How many peoples live on the territory of the Russian Federation? Peoples of Russia: list and numbers

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 history of development. It is noteworthy that they all ended up within the same state borders almost peacefully - as a result of the annexation of new territories.

Peculiarities of peoples' residence

For the first time, a list of peoples living on the territory of Russia was compiled in the middle of the 18th century in order to streamline the collection of taxes. The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg seriously dealt with this issue, and during the 17th-19th centuries several dozen serious ethnographic studies on this topic were published, as well as many illustrated albums and atlases, which 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. There are only 7 nations with a population of over 1 million in Russia. These include:

  • Russians - 77.8%.
  • Tatars - 3.75%.
  • Chuvash - 1.05%.
  • Bashkirs - 1.11%.
  • Chechens - 1.07%.
  • Armenians - 0.83%.
  • Ukrainians - 1.35%.

There is also the term " titular nation", which is understood as the ethnic group that gave the name to the region. Moreover, this may not be the most numerous people. For example, many nationalities of Russia live in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (the list consists of more than 50 items). But only the Khanty and Mansi, who made up only 2% of the region’s population, gave it an official name.

Ethnographic research continues in the 21st century, and work on the topic “peoples of Russia: list, number and percentage” is of interest not only to serious scientists, but also 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 represents more than 2/3 of the total population. His " cradle"is - from 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:

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. Northern Russians are characterized by " pooping" dialect and a lighter color of appearance.

South Russian peoples live in Ryazan, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Oryol and Penza regions. Residents of these regions" envelop"when talking. For part" South Russians"Characteristic of bilingualism (Cossacks).

Northern and southern regions are not located closely - they are connected by the Central Russian zone ( interfluve of Oka and Volga), where the inhabitants of both zones are mixed equally. In addition, among the general mass of Russians there are so-called subethnic groups - compactly living small nationalities that are distinguished by the peculiarities of their language and culture. They are quite closed and few in number List they consist of the following groups:

  • Vod ( as of 2010 number of people: 70).
  • Pomors.
  • Meshcheryak.
  • Polehi.
  • Sayans.
  • Don and Kuban Cossacks.
  • Kamchadal.

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 eastern countries- Turkey, Tatar Crimea, Georgia, Azerbaijan.

Southern peoples of Russia (list):

  • Chechens.
  • Ingush.
  • Nogais.
  • Kabardians.
  • Circassians.
  • Adyghe people.
  • Karachais.
  • Kalmyks.

Half of the population is concentrated in the southern part of Russia" national"Republics. Almost each of the listed peoples has own language, and in religious terms, Islam predominates among them.

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

and North

It is worth noting that when looking at the list of peoples of Russia, the ethnolinguistic classification appears in almost complete form. In particular, among languages different nations Almost all language groups were “noted”:

1. Indo-European group:

  • Slavic languages ​​( Russian, Belarusian).
  • Germanic languages ​​( Jewish, German).

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

3. Turkic languages ​​( Altai, Nogai, Yakut, etc.).

4. Mongolian languages ​​( Kalmyk, Buryat).

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

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

I was also interested in this question. But I couldn’t find the time. Seeing that I was not the only one interested in this, I decided to look for information and tell you everything I learned.

How many nationalities live in Russia

So what kind of peoples live in Russia? About 200 nationalities live in Russia! I think it’s not worth listing all 200; I’d rather tell you about the most basic and memorable ones.

Tatar people(5.3 million live in Russia). They most often live in villages and hamlets, and the region most populated by Tatars, oddly enough, is Tatarstan. In a Tatar family, children are always taught to respect their elders. And girls are taught to run a household from an early age.

Bashkir people(1.5 million live in Russia). Most (1 million) of this people live in Bashkortostan. It is worth talking about their main holiday, it is called Kargatuy - “rook holiday”. It is celebrated during the arrival of rooks, and its purpose is to connect with the forces of nature.

Armenian people(0.6 million live in Russia). They are very friendly people. Their beautiful music appeared before our era.

Chuvash people(1.4 million live in Russia). Lives in completely different cities, towns and villages of the country. Their main activity is agriculture.

And this (as I said above) is not all nations. It is worth mentioning the following nationalities:


Why are there so many nationalities in Russia?

In countries such as Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus (and many others) there are much fewer nationalities than in our country. But why?

Russia is a very big country. Therefore, the Russian people alone will not be able to fill it. Thanks to this, we can live next to people of a different nationality. For example, a Tatar lives next door to me. I really enjoy communicating with him and gaining new experiences.



