Peoples of Russia: list and number

According to the most conservative estimates, more than 192 peoples reside on the territory of the Russian Federation, differing from one another in terms of culture, religion or history of development. Remarkably, they all ended up in one state borders almost by peaceful means - as a result of the annexation of new territories.

Peculiarities of peoples

For the first time, the list of peoples living on the territory of Russia amounted to the middle of the 18th century in order to streamline the collection of taxes. The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg seriously engaged in this issue, and during the XVII-XIX centuries several dozens of serious ethnographic studies on this subject were released, as well as many illustrated albums and atlases that have become very valuable for modern scientists.

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the country's population can be formally divided into 192 ethnic groups. Nations with a population of more than 1 million in Russia only 7. These include:

• Russian - 77,8%.
• The Tatars - 3.75%.
• Chuvashi - 1.05%.
• Bashkirs - 1.11%.
• The Chechens - 1.07%.
• Armenians - 0.83%.
• Ukrainians - 1.35%.

Also there is the term " titular nation ", by which is understood the ethnos, which gave the name to the region. And this may not be the most numerous people. For example, many people of Russia live in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (the list consists of more than 50 items). But only Khanty and Mansi, who made up only 2% of the region's population, gave him the official name.

Ethnographic research continues in the 21st century, and works on the topic "peoples of Russia: list, numbers and percentages" are of interest not only to serious scientists, but also to ordinary people who want to know more about their homeland.

Peoples of the European part of Russia

Russians are not mentioned as a nation in the current Constitution of Russia, but in fact this people represent more than 2/3 of the total population. His " cradle " is the European part of Russia - from the Northern Primorye and Karelia to the coast of the Caspian and Black seas. The people are characterized by the unity of spiritual culture and religion, homogeneous anthropology and a common language. However, the Russians are also heterogeneous in their composition and are divided into different ethnographic groups:

- Northern - Slavic peoples living in the Novgorod, Ivanovo, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Kostroma regions, as well as in the Republic of Karelia and in the north of the Tver lands. For northern Russians, the " humming " dialect and the lighter color of the exterior are characteristic.

- South Russian peoples live in Ryazan, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Orel and Penza regions. Residents of these regions " whip " during a conversation. For a part of " South Russians " bilinguism (Cossacks) is characteristic.

The northern and southern regions are not located closely - they are connected by the Central Russian zone (the interfluve of the Oka and the Volga ), where the inhabitants of both zones are mixed equally. In addition, in the general mass of Russians there are so-called subethnic groups - compactly residing small nationalities, which are distinguished by the peculiarities of their language and culture. These are rather closed and small Russian peoples of Russia. The list of them consists of the following groups:

• Water ( in 2010 there are 70 people ).
• Pomors.
• Meshcheryaki.
• Polohi.
• Sayans.
• Don and Kuban Cossacks.
• The Kamchadals.

The peoples of the southern regions

It is about the territories between the Azov and Caspian seas. In addition to the Russian population, there live many other ethnic groups, including those who radically differ in terms of traditions and religion. The reason for such a clear difference was the proximity of the eastern countries - Turkey, the Tatar Crimea, Georgia, Azerbaijan.

Southern peoples of Russia (list):

• The Chechens.
• The Ingush.
• The Nogai people.
• Kabardians.
• Circassians.
• Adygeys.
• The Karachais.
• Kalmyks.

In the southern part of Russia half of the " national " republics are concentrated. Practically each of the listed peoples has its own language, and in the religious plan among them, Islam predominates.

Separately it is worth noting the long-suffering Dagestan. And, first of all, that there is no people with such a name. This word unites a group of ethnic groups (Avars, Agula, Dargins, Lezgins, Laks, Nogays, etc.) living in the territory of the Republic of Dagestan.

Peoples of Siberia and the North

The Siberian federal district includes 14 large regions and territorially occupies 30% of the whole country. However, 20.10 million people live on this territory. The population of Siberia consists of the following peoples:

1. The ancient peoples, that is, the ethnic groups that appeared in the region in the period of its development from the 16th to the 20th century. This group includes Russians, Byelorussians, Ukrainians, Tatars, etc.

2. Indigenous Siberian peoples of Russia. The list of them is quite large, but the total number is relatively low. The most populous are the Yakuts ( 480,000 ), Buryats ( 460,000 ), Tuvinians ( 265,000 ) and Khakas ( 73,000 ).

