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Small nations who. The current state of small nations


About 200 different peoples live in Russia, however, some of them may soon disappear forever. According to the population census, the number of some peoples does not exceed 10 people, which means that with the departure of the last representative, the language and culture of this people will disappear. Next, we invite you to get acquainted with the peoples who very soon may become another page in the history of our country.


1. Khanty. This is the largest ethnic group on the list - according to the census, there are 31,000 Khanty in Russia. They live in the north of Western Siberia, breed deer, fish and hunt; they are unlikely to be able to visit the spalotus.me spa. The photo shows a shaman.


11. Koryaks. Indigenous inhabitants of the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, now there are only more than six thousand of them in Russia. One of the northernmost peoples in the world. A musher is a dog sled driver in the village of Ilpyr.


12. Tofalars. Tofalarka in national costume.


13. A total of 600 Tofalars (formerly called Karagas) now live in Eastern Siberia.


14. Archintsy. In the 2010 census, only 12 people indicated this nationality, apparently, which is why they were included in the Avars. They live in Dagestan. National headdress of Archinka women.


15. Water. Residents of the Leningrad region. Now there are just over seventy of them left. Girl in national costume


16. N.F. Nesterov is a representative of an ancient Votic family. In his hands he holds “chapiu” - they are needed for weaving large fishing nets.


17. Nivkhs (Gilyaks). They live near the mouth of the Amur River (Khabarovsk Territory) and on the northern part of Sakhalin Island. The name translates as “man”, or gilemi - “people on oars”. In total there are a little more than 4,000 people in Russia. Nivkh in a festive costume


18. Selkups. Selkups (or Ostyak-Samoyeds) are a people living in the north of Western Siberia. There are 3,600 people left in Russia. Ostyak Samoyeds


19. Reindeer herder


20. Nganasans. Nganasans inhabit the east of the Taimyr municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the territory subordinate to the administration of the city of Dudinka. The northernmost people of Eurasia, there are 860 of them in Russia. The self-name "nya" is "comrade". Little Nikita and Alexey Chunanchary


24. Chum salmon. Kety (self-name keto, ket - “person”), a little more than a thousand people live in Russia. Kets family, early 20th century.


25. Dolgans. They are considered the northernmost Turkic-speaking people in the world. The Cossacks, who brought Orthodoxy with them, gave the Dolgans their surnames at baptism: Kudryakov, Zharkov, Chuprin, Porotov. The surnames have been preserved to this day. Now there are just under 8,000 people left in Russia; they live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Sakha. Girls in national costumes.

Small peoples

Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the indigenous peoples of the North) are peoples of less than 50 thousand people living in the northern regions of Russia, Siberia and the Russian Far East in the territories of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserving their traditional way of life , management and crafts and realizing themselves as independent ethnic communities.

general information

Indigenous peoples of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East - this is the official name; more briefly, they are usually called the peoples of the North. The birth of this group dates back to the very beginning of the formation of Soviet power, to the 1920s, when a special resolution “On Assistance to the Peoples of the Northern Outskirts” was adopted. At that time, it was possible to count about 50, if not more, different groups that lived in the Far North. They, as a rule, were engaged in reindeer herding, and their way of life was significantly different from what the first Soviet Bolsheviks saw for themselves.

As time passed, this category continued to remain as a special accounting category, gradually this list crystallized, more precise names of individual ethnic groups appeared, and in the post-war period, at least since the 1960s, especially in the 1970s, this category began to include 26 nations. And when they talked about the peoples of the North, they meant 26 indigenous peoples of the North - they were called back in their time the small peoples of the North. These are different language groups, people speaking different languages, including those whose close relatives have not yet been discovered. This is the language of the Kets, whose relations with other languages ​​are quite complex, the language of the Nivkhs, and a number of other languages.

Despite the measures taken by the state (at that time it was called the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet government), separate resolutions were adopted on the economic development of these peoples, on how to facilitate their economic existence - still the situation remained quite difficult: alcoholism was spreading , there were a lot of social ills. So gradually we lived until the end of the 1980s, when suddenly it turned out that 26 peoples did not fall asleep, did not forget their languages, did not lose their culture, and even if something happened, they want to restore it, reconstruct it, and so on, want to use it in their modern life.