Russia is rich in nationalities. I think we can be proud of this.

No science has yet given an exact definition of such a concept as “people,” but everyone understands by this concept a large community of people living compactly in a certain territory.

The science of ethnography, which studies peoples and ethnic groups, including the most numerous peoples, identifies today from 2.4 to 2.7 thousand nationalities living on earth. But in such a delicate matter, ethnographers can rely on statistical data, which put the figure at 5 and a half thousand peoples on Earth.

No less interesting is ethnogenesis, which studies the emergence and development of various ethnic groups. Let us present in a small overview the largest nations that emerged in ancient times, and their total number exceeds 100 million people.

Chinese (1,320 million)

The generalized concept of “Chinese people” includes all residents of China, including people of other nationalities, as well as those who have Chinese citizenship but live abroad.

Nevertheless, the Chinese people are the largest, both in the concept of “nation” and in the concept of “nationality”. Today there are 1 billion 320 million Chinese living in the world, which is from total number of the planet's inhabitants is 19%. So, the list is the most big nations the world, by all indicators, is rightfully led by the Chinese.

Although in fact, those whom we call “Chinese” are ethnically representatives of the Han people. China is a multinational country.

The very name of the people is “Han”, which means “Milky Way”, and comes from the name of the country “Celestial Empire”. This is also the most ancient people A land whose roots go back to the distant past. The Han people in China make up the absolute majority, about 92% of the country's population.

Interesting facts:

  • The Chinese Zhuang people, who are a national minority in the country, number about 18 million people, which is comparable to the population of Kazakhstan and larger than the population of the Netherlands.
  • Another Chinese nation, Huizu, has a population of about 10.5 million, which is earlier than the population of countries such as Belgium, Tunisia, the Czech Republic or Portugal.

Arabs (330-340 million)

The Arabs, who occupy second place, are defined in ethnographic science as a group of nationalities, but from the point of view of ethnogenesis, they are one people of the Semitic language group.

The nation developed in the Middle Ages, when the Arabs settled in the Middle East and northern Africa. They all have one thing in common Arabic and a unique writing system - Arabic script. The people have long gone beyond the boundaries of their historical homeland, and modern stage, due to various circumstances, settled in other regions of the globe.

Today the number of Arabs is estimated at 330-340 million people. They mostly adhere to Islam, but there are also Christians.

Did you know that:

  • There are more Arabs living in Brazil than in the United Arab Emirates.
  • Arabs consider the gesture to be a sexually suggestive insult.

Americans (317 million)

Here shining example, when it is possible to accurately define a people, with the practically non-existent concept “ American nation" In a narrow sense, this is a group of different nationalities that make up the population of the United States and have American citizenship.

Over the course of 200 years of history, a single culture, mentality, common language, used in communication, which allows you to unite the population of the United States into one people.

Today there are 317 million US Americans. For the indigenous population of America, Indians, the name Americans may be used, but in terms of ethnic identification this is a completely different ethnic group.

Hindustani (265 million)

On at the moment Hindustanis settled compactly in three neighboring countries in the South-Eastern region of the planet - India, Nepal and Pakistan.

As for India, the largest number of them live in the northern part of the state. In total, ethnology numbers about 265 million Hindustanis, and their main language of communication is various dialects of the Hindi language.

Interestingly, of the related nationalities, the closest to them are the Gypsies and Dravidians, who inhabit the southern regions of India.

Bengalis (over 250 million)

Among the numerous peoples, the Bengalis, numbering more than 250 million, also occupy a leading position. They mostly live in Asian countries, but there are small diasporas in the USA and Great Britain, and they also exist in other European countries.

Over the centuries-old history, the Bengalis have preserved their national culture, identity and language, as well as their main activities. In the Asian region they live mainly in rural areas, since they have been engaged in agriculture since ancient times.

The Bengali language is one of the most complex on earth; it was formed as a result of the synthesis of the Indo-Aryan language and numerous local dialects.

Brazilians (197 million)

Group of different ethnic groups living in Latin America, developed into a single Brazilian people. There are currently about 197 million Brazilians, most of whom live in Brazil itself.

The people went through a difficult path of ethnogenesis, which began to take shape as a result of the European conquest of the South American continent. Indian nationalities lived intermixed over vast territories, and with the arrival of Europeans, most of them were destroyed, the rest assimilated.

And so it happened that the religion of the Brazilians became Catholicism, and the language of communication became Portuguese.

Russians (about 150 million)

The name of the most numerous people of Russia occurred as a result of the transition of the adjective “Russian people”, “Russian people” into the generalizing noun “Russians”, in the concept of people.

