What is the ethnic composition of the population definition. Racial, ethnic and national composition

Ethnic composition population is the result of a long historical process of mixing and relocation of representatives different races and ethnic groups.

Ethnicity (people)- a historically established community of people united by language, territory, economy, culture, traditions, and national identity. Concepts such as ethnicity, nation, people, nationality, tribe are very close.

Reference and literary sources contain various information about the number of ethnic groups (peoples). The most common value is from 2000 to 2500 peoples, but there is evidence of 3 - 5 thousand ethnic groups speaking 2 thousand languages ​​and 12 thousand dialects. Not all nations have their own “languages”. Naturally, with such a number of peoples, their classification is necessary. The most widespread groups of ethnic groups in the geography of the population are: by number; by language; territorial-geographical basis; by the nature of settlement; in terms of clarity of ethnic identity.

Classification carried out taking into account territorial characteristics is called geographical. Grouping people according to a geographical principle shows their spatial distribution and allows us to analyze the process of human settlement of the earth's surface and its individual regions.

Every nation has an ethnic territory where it constitutes the majority of the population. According to territorial (or geographical) criteria, peoples living on adjacent territories and having similar individual ethnic characteristics. Such territories are called historical-ethnic regions (Western Europe, Northern Europe, North Africa, etc.).

Geographical classification used more often when general reviews. Some peoples occupy a compact territory, others are dispersed (Jews, Tatars, Gypsies).

The classification of ethnic groups is carried out according to various signs, the main ones being numbers and language.

By number The peoples of the world are different. The bulk of the population is big nations(over 1 million each), and the largest (over 100 million each) account for more than 40% of the planet’s inhabitants (Table 2). Over half of the world's nations have fewer than 1,000 people each.

Table 2 - The largest nations of the world in 1999, million people.

Thus, the largest peoples in the world in terms of population include: the Chinese (1120 million people); Hindustani (219 million people); Americans USA (187 million people); Bengalis (176 million people); Russians (146 million people); Brazilians (137 million people); Japanese (123 million people).

The most widespread classification of peoples is based on the principle of their linguistic proximity: after all, the similarity of languages ​​speaks either about the genetic relatedness of peoples or about their long-term cultural contacts. Language is the most important distinguishing feature of an ethnic group.

By language peoples unite in language families, which in turn are divided into language groups. The following groups are distinguished: Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Celtic, Greek, Albanian, Indo-Aryan, Armenian, Nuristan, Hindi, Urdu.

In total, there are 26 language families in the world. The largest in number are 15 families.

The largest in number is the Indo-European family, whose languages ​​are spoken by 150 peoples (about 2.5 billion people). It includes the following groups: Slavic (Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Belarusians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats), Romanesque (French, Italians, Spaniards, Brazilians, Mexicans), Germanic (Germans, Dutch, Swedes, Norwegians, English, Americans USA, Anglo-Austrians), Iranian (Persians, Tajiks, Afghans, Kurds), Indo-Aryan (Hindustani, Bengalis, Nepalese), as well as Celtic, Albanian, Greek, Armenian and Nuristani.

The Sino-Tibetan language family is the second largest by population, the languages ​​of which are spoken mainly in China, Nepal, Bhutan (over 1 billion people). It includes the Chinese and Tibeto-Burman groups.

Of other language families, it should be noted: the Semitic-Hamitic family or Afroasiatic, Altai, Niger-Kordofanian, Khoisan and Nilo-Saharan, Uralic, Austronesian and others.

The most common languages ​​of the world include: Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, Hindi and Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Bengali, Japanese, German, Italian.

Language classification peoples differs significantly from the national one, since the distribution of languages ​​does not coincide with ethnic boundaries. For example, in the former colonies of Spain, Great Britain, France in Africa, Asia, Latin America speak the languages ​​of the metropolises.

By features national composition, Depending on whether ethnic and state borders coincide or not, the countries of the world are divided into single-national and multinational.

About half of the countries are single-national. These are countries whose state borders coincide with ethnic ones and the main nationality makes up 90% of the total population. They are most numerous in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Such countries include Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, most countries in Latin America, Africa (Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Madagascar, etc.);

Multinational are countries where several ethnic groups live within their state borders. They can be divided into four groups:

1. With a sharp predominance of one nation in the presence of more or less significant national minorities (Great Britain, France, Spain, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, USA, Australia);

2. Binational (Canada, Belgium);

3. With a complex but ethnically homogeneous national composition (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Laos);

4. With a complex and ethnically diverse national composition (Russia, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Switzerland, Indonesia).

