According to the most conservative estimates, more than 192 peoples live on the territory of the Russian Federation, differing from each other in terms of culture, religion or development history. It is noteworthy that they all ended up in the same state borders in an almost peaceful way - as a result of the accession of new territories.
Features of the residence of peoples
For the first time, a list of peoples living in Russia was made in the middle of the 18th century in order to streamline tax collection. The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg seriously dealt with this issue, and during the XVII-XIX centuries several dozens of serious ethnographic studies on this topic were released, as well as many illustrated albums and atlases, which have become very valuable for modern scholars.
At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the country's population can be formally divided into 192 ethnic groups. There are only 7 nations with a population of over 1 million in Russia. These include:
- Russians - 77.8%.
- Tatars - 3.75%.
- Chuvashs - 1.05%.
- Bashkirs - 1.11%.
- Chechens - 1.07%.
- Armenians - 0.83%.
- Ukrainians - 1.35%.
There is also the term " titular nation ", which means the ethnic group that gave the name to the region. Moreover, this may not be the most numerous people. For example, many peoples of Russia live in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (the list consists of more than 50 points). But only the Khanty and Mansi, which accounted for only 2% of the region’s population, gave it an official name.
Ethnographic research continues in the 21st century, and the work on the topic “peoples of Russia: list, numbers and percentages” is interesting not only for serious scientists, but also for ordinary people who want to know more about their homeland.
The 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 represents more than 2/3 of the total population. Its " 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, Russians are also heterogeneous in their composition and are divided into various ethnographic groups:
- North - Slavic peoples living in Novgorod, Ivanovo, Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Kostroma regions, as well as in the Republic of Karelia and in the north of the Tver lands. Northern Russians are characterized by a " shouting " dialect and a lighter appearance.
- The South Russian peoples live in the Ryazan, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Oryol and Penza regions. Residents of these regions " okayut " during a conversation. For part of the “ South Russians ” bilingualism (Cossacks) is characteristic.
The northern and southern regions are not closely located - they are connected by the Central Russian zone ( between the Oka and Volga rivers ), where the inhabitants of both zones are equally mixed. In addition, in the general mass of Russians there are so-called sub-ethnic groups - compactly living small nationalities, which are distinguished by the peculiarities of their language and culture. These are rather closed and small Russian peoples of Russia. Their list consists of the following groups:
- Vod ( in 2010, the number of 70 people ).
- Pomors.
- Meshcheryaki.
- Polekhi.
- Sayans.
- Don and Kuban Cossacks.
- Kamchadals.
The peoples of the southern regions
We are talking about the territories between the Azov and Caspian seas. In addition to the Russian population, many other ethnic groups live there, including those who are radically different in terms of traditions and religion. The reason for such a striking difference was the proximity of the eastern countries - Turkey, Tatar Crimea, Georgia, Azerbaijan.
Southern peoples of Russia (list):
- Chechens.
- Ingush.
- Nogais.
- Kabardinians.
- Circassians.
- Adygeans.
- Karachaevtsy.
- Kalmyks.
In the southern part of Russia, half of the " national " republics are concentrated. Practically each of the listed nations has its own language, and in the religious plan, Islam prevails among them.
Separately, it is worth noting the long-suffering Dagestan. And, above all, that a people with that name does not exist. This word combines a group of ethnic groups (Avars, Aguls, Dargins, Lezgins, Laks, Nogais, etc.) living in the territory of the Republic of Dagestan.
The peoples of Siberia and the North
The Siberian Federal District includes 14 large regions and territorially occupies 30% of the entire country. However, 20.10 million people live in this territory. The population of Siberia consists of the following peoples:
1. Alien peoples, that is, ethnic groups that appeared in the region during its development from the XVI-XX centuries. This group includes Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Tatars, etc.
2. Indigenous Siberian peoples of Russia. Their list is quite large, but the total number is relatively low. The most populous are the Yakuts ( 480 thousand ), Buryats ( 460 thousand ), Tuvans ( 265 thousand ) and Khakasses ( 73 thousand ).
The ratio between indigenous and alien peoples is 1: 5. Moreover, the number of the original inhabitants of Siberia is gradually decreasing and not even in the thousands, but in the hundreds.
The northern territories of Russia are in a similar situation. The “ newcomer ” population of these areas is concentrated in large settlements. But the indigenous, for the most part, leads a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. Ethnographers note that the northern indigenous peoples are declining at a slower rate than the Siberians.
Peoples of the Far East and Primorye
The Far Eastern Territory consists of the territories of the Magadan, Khabarovsk Regions, Yakutia, Chukotka District and the Jewish Autonomous Region. Primorye adjoins them - Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Primorsky Krai, that is, regions with direct access to the eastern seas.
The ethnographic descriptions of 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 most severe living conditions.
The Far Eastern and coastal indigenous peoples of Russia, the list of which is listed below, were first described in the XVII century:
- Orochi.
- Oroks.
- Nivkhi.
- Udege people.
- Chukchi.
- Koryaki.
- Tungus.
- Daurs.
- Duchers.
- Nanaians.
- Eskimos.
- 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 was influenced by the peoples of neighboring states - China and Japan. In the Russian region, a community of immigrants from China with a population of about 19 thousand people has settled. On the islands of the Kuril ridge and Sakhalin, the Ainu people live happily, whose homeland was once Hokkaido (Japan).
Non-Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation
Formally, all ethnic groups in Russia, except for the very small and closed, are non-indigenous. But in fact, there was constant migration within the country due to wars (evacuation), the development of Siberia and the Far East, state construction projects, and the search for better living conditions. As a result, the peoples mixed up in order, and the Yakuts living in Moscow will not surprise anyone.
But in the country there are many ethnic groups with roots originating from completely different states. Their homeland is not even close to the borders of the Russian Federation! They appeared on its territory as a result of random or voluntary migration in different years. The non-indigenous peoples of Russia, the list of which is given below, comprise groups of several tens of thousands of people aged 40 and over (2 generations). These include:
- Koreans.
- Chinese.
- Germans.
- Jews.
- Turks.
- Greeks
- Bulgarians.
In addition, small groups of ethnic groups from the Baltic states, Asia, India, and Europe safely live in Russia. Almost all of them are assimilated in terms of language and everyday life, but retained part 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, imperious ) 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 various types of theology, including renewed paganism, Satanism and atheism.
Currently, the following religious movements are widespread in Russia:
- Orthodox Christianity.
- Islam ( Sunni Muslims ).
- Buddhism.
- Catholicism.
- Protestant Christianity.
A rather simple situation has developed with the languages of the 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 the state.
And, of course, almost every nationality has its own, different from others, language or dialect. It often happens that the dialects of ethnic groups living in the same locality have different formation roots. For example, the Altai ethnic group of Siberia speaks the language of the Turkic group, and in the nearby Bashkirs, the roots of spoken language are hidden in the Mongolian language.
It is worth noting that when you look at the list of peoples of Russia, the ethnolinguistic classification appears in almost full form. In particular, among the languages of different nations, practically all language groups were "noted":
1. Indo-European group:
- Slavic languages ( Russian, Belarusian ).
- Germanic languages ( Jewish, 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 languages, Chechen, etc. ).
In the XXI 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.