Modern statistical studies indicate that there are about 150 million Russians on Earth, most of whom live in Russia. The largest people in Russia belong to the linguistic group of East Slavic languages, and today more than 180 million people consider Russian their native language.

Russians are practically homogeneous in anthropological terms, although they are spread over a large territory and are divided into several ethnographic groups. The ethnos emerged during the development of the Russian state from different ethnic groups of the Slavs.

Interesting Fact: Largest quantity Russians outside the borders of the Russian Federation and countries former USSR located in Germany (∼ 3.7 million) and in the USA (∼ 3 million).

Mexicans (148 million)

Mexicans, who number about 148 million people, are united by a common territory of residence, a single Spanish communication, as well as an amazing national culture that has developed on the basis of the heritage ancient civilizations Central America.

This people is also a vivid example of duality, since those Mexicans who live in the United States can simultaneously be considered Americans.
The people are also unique in that they are Latin Americans by ethnicity, but their language of communication classifies them as a Romance group. It is also the fastest growing nation on our planet.

Japanese (132 million)

There are 132 million conservative Japanese on Earth, and they live mainly in their historical homeland. After World War II, some Japanese settled around the world, and now only 3 million people live outside Japan.

The Japanese people are distinguished by isolation, high diligence, a special attitude towards the historical past and national culture. Over many centuries, the Japanese have managed to preserve and, most importantly, increase their heritage, both spiritual and material and technical.

The Japanese treat foreigners in a special way, with some suspicion, and are reluctant to allow them into their lives.

Punjabis (130 million)

Another of the largest nations lives compactly in the territories of India and Pakistan. Of the 130 million Punjabis in the Asian regions, a small portion settled in Europe and Africa.

For many centuries, the hardworking people created an extensive irrigation system for irrigated fields, and their main occupation has always been agriculture.

It was the Punjabis who were one of the first peoples on earth to create a highly developed and cultural civilization in the valleys of Indian rivers. But, as a result of cruel colonial policies, much of the heritage of this people was lost.

Biharis (115 million)

The amazing Bihari people, living mainly in the Indian state of Bihar, today number about 115 million people. A small part settled in other Indian states and neighboring countries.

Modern representatives of the people are direct descendants of those. Who created the first agricultural civilizations on Earth in the Indus and Ganges valleys.

Today, there is an active process of urbanization of Biharis, and, leaving their main occupations and ancient crafts and trades, they are moving en masse to cities.

Javanese (105 million)

The last major nation on earth, numbering more than 100 million people. According to the latest data from ethnology and statistics, there are about 105 million Javanese people on the planet.

IN XIX century data on the origin were provided only by the Russian ethnographer and traveler Miklouho-Maclay, but today quite a lot is known about the ethnogenesis of the Javanese.

They settled mainly on the islands of Oceania, and are the indigenous population big island Java and the states of Indonesia. Over many centuries they have created a unique and inimitable culture.

Thais (over 90 million)

Just by the name of the ethnic group, it is clear that the Thais are the indigenous population of the kingdom of Thailand, and today there are more than 90 million of them.

The etymology of the origin of the word “tai” is interesting, which in local dialects means “ free man" Ethnographers and archaeologists, studying the culture of the Thais, have determined that it was formed during the early Middle Ages.

Among other nations, this nation is distinguished by its sincere love, sometimes bordering on fanaticism, for theatrical art.

Koreans (83 million)

The people formed many centuries ago and at one time populated the Korean Peninsula of Asia. They managed to create a highly developed culture, and carefully protect national traditions.

The total number of people is 83 million, but the confrontation led to the formation of two states with one ethnic group, which is an unresolved tragedy for the Koreans today.

More than 65 million Koreans live in South Korea, the rest in North Korea, and also settled in other Asian and European countries.

Marathi (83 million)

India, among all its uniqueness, is also the record holder for the number of people living on its territory numerous nationalities. For example, the state of Maharashtra is home to the amazing Marakhti people.

A very talented people, people from whom occupy high positions in India, Indian cinema is filled with Marakhti.

In addition, the Marakhti are a very purposeful and united ethnic group, which in the 50s of the twentieth century achieved the creation of their own state, and today, numbering 83 million people, this is the main population of the Indian state.

European peoples

It is worth separately touching upon the largest peoples of Europe, among which the leaders are the descendants of the ancient Germans, the Germans, whose number, according to various sources, ranges from 80 to 95 million. Second place is firmly held by Italians, of whom there are 75 million on earth. But the French are firmly established in third place, with a population of about 65 million.