Many peoples found themselves divided due to the discrepancy between state and ethnic borders. Thus, about 60% of Pashtuns (Afghans) live in Pakistan, the rest in Afghanistan; Kurds live compactly at the junction of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, Quechua Indians live in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina.

Features of the ethnic composition of the Republic of Belarus. Belarus is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state, where representatives of more than 100 nationalities live together with Belarusians (81.2% of the total population).

The people of Belarus as a socio-political community of a specific territory and state, since ancient times, have been a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional community of various ethnic groups, predominantly Slavic linguistic group. These are Belarusians, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians (in small numbers - Czechs, Slovaks); representatives of the Baltic linguistic group (respectively Lithuanians, Latvians, mainly Latgalians, and descendants of the Prussian-Yatvingian population); Semitic group (Jews); Turkic group(Tatars, Karaites); Germanic (Germans, Swedes), Romanesque (French, Italians), Finno-Ugric (Estonians) and Indo-Aryan (gypsies) groups are represented.

According to the 1999 population census, more than 1,142 thousand Russians live in Belarus (11.4% of the total population of the republic). Ethnic Russians have lived in Belarus throughout its history. The overwhelming majority of Russians are largely dissolved in the Belarusian ethnic environment, but they retain their national identity, including their self-name and language, and believers - their religion.

The Poles make up the next largest group of the population of Belarus (after the Russians) – 396 thousand people (3.9%). They have been living in the western lands of Belarus for several centuries. The nature of settlement is generally dispersed, but the highest concentration of the Polish population is characteristic of the western regions of Grodno, Brest, Vitebsk and Minsk regions. Among the urban population, Poles make up about 5%, but in a number of cities in western Belarus (Grodno, Lida, Postavy, Oshmyany, Mosty, Voronovo, etc.) and in Minsk their share is much higher.

Ukrainians constitute the fourth largest group of the population of Belarus after Belarusians, Russians and Poles (as of January 1, 2000, 237 thousand people, or 2.4% of the population). The main influx of the Ukrainian population with a clearly defined self-awareness occurred in the 18th – 20th centuries. Its most numerous groups at the beginning of the 20th century. lived in Pinsk, Kobrin, Brest, Gomel, Rechitsa, Bobruisk and Bykhov districts. IN post-war years Mostly urban residents moved to Belarus - specialists in various fields of industry, officials, intellectuals, artists and cultural figures. The nature of the settlement of Ukrainians in Belarus is generally dispersed; there are compact areas in Pinsk, Kobrin, Brest, Stolin, Gomel and some other southern Polesie regions. By religion, the majority of residents who consider themselves Ukrainians are Orthodox, but there are also Catholics, Uniates and Protestants (Baptists, Pentecostals).

Jews constitute the fifth largest ethno-confessional group in Belarus (over 28 thousand people). Since the 1980s. their number has decreased significantly due to emigration to Israel and Western countries. Behind last years The intensity of migration has decreased significantly. The nature of settlement is dispersed, but with a predominance in cities and small urban-type settlements.

According to the 1989 census, there are about 7 thousand Lithuanians in Belarus. They have lived in Belarus for a long time, generally dispersed, there are villages with compact settlement (Ostrovetsky, Voronovsky districts of the Grodno region, Braslavsky district of the Vitebsk region). Lithuanians are significantly dissolved in the Belarusian or Belarusian-Polish ethnic environment.

About 3 million Belarusians and their descendants live outside of Belarus, most of all in Russia, Ukraine, the USA, Poland, as well as in Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Argentina. About 70% of the population of Belarus are city dwellers. The largest city in the country is the capital, Minsk, where about 24% of the urban population lives (more than 1.7 million people).