At the very beginning of the 1990s, this list suddenly began to live a second life. Some peoples of Southern Siberia were included in it, and so there were not 26, but 30 nations. Then gradually, during the 1990s - early 2000s, this list expanded, expanded, and today there are about 40-45 ethnic groups, starting from the European part of Russia and ending with the Far East, a significant number of ethnic groups are included in this the so-called list of indigenous peoples of the north of Siberia and the Far East.

What does it take to be on this list?

First of all, you as a people are officially forbidden to be fruitful and multiply in the sense that, let it sound rude, you should not be more than 50,000 people. There is a limit on numbers. You must live in the territory of your ancestors, engage in traditional farming, preserve traditional culture and language. Everything is actually not so simple, it is not easy to have a special self-name, but you must consider yourself an independent people. Everything is very, very difficult, even with the same self-name.

Let's try to look at, say, the Altai people. Altaians themselves are not included in the list of indigenous peoples. And for a long time in Soviet ethnography and Soviet science it was believed that this was a single people, formed, however, from different groups, but they formed into a single socialist nation. When the late 1980s and early 1990s arrived, it turned out that those who made up the Altaians still remember that they are not completely Altaians. This is how new ethnic groups appeared on the map of the Altai Republic and on the ethnographic map: Chelkans, Tubalars, Kumandins, Altaians themselves, Telengits. Some of them were included in the list of indigenous peoples of the North. There was a very difficult situation - the 2002 census, when the power structures of the Altai Republic were very afraid that due to the fact that a significant part of the former Altaians suddenly enrolled in the indigenous peoples, the population of the republic, that is, the titular people, would significantly decrease and then they would be taken away portfolios - there will be no republic, and people will lose their positions. Everything turned out well: in our country there is no such direct correlation between the titular ethnic group and the status of the entity in which it lives - it could be a republic, an autonomous district or something else.

But when it comes to ethnic identity, the situation is much more complicated. We said that several groups of these Altaians emerged. But if we take each of them, we will find that each of them consists of 5, 10, and maybe 20 divisions. They are called genus, or, in Altai, “syok” (‘bone’), some of them have a very ancient origin. In the same 2002, the leaders of the clans - they are called zaisans - when they learned that the people’s answer would not affect the status of the republic in any way, they said: “Oh, how good. So, maybe now we’ll write ourselves down as Naimans, Kipchaks (by the name of the clan).” That is, it really turns out that a person is generally an Altai, but at the same time he can be a representative of some ethnic group within the Altaians. He may be a member of his own family. If you dig around, you can find even smaller ones.

Why should you be on this list?

Since there is a list, you can get into it, you can sign up for it. If you are not on this list, then you will not have any benefits. About benefits, as a rule, they say: “They signed up there because they want benefits.” Of course, there are some benefits if you know about them and can take advantage of them. Some people don't know that they exist. These are benefits for medical care, for receiving firewood (relevant in villages), it could be preferential admission for your children to university, there is another list of these benefits. But that's really not the most important thing. There is such a moment: you want to live on your own land, and you have no other land. If you are not included in this list of indigenous peoples of the North, then you will be treated like everyone else, although you are already a citizen of the Russian Federation. Then you will not have additional leverage in terms of protecting the territory on which you and your ancestors lived, hunted, fished, and practiced that traditional way of life, which is very important to you.

Why is it so important? Sometimes with laughter, sometimes without laughter they say: “Well, what can we take from him? Even if he is a “white collar” worker, the time comes for poutine or to collect cones in the taiga, he goes to the taiga to collect cones or to poutine, disappears into the sea and catches fish.” A man works in an office, but he cannot live without it. Here they tell it with laughter or even disdain. If we find ourselves, say, in the United States, then we will simply find that self-respecting companies will provide a person with vacation for this time, because they understand that he cannot live without it, and not because it is his whim, that he wants to go fishing, just like any of us might want to go somewhere on the weekend to relax. No, it’s something in the blood that drives a person from the office back to the taiga, to the lands of his ancestors.