Large nations living on the globe, however, like small ones, have their own cultural and national traditions that have developed over a long historical process.

Today, the process of erasing ethnic and national boundaries is increasingly observed. There are practically no mono-national states left on Earth, it’s just that in each of them there is one dominant nation, and all the different national people are united under the general concept of “resident of the country.”

The abundance of different nations and nationalities living on the territory of Russia largely depends on the history of its formation. Since ancient times, Scythians lived in this territory. Also, part of modern Russia was occupied. The Khazars lived in the Volga region and the North Caucasus, and the Bulgars lived in the Kama region. Old Russian was formed from the tribes of the Krivichi, Drevlyans, Slovenians, Vyatichi, and Northerners. Finno-Ugric peoples also influenced its development. Thus, ancient Russian state was multinational from the very beginning of its existence.

The most common, after, are the Tatars. They live in the Volga region and Crimea. Mordovians and Mari also live there. The Bashkirs live in the central part of Russia. The western part of the country is inhabited by the Chuvash, Siberia by the Yakuts, Altaians and Khakass, the west of the region by the Buryats, Khanty and Mansi, and the east by the Evenks. In the Far North, Chukchi, Aleuts, in the north-west of the country - Karelians. The Caucasus is occupied by Kabardians, Circassians, Lezgins, Chechens, Ingush, Adygs, and Ossetians. Kalmyks live in the Caspian region.

The most numerous form autonomous republics and districts. There are 22 of them in total: Udmurtia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Mordovia, Karelia, Yakutia, Khakassia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Komi, Adygea, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Tuva, Buryatia, Mari-El, Bashkiria, Altai , Kalmykia, Crimea. There are 5 autonomous okrugs in Russia: Khanty-Mansiysk, Chukotka, Nenets, Crimean and Yamalo-Nenets. Also, some settlements and geographical objects in Russia are named by the names of nationalities - for example, the city of Khanty-Mansiysk.

Russia is multinational state. How many peoples live in Russia? Which of them are the most numerous? How are they distributed throughout the country? Let's find out about this further.

How many peoples live in Russia?

Russia covers a vast territory, stretching from Eastern Europe Its area is 17,125,191 square kilometers, in terms of this size the country ranks first in the world.

In terms of population, Russia is in ninth position, with 146.6 million people. How many peoples live in Russia? It is difficult to give an exact figure, but there are approximately 190 of them, including the autochthonous population and small indigenous peoples.

The main source of data on the population of Russia is the census, which was conducted in 2010. The nationality of the country's citizens is not indicated in their passports, so data for the census was obtained based on the self-determination of the residents.

Slightly more than 80% of residents identified themselves as Russians; other nationalities accounted for 19.1%. Approximately five and a half million people did not indicate their nationality. Based on these data, the total number of peoples of Russia who do not consider themselves Russians amounted to 26.2 million people.

Ethnic composition

Russians are the titular population of the country; they predominate in most constituent entities of the Russian Federation. These include Pomors, representing the subethnic group of Karelians and Russians in the region White Sea. The second largest people are the Tatars, which include the Mishars, Kryashens, Astrakhan and

The largest group of peoples are the Slavs, mainly Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles and Bulgarians. They belong to the Indo-European family, which in Russia is also represented by Romanesque, Greek, Germanic, Baltic, Iranian, Indo-Iranian and Armenian groups.

In total, the territory of the state is inhabited by peoples who belong to nine language families. In addition to Indo-European, these include:

  • Altai;
  • blue-tibetan;
  • Ural-Yukaghir;
  • Chukotka-Kamchatka;
  • Yenisei;
  • Kartvelian;
  • Eskimo-Aleutian;
  • North Caucasian.

The small peoples of Russia are represented by the Kerek (4 people), the Vod people (64), the Ents (227), the Ults (295), the Chulyms (355), the Aleuts (482), the Negidals (513), and the Orochs (596). These include peoples who belong to the Finno-Ugric, Samoyed, Turkic, Sino-Tibetan groups.

The largest nations of Russia are presented in the table below.

People

Number in million

Ukrainians

Azerbaijanis

Map of the peoples of Russia

The country's population is heterogeneously distributed. How many peoples live in Russia and how they are located on its territory can be clearly demonstrated by the map below. The vast majority live in the area between St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk, Novorossiysk and Primorsky Krai, where all the largest cities are located.

The largest Tatars and Ukrainians mainly inhabit the southwestern part of the country. Ukrainians make up a large share residents in the Chukotka and Khanty-Mansiysk districts, in the Magadan region.