The ratio between indigenous and newcomers is 1: 5. And the number of the original inhabitants of Siberia is gradually decreasing and is calculated not even by thousands, but by hundreds.

The northern territories of Russia are in a similar situation. The " old " population of these areas is concentrated in large settlements. But the indigenous, for the most part, leads a nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life. Ethnographers note that the northern indigenous peoples are shrinking at a slower rate than the Siberians.

Peoples of the Far East and Primorye

The Far Eastern Territory consists of the territories of Magadan, Khabarovsk regions, Yakutia, the Chukotka District and the Jewish Autonomous Region. Primorje-Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Primorsky Krai, that is, regions with direct access to the eastern seas, are adjacent to them.

In ethnographic descriptions, the peoples of Siberia and the Far East are described together, but this is not entirely correct. The indigenous ethnic groups of this part of the country are distinguished by a very peculiar culture, which was determined by the harshest conditions of life.

Far Eastern and Primorye indigenous peoples of Russia, listed below, were first described in the XVII century:

• Orochi.
• Oroki.
• The Nivkhi.
• The Udege.
• The Chukchi.
• The Koryaks.
• Tungus.
• Daur.
• Duchers.
• The Nanais.
• The Eskimos.
• The Aleuts.

Currently, small ethnic groups enjoy protection and benefits from the state, and are also of interest to ethnographic and tourist expeditions.

The ethnic composition of the Far East and Primorye had a definite influence on the peoples of neighboring countries - China and Japan. In the Russian region settled community of people of the PRC numbering about 19 thousand people. On the islands of the Kuril ridge and Sakhalin, the people of Ainu, whose homeland was once Hokkaido (Japan), live happily.

Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation

Formally, all ethnic groups in Russia, except for very few and closed, are non-indigenous. But in fact within the country there was a constant migration due to wars (evacuation), development of Siberia and the Far East, state construction projects, search for better living conditions. As a result, the peoples have mixed up in order, and the Yakuts living in Moscow will not surprise anyone.

But in the country there are many ethnoses with roots, originating from completely different states. Their homeland is not even near the borders of the Russian Federation! They appeared on its territory as a result of accidental or voluntary migration in different years. The non-indigenous peoples of Russia, the list of which is given below, constitute groups of several tens of thousands of people aged 40 and over (2 generations). These include:

• Koreans.
• Chinese.
• Germans.
• Jews.
• The Turks.
• The Greeks.
• The Bulgarians.

In addition, in Russia, small groups of ethnic groups from the Baltic, Asia, India, and Europe are well residing. Almost all of them are assimilated in terms of language and way of life, but retained some of their original traditions.

Languages and religions of the peoples of Russia

The multi-ethnic Russian Federation is a secular state, but religion still plays a large role ( cultural, ethical, domineering ) in the life of the population. It is characteristic that small ethnic groups adhere to their traditional religion, inherited from their ancestors. But the Slavic peoples are more mobile and profess different types of theology, including renewed paganism, Satanism and atheism.

At present, the following religious trends are widespread in Russia:

• Orthodox Christianity.
• Islam ( Sunni Muslims ).
• Buddhism.
• Catholicism.
• Protestant Christianity.

Quite a simple situation has developed with the languages of peoples. The state language in the country is Russian, that is, the language of the majority of the population. However, in the national regions ( Chechnya, Kalmykia, Bashkortostan, etc.), the language of the titular nation has the status of a state.

And, of course, almost every nationality has its own language or dialect, different from others. It often happens that the dialects of ethnic groups living in one locality have different roots of formation. For example, the Altai people of Siberia speak the language of the Türkic group, and near the Bashkir nearby, the roots of the oral speech are hidden in the Mongolian language.

It is worth noting that when looking at the list of peoples of Russia, the ethno-linguistic classification appears in almost full form. In particular, among the languages of different nations, "practically all language groups"

1. Indo-European group:

• Slavic languages ( Russian, Belarusian ).
• Germanic languages ( Hebrew, German ).

2. Finno-Ugric languages ( Mordovian, Mari, Komi-Zyryan, etc. ).

3. Türkic languages ( Altai, Nogai, Yakut, etc. ).

4. Mongolian languages ( Kalmyk, Buryat ).

5. Languages of the North Caucasus ( Adyghe, Dagestan, Chechen, etc. ).

In the 21st century, the Russian Federation continues to be one of the most multinational states in the world. There is no need to impose "multiculturalism", because in this regime the country has existed for many centuries.