If you do not have the opportunity to further protect this land, then various difficult life situations may occur. It is no secret that the territory inhabited by small indigenous peoples of the North is rich in mineral resources. It can be anything: gold, uranium, mercury, oil, gas, coal. And these people live on lands that seem very important from the point of view of the strategic development of the state.

7 smallest nations of Russia

Chulym people

Chulym Turks or Yus Kizhiler (“Chulym people”) live on the banks of the Chulym River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and have their own language. In former times, they lived in uluses, where they built dugouts (odyg), half-dugouts (kyshtag), yurts and tents. They were engaged in fishing, hunting fur-bearing animals, extracting medicinal herbs, pine nuts, growing barley and millet, harvesting birch bark and bast, weaving ropes and nets, making boats, skis, and sledges. Later they began to grow rye, oats and wheat and live in huts. Both women and men wore trousers made from burbot skins and shirts trimmed with fur. Women braided many braids and wore coin pendants and jewelry. Dwellings are characterized by chuvals with open hearths, low clay stoves (kemega), bunks and chests. Some Chulymch residents converted to Orthodoxy, others remained shamanists. The people have preserved traditional folklore and crafts, but only 17% of 355 people speak their native language.

Oroks

Indigenous people of Sakhalin. They call themselves Uilta, which means “deer”. The Orok language has no written language and is spoken by almost half of the 295 remaining Oroks. The Japanese nicknamed the Orok people. The Uilta are engaged in hunting - sea and taiga, fishing (they catch pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon and salmon), reindeer husbandry and gathering. Nowadays, reindeer husbandry has fallen into decline, and hunting and fishing are under threat due to oil development and land problems. Scientists assess the prospects for the continued existence of the nation with great caution.

Enets

The Enets shamanists, also known as the Yenisei Samoyeds, call themselves Encho, Mogadi or Pebai. They live on Taimyr at the mouth of the Yenisei in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The traditional dwelling is a conical tent. Of the 227 people, only a third speak their native language. The rest speak Russian or Nenets. The national clothing of the Enets is a parka, fur pants and stockings. Women have a swing parka, men have a one-piece parka. Traditional food is fresh or frozen meat, fresh fish, fish meal - porsa. From time immemorial, the Enets have been engaged in reindeer hunting, reindeer husbandry, and Arctic fox. Almost all modern Enets live in permanent settlements.

Basins

The Tazy (Tadzy, Datzy) are a small and fairly young people living on the Ussuri River in the Primorsky Territory. It was first mentioned in the 18th century. The Taz originated from the mixing of the Nanai and Udege with the Manchus and Chinese. The language is similar to the dialects of northern China, but very different. Now there are 274 Tazis in Russia, and almost none of them speak their native language. If at the end of the 19th century it was known to 1,050 people, now it is owned by several elderly women in the village of Mikhailovka. The Taz live by hunting, fishing, gathering, farming and animal husbandry. Recently, they have been striving to revive the culture and customs of their ancestors.

Izhora

The Finno-Ugric people Izhora (Izhora) lived on the tributary of the Neva of the same name. The self-name of the people is Karyalaysht, which means “Karelians”. The language is close to Karelian. They profess Orthodoxy. During the Time of Troubles, the Izhorians fell under the rule of the Swedes, and fleeing the introduction of Lutheranism, they moved to Russian lands. The main occupation of the Izhors was fishing, namely the extraction of smelt and herring. The Izhors worked as carpenters, weaving and basket weaving. In the middle of the 19th century, 18,000 Izhoras lived in the St. Petersburg and Vyborg provinces. The events of World War II had a catastrophic impact on the population. Some of the villages burned down, the Izhorians were taken to Finland, and those who returned from there were transported to Siberia. Those who remained in place disappeared among the Russian population. Now there are only 266 Izhors left.