The Russian Federation is a multinational state. The largest people are Russians, whose number is four times greater than all other peoples inhabiting the country. According to the 2002 census, there are 115,889 thousand Russians, which is 79.8% of the total population. According to the results of the census, the list published by the Federal State Statistics Service contains 182 ethnic names, and in the 1989 census there were 128. This difference is not due to a change in the number of peoples, but to the use of new census methods. But even a modern census cannot provide an absolutely accurate picture of ethnic diversity. For a variety of reasons, some of the peoples are included in the census with distortions. It is difficult to rewrite small communities, as well as those groups whose names are similar to each other: Arabs and Central Asian Arabs (the latter, apparently, were partially rewritten simply as Arabs), Gypsies and Central Asian Gypsies (many Central Asian Gypsies called themselves Gypsies), Turks and Turks -Meskhetians (most Meskhetians called themselves simply Turks). The majority of Rusyns, apparently, called themselves Ukrainians during the census (this is more familiar to them, since the name “Rusyns” was not recognized in Soviet times). Perhaps the information on the number of Taz, Kamchadals, Kereks, as well as peoples of immigrant origin (Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Moldovans, Azerbaijanis, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) was also incomplete.

Sixteen small peoples of Dagestan (Andians, Botlikhs, Godoberins, Karatins, Akhvakhs, Bagulals, Chamalals, Tindals, Khvarshins, Didoys (Tsez), Ginukhs, Bezhta, Gunzibs, Archins, Kubachis, Kaytags) were counted in previous Soviet censuses as Avars and Dargins. In the 2002 All-Russian Population Census, these groups were counted separately, as well as together with the Avars and Dargins. Such calculations were carried out for the first time since the 1926 census. The large community of Kryashens, living mainly in Tatarstan, was also counted for the first time, and therefore inaccuracies were inevitable. The number of Kryashens is also included in the Tatars (in past censuses the Kryashens were recorded as Tatars).

The ethnic diversity of Russia is associated with linguistic diversity. Experts classify the languages ​​existing in Russia as belonging to the following language families: Indo-European, Uralic, or Ural-Yukaghir, Altai, North Caucasian, Kartvelian, Afroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Chukchi-Kamchatka, Austro-Asiatic, Eskimo-Aleutian and hypothetical Yenisei, including Ket language and several dead languages. In addition, one people - the Nivkhs - speaks an isolated language. This language, as well as the language of the Kets, the Chukchi-Kamchatka and Eskimo-Aleut languages, is usually conventionally combined into the Paleo-Asian group of languages. Sometimes the Yukaghir languages ​​are also included in this group, but here they are classified as part of the Uralic family of languages, which reflects the results of the latest linguistic research.

Indo-European language family

The largest language family in Russia is Indo-European. In Russia there are 8 of its branches: Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Romanesque, Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Indo-Aryan. The Slavic branch includes Russians, Ukrainians and Rusyns (together - 2,943 thousand people), Belarusians (808 thousand people), forming an East Slavic group with the Russians, Poles (73 thousand people), Czechs (3 thousand) and Slovaks (0.6 thousand), part of the West Slavic group, as well as Bulgarians (32 thousand) and Serbs (4 thousand), belonging to the South Slavic group. Collectively, Slavic peoples make up 82.5% of the country's population.

Out of 83 subjects Russian Federation Russians form an absolute majority in 78. Russians are a numerical minority only in Ingushetia (where they make up 1% - the lowest share in the entire federation), Chechnya (4%), Dagestan (5%). In several other regions, their share is less than half of the residents - in Tyva (20%), North Ossetia-Alania (23%), Kabardino-Balkaria (25%), Chuvashia (27%), Kalmykia (34%), Bashkortostan (36 %), Tatarstan (39%) and Mari El (47%). In two subjects of the federation, Russians, while not forming an absolute majority, still constitute a relative majority, since they are the largest people there (Mari El and Bashkortostan).

The Russian people include ethnic and ethnographic groups. The most famous of them - the Cossacks - is very original, since it represents an ethnic class formation that includes not only Russians (who are the vast majority), but also representatives of other peoples: Ukrainians, Kalmyks, Ossetians, Bashkirs, etc. Census materials indicate the preservation of the community in Russia Pomors and Mezenians close to them, although their number determined by the census is obviously lower than the actual one. Groups of so-called local Russians, or old-timers, have also survived in a number of regions of Siberia and Far East: Kerzhaks, masons, Ob, tundra peasants, Karyms, Semeisk, Yakuts, Lena, Indigirshchiks, Pokhodians, Kolyma, Russian-Ustinets. True, the total number of all these groups determined by the census is very small - only 269 people.