As for the rest of the nations Slavic group, then Poles and Bulgarians do not form large groups and are dispersedly settled. The Polish population lives compactly only in the Omsk region. Belarusians mostly inhabit the Moscow and St. Petersburg region, as well as the Kaliningrad region, Karelia, and the Khanty-Mansiysk district.

Tatars

The number of Tatars in Russia is more than 3% of the total population. A third of them live in the Republic of Tatarstan. Focal settlements are also located in the Ulyanovsk region, in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, Bashkortostan, Tyumen, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Penza regions and in other subjects of the state.

Most Tatars are Sunni Muslims. Various groups Tatars have linguistic differences, and also differ from each other in traditions and way of life. Their language belongs to the Turkic languages ​​of the Altai family; it has three dialects: Mishar (western), Kazan (middle), Siberian-Tatar (eastern). In the Republic of Tatarstan Tatar language is official.

The ethnonym “Tatars” appeared back in the 6th century among the Turkic tribes who called themselves that. After the conquest by the Golden Horde in the 13th century. the name spreads and already denotes the Mongols and the tribes conquered by them. Later the term was used in relation to nomads Mongolian origin. Having settled in the Volga region, these tribes called themselves Meselmans, Mishers, Bolgrs, Kazanls, etc., until in the 19th century they consolidated under the definition of “Tatars”.

Ukrainians

One of the East Slavic peoples, Ukrainians, lives mainly in the territory of the state of Ukraine, where its population is about 41 million people. Large Ukrainian diasporas are located in Russia, the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and other countries.

Including labor immigrants, approximately 5 million Ukrainians live in Russia. Most live in cities. Large centers of settlement of this ethnic group are located in Moscow and the Moscow region, Tyumen, Rostov, Omsk regions, in the Primorsky and Krasnodar territories, the Yamalo-Nenets district, etc.

The history of the peoples of Russia is not the same. Large-scale settlement Russian territories Ukrainians began during the existence of the empire. IN XVI-XVII centuries, according to the royal decree, Cossacks, gunners, archers from Ukraine and the Don were sent to Siberia and Far East for land development. Later, peasants, townspeople, and representatives of the Cossack elders were exiled to them.

The intelligentsia moved to St. Petersburg of their own free will at a time when the city was the capital Russian Empire. Currently, Ukrainians represent the largest number of ethnic group after the Russians.

Bashkirs

The fourth largest people in Russia are the Bashkirs. The vast majority live in the Republic of Bashkortostan. They also inhabit the Tyumen, Kurgan, and Orenburg regions. The Bashkir language belongs to the Altai family and is divided into a southern and eastern dialect and several dialects.

According to anthropological characteristics, the people belong to the Subural and South Siberian (among the Eastern Bashkirs) racial types. They represent Caucasians with a share of Mongoloidity. By religious affiliation they are Sunni Muslims.

The origin is connected with the tribes of the Pechenegs (South Ural Bashkirs - Burzyans, Usergans), as well as the Cumans (Kypchaks, Kanlys) and the Volga Bulgars (Bulyars). Their ancestors inhabited the region of the Urals, Volga and Urals. The formation of the people was influenced by the Mongols and Tungus-Manchus.

Indigenous peoples

The country's indigenous population includes 48 peoples. They make up approximately 0.3% of the country's total population. About 12 of them are small and number less than a thousand people.

The small peoples of Russia predominantly inhabit the northern regions of the state, the Far East and Siberia. They often lead a traditional economy, engaging in reindeer herding, fishing, hunting and cattle breeding.

The largest indigenous people are the Nenets; they number almost 45 thousand people. They occupy the coastal zones of the Arctic Ocean and are divided into European and Asian. The people raise deer and live in chums - cone-shaped huts covered with birch bark and felt.

The Kereks have the smallest population and are represented by only four people according to the census. Half a century ago there were approximately 100 people. The main languages ​​for them are Chukchi and Russian, their native Kerek remained as a traditional passive language. In terms of their way of life and culture, they are similar to the Chukchi people, therefore they were subjected to assimilation with them.

Conclusion

Russia stretches for many kilometers from west to east, touching both the European and Asian parts of the continent. More than 190 peoples live on its vast territory. Russians are the most numerous and represent the country's titular nation.

Other large peoples are Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Avars, etc. Small indigenous peoples live in the state. The number of most of them does not exceed several thousand. The smallest are the Kereks, Enets, Ults, and Aleuts; they inhabit mainly the region of Siberia and the Far East.