Vod

The self-name of this Orthodox Finno-Ugric vanishing people of Russia is Vodyalayn, Vaddyalaizyd. In the 2010 census, only 64 people classified themselves as Vod. The language of the nationality is close to the southeastern dialect of the Estonian language and to the Livonian language. From time immemorial, the Vods lived south of the Gulf of Finland, on the territory of the so-called Vodskaya Pyatina, which is mentioned in the chronicles. The nationality itself was formed in the 1st millennium AD. The basis of life was agriculture. They grew rye, oats, barley, raised livestock and poultry, and were engaged in fishing. They lived in barns, like Estonian ones, and from the 19th century - in huts. The girls wore a sundress made of white canvas and a short “ihad” jacket. Young people chose their own bride and groom. Married women had their hair cut short, while older women shaved their heads and wore a paykas headdress. Many pagan remnants have been preserved in the rituals of the people. Now Vodi culture is being studied, a museum has been created, and the language is being taught.

Kereki

Vanishing people. There are only four of them left in the entire territory of Russia. And in 2002 there were eight. The tragedy of this Paleo-Asian people was that from ancient times they lived on the border of Chukotka and Kamchatka and found themselves between two fires: the Chukchi fought with the Koryaks, and the Ankalgakku got the worst of it - that’s what the Kereks call themselves. Translated, this means “people living by the sea.” Enemies burned houses, women were taken into slavery, men were killed.

Many Kerek people died during the epidemics that swept the lands at the end of the 18th century. The Kereks themselves led a sedentary lifestyle, obtained food by fishing and hunting, and killed sea and fur-bearing animals. They were engaged in reindeer herding. The Kereks contributed to dog riding. Harnessing dogs in a train is their invention. The Chukchi harnessed dogs in a fan style. The Kerek language belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka language. In 1991, there were only three people left in Chukotka who spoke it. To preserve it, a dictionary was recorded, which included about 5,000 words.

What to do with these people?

Everyone remembers well the movie “Avatar” and that nasty character who said that “they are sitting on my money.” Sometimes one gets the impression that those companies that are trying to somehow regulate relations with people living in those places where they can mine and sell something, treat them this way, that is, these are people who are simply getting in the way. The situation is quite complicated, because everywhere, in all cases, where something like this happens (this could be some sacred Lake Nouto, where the Khanty or Forest Nenets live, it could be Kuzbass with its coal deposits, it could be Sakhalin with its oil reserves), there is a certain clash of interests, more or less clearly expressed, between the indigenous peoples of the North, between the local population, in principle, everyone. Because what’s the difference between you, an aborigine, and a Russian old-timer who behaves exactly the same way, living on the same land, doing the same fishing, hunting, and so on, and suffering in the same way from dirty water and other negative consequences of mining or development? something fossil. The so-called stakeholders, in addition to the aborigines, include government agencies and the companies themselves that are trying to make some profit from this land.

If you are not on this list of indigenous peoples of the North, then it will be much more difficult for you to defend your land and your rights to the way of life that you want to lead. It is important to preserve your culture, because if you do not have a territory where you live compactly with your fellow tribesmen, then it will be very difficult to ensure that your children learn their native language and pass on some traditional values. This does not mean that the people will disappear, disappear, but in the way you perceive the situation, there may be such an idea that if my language disappears, I will cease to be some kind of people. Of course you won't stop. Throughout Siberia, a huge number of peoples of the North have lost their languages, but this does not mean that they do not speak any language. In some places the Yakut language has become their native language, and almost everyone speaks Russian. Nevertheless, people maintain their ethnic identity, they want to develop further, and the list gives them this opportunity.

But there is one interesting twist here that no one has thought about yet. The fact is that it is increasingly heard among the younger generation of the indigenous peoples of the North, which, strictly speaking, have lost their ethnic specificity (they all speak Russian and do not wear traditional clothes): “We are indigenous peoples, we are indigenous peoples.” A certain community appears, perhaps it is a class identity, as in Tsarist Russia. And in this sense, it apparently makes sense for the state to take a closer look at the processes that are now taking place in the North, and perhaps, if we talk about assistance, it may not be for specific ethnic groups, but for that new class community called the indigenous peoples of the North .

Why are the northern peoples disappearing?