Ukrainians are the third largest people in the Russian Federation. They are mostly dispersed throughout Russia and, with rare exceptions, do not form compact habitats. The largest groups of Ukrainians live in the following subjects of the federation: Moscow (254 thousand), Tyumen region (211 thousand, including in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra - 123 thousand and Yamalo: Nenets Autonomous Okrug - 66 thousand) , Moscow region (148 thousand), Krasnodar region (132 thousand), Rostov region (118 thousand), Primorsky region (94 thousand), St. Petersburg (87 thousand), Omsk (78 thousand), Chelyabinsk (77 thousand), Orenburg (77 thousand), Voronezh (74 thousand) regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory (69 thousand), Saratov region (67 thousand), Komi Republic (62 thousand), Samara (61 thousand) ), Belgorod (58 thousand), Murmansk (57 thousand), Volgograd (56 thousand), Sverdlovsk (55 thousand) regions, Bashkortostan (55 thousand), Irkutsk region(54 thousand), Altai Territory (53 thousand).

Belarusians are equally dispersed throughout Russia. They live in Moscow (59 thousand), St. Petersburg (54 thousand), Kaliningrad (51 thousand), Moscow (42 thousand) regions, Karelia (38 thousand), Tyumen region (36 thousand) and in other places.

The two peoples of Russia belong to the Baltic (Leto-Lithuanian) branch of the Indo-European language family. These are Lithuanians (46 thousand) and Latvians (29 thousand). Together they make up 0.05% of the Russian population. Among the Latvians living in Russia (Siberia), there are Latgalians - an ethno-confessional group whose representatives profess predominantly Catholicism (most other Latvians are Lutherans). Latvians are settled throughout Russia in small groups (the largest group is in the Krasnoyarsk Territory - 4 thousand people), the largest number of Lithuanians is concentrated in the Kaliningrad region (14 thousand).

The Germanic linguistic branch includes Germans (597 thousand), Americans (1.3 thousand), British (0.5 thousand) and conditionally Ashkenazi Jews (230 thousand). The conditional nature of the inclusion of Jews in this group is due to the fact that Yiddish, which is close to the German language, was previously native to the vast majority of them, but now the majority of Russian Jews consider Russian to be their native language. Taken together, representatives of the German branch make up 0.6% of the Russian population. The largest number of Germans is in the Altai Territory (80 thousand) and the Omsk Region (76 thousand), where the German and Azov German national districts were created, respectively. There are also a lot of them in Novosibirsk (47 thousand), Kemerovo (36 thousand), Chelyabinsk (28 thousand), Tyumen (27 thousand), Sverdlovsk (23 thousand), Orenburg (18 thousand), Volgograd (17 thousand) .) regions, Krasnodar Territory (18 thousand). Among the Russian Germans there is an ethno-confessional group of Mennonites (Orenburg and Omsk regions, Altai region and other regions) and a territorially isolated group of golendras (Zalarinsky district of the Irkutsk region). Jews mostly live in Moscow (79 thousand) and St. Petersburg (37 thousand).

also in major cities Americans and British living in Russia are predominantly concentrated.

The Romance language branch in Russia is represented by Moldovans (172 thousand), Romanians (5 thousand), Spaniards (1.5 thousand), Cubans (0.7 thousand), Italians (0.9 thousand), French (0 ,8 thousand). In general, the peoples of this language family make up 0.1% of the Russian population and are concentrated mainly in large cities; Moldovans are also in rural areas. A significant number of Moldovans live in the Tyumen (18 thousand) and Rostov (8 thousand) regions, as well as in the Krasnodar Territory (7 thousand).

The Greek language branch includes only one people. Greeks (98 thousand, i.e. 0.07% of the Russian population) live primarily in the Stavropol (34 thousand) and Krasnodar (27 thousand) territories.

The Armenian branch unites Armenians with the Hemshils, who are close to them in origin, and who, unlike the Armenian Christians, profess Islam. The number of Armenians in Russia has grown greatly in the last two decades, and, according to the 2002 census, there are 1,130 thousand people. The largest number of Armenians is in the Krasnodar (275 thousand) and Stavropol (149 thousand) territories, the Rostov region (110 thousand), and also in Moscow (124 thousand). There are a significant number of Armenians in the Moscow (40 thousand), Volgograd (27 thousand), Saratov (25 thousand), Samara (22 thousand) regions, St. Petersburg (19 thousand), the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania (17 thousand), Republic of Adygea (15 thousand). There are very few Hemshils (1.5 thousand people), they are mainly concentrated in the Krasnodar Territory (1 thousand), as well as in Rostov and Voronezh regions. In general, 0.8% of the country’s total population belongs to the Armenian language branch.

The Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family in Russia includes Ossetians, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Persians, Central Asian Gypsies, Central Asian Jews, Mountain Jews, Tats, Talysh, Kurds, Yezidis. Ossetians (515 thousand people) are concentrated mainly in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (445 thousand), although there are a significant number of them in some other places: Moscow (11 thousand), the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (10 thousand). Ossetians are divided into two ethno-confessional groups: the Ironians, who mainly profess Orthodoxy, and the Digorians, who adhere to Islam (they live in the Digorsky and Irafsky regions of the republic). Between the 1989 and 2002 censuses. In Russia, the number of Pashtuns increased sharply, which was associated with the influx of refugees from Afghanistan into our country. According to the 2002 census, 10 thousand Pashtuns lived in Russia, 6 thousand of them in Moscow. Tajiks (120 thousand people) are dispersed throughout the country: in Moscow (35 thousand), Tyumen region (8 thousand) and a number of other places.

The majority speaks Tajik Central Asian gypsies. According to the 2002 census, there were 0.5 thousand of them, but their number probably should have been larger, since some of them, as noted, could call themselves simply Gypsies, and some avoided census registration altogether. Persians (4 thousand people) live mainly in the Republic of Dagestan (0.7 thousand), the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (0.5 thousand) and Moscow (0.7 thousand). The extreme small number of Central Asian (Bukharan) Jews (54 people) is most likely due to their undercounting, since during the census some of them could indicate themselves simply as Jews.

Mountain Jews (3 thousand people) live in the Republic of Dagestan (over 1 thousand), Moscow (about 1 thousand) and some other places. Perhaps some of them could call themselves Tatami, and some could simply call themselves Jews. Tats (2 thousand people), Muslims by religion, speak the same language with Mountain Jews, also live in Dagestan (0.8 thousand) and some other places. The Talysh (2.5 thousand people) live mainly in Moscow (0.5 thousand), St. Petersburg (0.3 thousand) and the Tyumen region (0.3 thousand). Probably their numbers are larger, since in Azerbaijan they tend to be classified as Azerbaijanis (and some of them could call themselves that).

Most significant groups There are Kurds (20 thousand people) in the Krasnodar Territory (5 thousand), the Republic of Adygea (4 thousand) and the Saratov Region (2 thousand). The Yezidis (31 thousand people) are settled very dispersedly; there are small groups of them in the Krasnodar Territory (4 thousand), Nizhny Novgorod (3 thousand) and Yaroslavl (3 thousand) regions. In total, the peoples speaking the languages ​​of the Iranian branch make up 0.5% of the total population in Russia.

The Indo-Aryan language branch includes gypsies (excluding Central Asians) and Indians living in Russia who speak Hindi. The number of Roma, according to the 2002 census, was 183 thousand people. Most of them are in the Stavropol Territory (19 thousand), Rostov Region (15 thousand) and Krasnodar Territory (11 thousand). As for Hindi-speaking Indians (5 thousand people), the bulk of them are concentrated in Moscow (about 3 thousand). In general, representatives of the Indo-Aryan branch make up 0.1% of the population in Russia.

The total number of peoples living in Russia belonging to the Indo-European language family is 84.7% of the country's population.

Ural-Yukaghir language family

The Ural-Yukaghir language family is represented in Russia by all three groups: Finno-Ugric, Samoyed and Yukaghir (some linguists do not recognize the existence of the Ural-Yukaghir family and consider the Uralic and Yukaghir families separately). The largest Finno-Ugric branch unites those living mainly in the north-west of Russia, the Volga region and Western Siberia Karelians, Finns, Izhorians, Vodians, Estonians, Vepsians, Sami, Mordovians, Mari, Udmurts, Besermyans, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Khanty, Mansi, Hungarians. There are 93 thousand people in Karel. Of these, 66 thousand live in the Republic of Karelia, 15 thousand - in the Tver region, the rest are dispersed throughout the country. Among the Karelians, two groups are distinguished by language and some elements of culture: Livviks and Ludics. The dialects of these groups are very different from the dialect of the bulk of Karelians, and some linguists consider them independent languages. Finns (34 thousand people) are represented in Russia mainly by a group of Ingrian Finns. The most significant groups of Finns in our country are in the Republic of Karelia (14 thousand), Leningrad region(8 thousand), also live in St. Petersburg (4 thousand). The small number of Izhorians (0.3 thousand people) are concentrated mainly in the Leningrad region (0.2 thousand), and also live in St. Petersburg (53 people).

