Russia is vast, but the same cannot be said about all the peoples inhabiting it. Some of these peoples number only a few hundred, or even dozens of representatives. We present you the top 10 smallest peoples in Russia, based on the latest census data.
10. Aleuts
Number of people: 482
If we take data from around the world, the Aleuts are not the smallest people. Most of them live in Alaska, according to the 2000 census, there were 10,708 Aleuts there.
However, the American data is not entirely reliable, since some of the Alutiiq and Eyak Eskimos were classified as Aleuts, as well as those who called themselves Aleuts for the benefits that are available to native Alaskans. In Russia, there are far fewer Aleuts, with 482 in 2010.
9. Chulym people
Number of people: 355
One of the smallest peoples of the Russian Federation and the smallest Turkic people now lives in two villages - Pasechnoye and Chindat (Krasnoyarsk Krai).
It is believed that the ancestors of the Chulym people were Turkic settlers of the 12th century. They peacefully coexisted with the local population - the Selkups and Kets - and gradually mixed with them. The Chulym people did not create a written language, and their oral speech skills are now almost lost. Representatives of this people speak Russian.
8. Oroks (ulta)
Number of people: 295
More than 20 names were applied to this ethnic group, which other small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East cannot boast of. In 1991, the Oroks officially received 2 names at once - Oroks proper and Ulta.
In their language and culture, the Oroks are close to the Nanai, Ulchi, Oroch and Udege. However, most Oroks currently speak Russian, and teaching children in Orok only began at the beginning of the 21st century.
Although the Oroks adopted Christianity in the 19th century through the efforts of missionary priests, they did not completely abandon their beliefs. Therefore, their belief in the spirits of nature and shamanism coexists happily with Orthodoxy.
7. Basins
Number of people: 274
A small ethnic group belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, they speak Russian and profess Orthodoxy.
The appearance of basins is due to the Chinese, who in the mid-19th century actively came to the Ussuri region for ginseng, and later for seafood, antlers and mushrooms.
The Chinese married women from the local population - Udege and Nanai. The mestizos who emerged from such marriages were called "da-tzu" (natives). Later, this word was transformed into "tazi".
Although modern Tazy have become Russified, they traditionally cook dishes that are native to Northern China. These include pampushki (dough cooked in steam), boudhe (meat-filled pies, also cooked in steam), and lancei (meat and potato strips).
6. Izhorians
Number of people: 266
The first, but not the last, small people on our list, living in the Leningrad region. The Izhorians or Izhors, together with the Vods, once made up the main population of the Izhora land, located on both banks of the Neva and the southwestern Priladozhye.
Incidentally, it was the Izhorian elder named Pelgusiy (or Pelgui) who warned Prince Alexander Yaroslavich (the future Nevsky) in 1240 that the Swedish army had landed on the banks of the Neva. Subsequently, the prince instructed Pelgusiy and his family to guard the sea borders at the most important point - the mouth of the Neva.
Nowadays, those who consider themselves Izhorians live not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine (according to the 2001 census) and even in Estonia (according to the 2000 census). And the Izhorian language, although it is under threat of extinction, has not been completely lost. There is even a self-study guide to the Izhorian language edited by V. M. Chernyavsky. And for those who are interested in the history of small peoples of Russia, and in particular the Izhorians, we recommend visiting the Izhorian Museum of Local History, which is located in the village of Vistino in the Leningrad Region.
5. Enets
Number of people: 227
Enets is not the self-designation of this northern people, but a term proposed by the ethnographer G. N. Prokofiev in the 1930s. It comes from the word "enneche", which literally means man. The Enets call themselves encho, mogadi or pebai.
The Enets have a curious feature that distinguishes them from other small and large peoples of Russia. At birth, a child received not a name, but a nickname associated with the circumstances of birth or features of appearance. Upon reaching adulthood, he or she received the name of someone from close relatives.
In everyday life, the Enets address each other not by name, but by nickname, and one person can have several nicknames. For example, Byakshi ("no neck", about a person with a short neck) or Tetako ("rich").
4. Setu (seto)
Number of people: 214
Scientists have not yet come to a consensus on how the Seto people emerged.
- Some believe that it came from the Estonians, who fled to the Pskov land from the Levon yoke.
- Others are convinced that the Setos originated from the Chud and Estonian settlers who converted to Orthodoxy.
- Others believe that this is a remnant of an autochthonous ethnic group that was once as independent as the Vods and Izhorians.
It is interesting that, having accepted Orthodoxy and observing its rituals, the Setos did not create a translation of the Bible for several centuries. Therefore, their Russian neighbors did not consider the Setos to be full-fledged Christians and even gave them the nickname "half-believers".
3. Vod
Number of people: 64
In the past, the Vods, who were the indigenous people of the Leningrad region, were a numerous people. According to ethnographers, Vod women were distinguished by their unusually beautiful appearance and cheerful character.
However, the number of this people was greatly affected by the famine that occurred in 1215 and the subsequent assimilation by the Slavic and Izhorian populations that migrated to the area of their settlement.
During the Great Patriotic War, the lands where the Vod people lived were the scene of fierce military actions; in 1943, the Izhorian and Vod population, together with the Ingrian Finns, were deported to Finland. Most of the evacuees subsequently returned to the USSR, but were resettled in different regions of the country, and they were allowed to return to the Leningrad Region only in 1956.
2. Chamalals (or Chamalins)
Number of people: 24
The second smallest people in Russia live in Dagestan and Chechnya, and belong to the Avar subethnos. Their self-name Nama Iga translates as "dry dried apricots".
Since ancient times, the Chamadals have maintained close ties with their neighbors, especially the Avars, leasing land to them and exchanging livestock products in exchange for grain and various services.
The traditional occupations of the Chamadals were and remain livestock breeding, gardening and agriculture. And the "signature dish" is khinkali with meat and garlic, but not similar to Georgian khinkali. Chamadal khinkali are pieces of dough cooked in meat broth, they are served on the table together with broth, boiled meat and sauce.
They say that the Chamalals teach and even sing in the Avar language, but they also know Russian. But the Chamalal language has become purely colloquial.
1. Kereki
Number of people: 4
The smallest nationality in Russia is also one of the least studied. Its extremely few representatives live in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the village of Maynypilgyno. Their language had no written form, and only 4-5 thousand words have survived to this day.
The Kereks differ from their closest neighbors, the Chukchi, only in their shorter stature (usually no more than 150 centimeters). Incidentally, it was the gradual assimilation with the Chukchi that eventually led to the almost complete disappearance of this people.
Previously, the Kerek settlements were located from the Anadyr Gulf to the Olyutorsky Cape. Hence their self-name Ankalaakku ("seaside").
The Kereks were engaged in fishing, reindeer herding, fur and seal hunting. It is believed that they were the ones who came up with the idea of harnessing dogs in pairs or one in a row.
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