Small nations differ from large ones not only in numbers. It is more difficult for them to maintain their identity. A Chinese man can come to Helsinki, marry a Finnish woman, live there with her all his life, but he will remain Chinese until the end of his days, and will not become a Finn. Moreover, even in his children there will probably be a lot of Chinese, and this manifests itself not only in appearance, but much deeper - in the peculiarities of psychology, behavior, tastes (even just culinary ones). If one of the Sami people finds himself in a similar situation - they live on the Kola Peninsula, in Northern Norway and Northern Finland - then, despite the proximity to their native places, after some time they will essentially become a Finn.

This is what happens with the peoples of the North and Far East of Russia. They preserve their national identity while they live in villages and engage in traditional farming. If they leave their native places, break away from their own people, then they dissolve in another and become Russians, Yakuts, Buryats - depending on where they end up and how life turns out. Therefore, their numbers are almost not growing, although the birth rate is quite high. In order not to lose national identity, you need to live among your people, in their original habitat.

Of course, small nations have intelligentsia - teachers, artists, scientists, writers, doctors. They live in the district or regional center, but in order not to lose touch with their native people, they need to spend a lot of time in the villages.

To preserve small nations, it is necessary to maintain traditional economies. This is the main difficulty. Reindeer pastures are shrinking due to growing oil and gas production, seas and rivers are polluted, so fishing cannot develop. Demand for reindeer meat and furs is falling. The interests of the indigenous population and regional authorities, large companies, and simply local poachers come into conflict, and in such a conflict, power is not on the side of small nations.

At the end of the 20th century. the leadership of districts and republics (especially in Yakutia, Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets districts) began to pay more attention to the problems of preserving national culture. Festivals of cultures of small nations have become regular, at which storytellers perform, rituals are performed, and sports competitions are held.

All over the world, the well-being, standard of living, and preservation of the culture of small national minorities (Indians in the Americas, Aborigines of Australia, Ainu of Japan, etc.) are part of the country’s calling card and serve as an indicator of its progressiveness. Therefore, the significance of the destinies of the small peoples of the North for Russia is disproportionately greater compared to their small numbers, amounting to only 0.1% of the country’s population.

State policy

It is customary for anthropologists to criticize government policy towards the small peoples of the North.

Policy towards the peoples of the North has changed over the years. Before the revolution, they were a special class - foreigners who had self-government within certain limits. After the 1920s The culture, economy and society of the northerners, like the rest of the country, have undergone major transformations. The idea of ​​developing the peoples of the North and bringing them out of the state of “backwardness” was accepted. The economy of the North became subsidized.

In the late 1980s - early 1990s. ethnographers have formulated a rationale for the direct interdependence of traditional cultural identity, traditional economy and traditional habitat. Economy and language were added to the romantic thesis of soil and blood. The paradoxical idea that the condition for the preservation and development of ethnic culture - language and customs - is the conduct of a traditional economy in a traditional habitat. This virtually hermetic traditionalism concept became the ideology for the SIM movement. It was the logical rationale for the alliance between ethnic intellectuals and emerging businesses. In the 1990s. Romanticism received a financial base - first, grants from foreign charitable foundations, and then from mining companies. The industry of ethnological examination was enshrined in the same law.

Research by anthropologists today shows that economic activity can exist and develop without preserving language. At the same time, languages ​​can also emerge from live family communication during housekeeping. For example, Udege, Sami, many dialects of Evenki and many other indigenous languages ​​are no longer heard in the taiga and tundra. However, this does not prevent people from engaging in reindeer husbandry, hunting, and fishing.

In addition to cultural figures and businessmen, an independent layer of leaders and political activists has formed among the indigenous indigenous peoples,

There is a point of view among SIM activists that benefits should not be selective, but apply to all representatives of the SIM, no matter where they live or what they do. As arguments, for example, arguments are offered that in the body the need for fish in the diet is laid down at the genetic level. An option to solve this problem is to expand the areas of traditional residence and traditional farming throughout the entire region.

The countryside in the Far North is not an easy place to live. People from different ethnic backgrounds work there in agriculture. They use the same technologies, overcome the same difficulties, face the same challenges. These activities should also receive government support regardless of ethnicity. The state guarantee of the protection of the rights of the peoples of Russia primarily guarantees the absence of any discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds.