Vod (73 people in total) live mainly in the Leningrad region (12 people), St. Petersburg (12 people) and Moscow (10 people). Estonians (28 thousand people) are dispersedly settled in Russia. Their groups are located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (4 thousand), Omsk Region (3 thousand), St. Petersburg (2 thousand), Leningrad (1 thousand) and Novosibirsk (1 thousand) regions, Moscow (1 thousand) , Krasnodar Territory (1 thousand), Pskov Region (1 thousand). The Setos, closely related to the Estonians, live in the Pskov region (197 people). Vepsians (8 thousand people) are settled in Karelia (5 thousand), Leningrad (2 thousand) and Vologda (0.4 thousand) regions. The Sami living in Russia (2 thousand), are mostly concentrated in the Murmansk region. The Sami dialects are very different from each other, and many linguists consider them to be different languages. Russian Sami are divided into four main groups: Skolt, Terek, Babinsky (the last representative died in 2003) and Kildinsky. The largest Finno-Ugric people - the Mordovians (843 thousand) - are settled very dispersedly, only a third of their total population is concentrated in the Republic of Mordovia (284 thousand). There are a significant number of Mordovians in Samara (86 thousand), Penza (71 thousand), Orenburg (52 thousand), Ulyanovsk (50 thousand) regions, Bashkortostan (26 thousand), Nizhny Novgorod region (25 thousand), Tatarstan (24 thousand), Moscow (23 thousand), Moscow (22 thousand), Chelyabinsk (18 thousand), Saratov (17 thousand) regions, Chuvash Republic (16 thousand). Mordva is divided into two groups: Erzya and Moksha, speaking closely related languages. The closest people to the Mordovians are the Mari (604 thousand). More than half of their total number (312 thousand) live in the Republic of Mari El. There is a large group of Mari (106 thousand) in Bashkortostan; they also live in the Kirov (39 thousand), Sverdlovsk (28 thousand) regions, and Tatarstan (19 thousand). The Mari, like the Mordovians, are divided into two groups: the meadow-eastern and mountain Mari, whose dialects are quite close, but still have two different literary forms. Another large Finno-Ugric people - the Udmurts (637 thousand people) - are concentrated mainly in the Udmurt Republic (461 thousand), also living in Perm region(26 thousand), Tatarstan (24 thousand), Bashkortostan (23 thousand), Kirov (18 thousand), Sverdlovsk (18 thousand) regions. The ethnographic division of the Udmurts into northern and southern has largely disappeared. The Udmurt language is also spoken by the Besermyans (3 thousand people). They are settled in the north of Udmurtia (along the Cheptse River) and in neighboring areas Kirov region. Two close peoples - the Komi (293 thousand people) and the Komi-Permyaks (125 thousand people) - are concentrated mainly within two subjects of the Federation - the Komi Republic and the Perm Territory (256 and 103 thousand people, respectively). Komi, otherwise called Komi-Zyryans, also inhabit the Tyumen region (11 thousand). The Komi-Zyryans, like the Komi-Permyaks, have different groups. The ethnographic group of Komi-Zyryans - Komi-Izhemtsy differ from most Komi in their main economic occupation (reindeer husbandry). The Izhma Komi people live in the northern regions of the Komi Republic (along the Pechora River and its tributary Izhma), in the Tyumen region (mainly in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra), as well as in the Murmansk region. Among the Komi-Permyaks, the Komi-Yazva people stand out (they live in the Perm region, along the Yazva River) and the Komi-Zyuzda people (settled in the Afanasyevsky district of the Kirov region). The Khanty (29 thousand people) and Mansi (11 thousand people) are predominantly settled within the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra (17 and 10 thousand, respectively). A noticeable group of Khanty (9 thousand) also lives in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Khanty language is divided into a number of dialects, mutual understanding between which is difficult. Literature has been created in several dialects of this language (Kazym, Shuryshkar, Central Ob). In terms of language, the Hungarians (4 thousand) are close to the Khanty and Mansi, but are not found in significant numbers anywhere in Russia. Taken together, the peoples of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Ural-Yukaghir language family form, according to the 2002 census, about 1.9% of the Russian population.

