature and History. In 1986, he published his monograph "On some features Mordovians-Karataev traditional art of singing", in which he described Qaratay folklore in villages in the Tatar ASSR. Later, he became a screenwriter and filmmaker, with his participation were created documentaries Karatau and Istoki. He also filmed the musical film for Toorama of the same name. From 1990 to his death in 2002, Romashkin was a teacher of musical disciplines at the National School of Culture in Saransk.
Perhaps Romashkins' most famous work was that of the creation of the group Toorama, the repertoire of which included Erzya, Moksha, and Qaratay songs. The repertoire of the group was united by traditions of various ethnic groups living in Mordovia. The group was part of family: to actively participate in it, Romashkin brought his sons, Andrew and Vitaly.
In his last years, in contact with the Russian reenactment movement, Romashkin stood as the head of the youth movement "Od Wii".
The Torama group, in which Romashkin's sons play a crucial role, continues to give concerts and record albums.

Honors

On 6 September 2006, in Kochkurovsky District in Mordovia, a house museum dedicated to Romashkin opened, called the "Ethno-Kudo". In 1989, while still young, he bought the house in the village of Podlesnaya Tavla, where he fell in love with the village, its people and the natural environment at a glance. As an already known folklorist, he dreamed of an ethno-tourist route in this village, because it is known as the center of Erzya tradition of wood carving. There is a tradition that has now become an annual folklore festival that showcased ancient Erzya and Moksha songs called "Tori terdi" on the birthday of Romashkin.