As the analysis shows, the Law “On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation” stands out in its approach from the entire Russian legal system. This law considers peoples as subjects of law. The inability to lead provides the basis for the formation of an estate - a group of people endowed with rights due to their ethnic origin. Local executors of laws will long face attempts to legally close a fundamentally open social system.

The principal way out of this situation may be to overcome the romanticism of traditionalism and separate the policy of supporting economic activity and supporting ethnocultural activity. In the socio-economic part, it is necessary to extend benefits and subsidies to indigenous minorities to the entire rural population of the Far North.

In the ethnocultural part, the state can provide the following types of support:

  1. Scientific support, represented by research organizations and universities, in their development of programs and training of specialists.
  2. Legal support in the form of development and adoption of norms for the preservation and development of ethnocultural heritage.
  3. Organizational support in the form of development and implementation of ethnocultural programs of cultural institutions and educational institutions.
  4. Financial support for NGOs developing ethnocultural initiatives in the form of grant support for promising projects.

Only on the territory of Russia live 65 small peoples, and the number of some of them does not exceed a thousand people. There are hundreds of similar peoples on Earth, and each carefully preserves its customs, language and culture.

Our top ten today includes the smallest peoples in the world.

This small people lives on the territory of Dagestan, and its population is only 443 people as of the end of 2010. For a long time, the Ginukh people were not identified as a separate ethnic group, since the Ginukh language was considered only one of the dialects of the Tsez language widespread in Dagestan.

9. Selkups

Until the 1930s, representatives of this West Siberian people were called Ostyak-Samoyeds. The number of Selkups is just over 4 thousand people. They live mainly in the Tyumen and Tomsk regions, as well as the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

8. Nganasans

This people lives on the Taimyr Peninsula, and their number is about 800 people. Nganasans are the northernmost people in Eurasia. Until the middle of the 20th century, the people led a nomadic lifestyle, driving herds of deer over vast distances; today the Nganasans live sedentary lives.

7. Orochons

The place of residence of this small ethnic group is China and Mongolia. The population is about 7 thousand people. The history of the people goes back more than a thousand years, and the Orochons are mentioned in many documents dating back to the early Chinese imperial dynasties.

6. Evenks

This indigenous people of Russia lives in Eastern Siberia. These people are the most numerous in our top ten - their numbers are quite sufficient to populate a small town. There are about 35 thousand Evenks in the world.

5. Chum salmon

Kets live in the north of the Krasnoyarsk region. The number of this people is less than 1500 people. Until the middle of the 20th century, representatives of the ethnic group were called Ostyaks, as well as Yeniseians. The Ket language belongs to the group of Yenisei languages.

4. Chulym people

The number of this indigenous people of Russia is 355 people as of 2010. Despite the fact that most of the Chulym people recognize Orthodoxy, the ethnic group carefully preserves some traditions of shamanism. Chulyms live mainly in the Tomsk region. It is interesting that the Chulym language does not have a written language.

3. Basins

The number of this people living in Primorye is only 276 people. The Taz language is a mixture of one of the Chinese dialects with the Nanai language. Now this language is spoken by less than half of those who consider themselves to be Taz.

2. Livs

This extremely small people lives on the territory of Latvia. From time immemorial, the main occupations of the Livs were piracy, fishing and hunting. Today the people have almost completely assimilated. According to official data, there are only 180 Livs left.

1. Pitcairns

This people is the smallest in the world and lives on the small island of Pitcairn in Oceania. The number of Pitcairns is about 60 people. All of them are descendants of the sailors of the British warship Bounty, who landed here in 1790. The Pitcairn language is a mixture of simplified English, Tahitian and maritime vocabulary.

The territory where the indigenous peoples of Russia live runs along 28 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It stretches from the Far Eastern regions up to

According to the official list of 2006, representatives of 45 indigenous peoples live in the North, Siberia, the Far East and other regions of the Russian Federation, which gives a total population of close to 250 thousand people.

The most numerous people among them are the Nenets, their number reaches 44 thousand. The Enets, who identify themselves under the name Encho, are among the small peoples. Their number does not exceed 200 people. Also included are the Izhorians - 450 people, and the Vod people, whose number, according to the latest data, was less than 100 people. What are the names of the other small peoples of Russia? A list of them can be seen below.

List of small peoples of Russia

  • Chukchi.
  • Eskimos.
  • Chuvans.
  • Kamchadal.
  • Koryaks.
  • Alutorians.
  • Aleuts.
  • Nivkhi.
  • Oroks.
  • Orochi.
  • Udege people.
  • Negidalians.
  • Ulchi.
  • Evenks.
  • Evens.
  • Yukaghirs.
  • Dolgans.
  • Abazins.
  • Chum salmon.
  • Veps.
  • Izhorians.
  • Nenets.
  • Igelmens.
  • Sami.
  • Chulym people.
  • Shors.
  • Khanty.
  • Besermyane.
  • Koreki.
  • Muncie.
  • Sepkupa.
  • Soyots.
  • Basins.
  • Teleuts.
  • Tofalars.
  • Tuvinians-Todzha.
  • Kumandins.
  • Nanai people.
  • Nagaibaki.
  • Naganasans.
  • Tubalars.
  • Nganasans.
  • Chelkans.
  • Karelians.
  • Vod.

Traditional worldview of the indigenous peoples of the North

Traditionally, the Evens, like other indigenous peoples of Russia, deify the sky with all the main luminaries, as well as the main elements of the surrounding flora and fauna - mountain ranges, rivers, taiga forests and the various animals that live in them. So, for example, the Sun in the traditional consciousness of the Evens is represented by a kind person, wholly interested in the interests and protection of the local population. The Sun God can be induced to cooperate through sacrifices as well as faith and prayer. The deity is capable of fulfilling the will of believers, giving them healthy and strong offspring, increasing herds of deer, bringing good luck to hunters and favoring the fish catch.

Izhora

Izhora is the self-name of the Finno-Ugric people, which in the past, along with the small Vod people, made up the main population of the Izhora land. The name of this people has its roots in the Ingermanland province. In addition, some Izhorians call themselves “karyalaysht” in the plural. This is consistent with the fact that representatives of the Vod people refer to the Izhorians as “Karelians.”

In 1897, the number of this people reached 14,000 people, but today their number is close to 400. In the 1920s, they even developed their own written language, but it also had to sink into oblivion by the end of the 1930s.

The Izhorians received their first mention as “Ingres” back in 1223. In the 15th century, this people was part of the Russian state. He gradually underwent assimilation with the rest of the population due to the Orthodox religion. In the 17th century, part of the lands of the Neva (Ingermanland) became a Swedish province, and the Izhorians were assimilated with the Finns, and in 1943 the population was taken by German troops to Finland. Subsequently, until the mid-1950s, the process of resettlement of Izhorians in their former places underwent some restrictions on the part of the authorities.

The economy of the Izhorians is similar to the Russian one and is based on agriculture: growing vegetable and grain crops, followed by harvesting, drying and threshing with flails and upholstery on a bench, as well as animal husbandry and specific fishing, including stages of winter fishing, to which the Izhorians went as usually the entire population, spending nights in plank booths.

The Izhorians lived in villages, usually in small families. Despite Orthodoxy, the people had their own authentic funeral rituals. Burials took place in holy places-groves. Along with the deceased, a supply of food and woolen reins, as well as a knife, were placed in the coffin.

The runic heritage of Izhora in the form of a large number of epic works is of enormous cultural value. Thus, the Finnish folklorist Elias Lennorot used Izhora runes when composing the text of the Kalevala.

Vod

The smallest people in Russia today number only 82 people and live mainly in the southwestern part of the Leningrad region. Vod belongs to the Finno-Ugric peoples. There are three languages ​​spoken by the population: Vodian, Izhorian and Russian. The language closest to the Vodian dialect is Estonian. The main and traditional occupation of this small people was agriculture, as well as forestry, fishing and small handicrafts. The products obtained on the farm were usually sold to large centers such as St. Petersburg.

The smallest people in Russia were unable to preserve their original language. This was prevented not only by the arrival of Orthodoxy (sermons were conducted in Russian), but also by the irregularity of the language, the lack of schools in which the written Vodian language would be taught, the small number of people and many mixed marriages. Thus, the Vod language was practically lost, and the culture of the Vod people succumbed to Russification.