The Finno-Ugric branch is significantly inferior in number to the second branch of the Ural-Yukaghir language family - Samoyed. It includes the Nenets, Enets, Nganasans and Selkups. The Nenets (41 thousand people) live mainly in two autonomous okrugs: Yamalo-Nenets (26 thousand) and Nenets (8 thousand). Enets (0.2 thousand) are settled mainly in Taimyr. Nganasans (0.8 thousand people) mostly live there. The Selkups (4 thousand people) live mainly in two territorially separated regions: the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (about 2 thousand) and the Tomsk Region (about 2 thousand). The peoples of the Samoyed branch of the Ural-Yukaghir language family together make up only 0.03% of the Russian population.

The Yukaghir language branch is even smaller in number, to which only two peoples can be classified, and even then one of them is conditional: the Yukaghirs (1.5 thousand) and the Chuvans (1.1 thousand).

The fact is that the Chuvans used to speak a language close to Yukaghir, but they lost it, and one part of them now speaks Russian, and the other speaks Chukotka.

The Yukaghirs themselves speak two very different, poorly mutually intelligible dialects, which some linguists consider to be separate languages ​​- Northern Yukagir (Tundra) and South Yukaghir (Kolyma). The bulk of the Yukaghirs (1.1 thousand people) live in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Chuvans are concentrated in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (about 1 thousand). The two peoples of the Yukaghir branch of the Ural-Yukaghir language family make up only 0.002% of the Russian population. In general, the Ural-Yukaghir family covers more than 1.9% of the country's population.

Altaic language family

The Altai language family is sometimes related to the Ural-Yukaghir language family. However, some linguists question the very existence of the latter, believing that the Altai languages ​​do not form a family, but a “linguistic union”, and believing that the similarity of these languages ​​is due not to the presence of common roots, but to long-term mutual influence. This family is divided into 5 branches: Turkic, Mongolian, Tungus-Manchu, Korean, Japanese (Korean and Japanese languages a number of linguists in Altai family are not included and are considered isolated).

The most numerous of the named branches is Turkic. In Russia it includes the Chuvash, Tatars, Kryashens, Nagaibaks, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Nogais, Kumyks, Karachais, Balkars, Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks, Karaites, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Meskhetian Turks, Gagauz, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Uighurs, Kirghiz, Altaians, Telengits, Teleuts, Tubalars, Chelkans, Kumandins, Chulyms, Shors, Khakassians, Tuvans, Tofalars, Soyots, Yakuts, Dolgans.

More than half of the Chuvash (their total number is 1,637 thousand people) live in the Chuvash Republic (889 thousand), there are large groups of them in Tatarstan (127 thousand), Bashkortostan (117 thousand), Ulyanovsk (111 thousand) and Samara (101 thousand) regions. 30 thousand Chuvash live in the Tyumen region (half in the Khanty: Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra). The division of the Chuvash into three groups - Viryal in the north and northwest, Anat Enchi in the northeast and center, Anatri in the south - is now poorly traced. Tatars (5,555 thousand) are dispersed throughout the country. Only a little more than a third of them (2 million) live in the Republic of Tatarstan. 991 thousand Tatars live in Bashkortostan, they are also settled in Tyumen (242 thousand), Chelyabinsk (205 thousand), Ulyanovsk (169 thousand), Sverdlovsk (168 thousand) regions, Moscow (166 thousand), Orenburg region (166 thousand), Perm region (137 thousand), Samara region(128 thousand), Udmurtia (109 thousand), Penza (87 thousand), Astrakhan (71 thousand), Saratov (58 thousand), Moscow (53 thousand), Kemerovo (51 thousand) regions. The majority of Siberian Tatars are concentrated in the Tyumen region. They are divided into a number of groups: Tyumen-Turin, Yaskolbinsk (swamp), Tobolsk, Tevriz, Tara Tatars, Barabinsk, Kalmaks, Chats, Eushta. Another group of Tatars, which is also sometimes considered a separate people, are the Astrakhan Tatars. They are concentrated mainly in the Astrakhan region (Kharabalinsky, Volga, Narimanovsky, Krasnoyarsk, Volodarsky districts). A small number of Astrakhan Tatars live in the Caspian region of Kalmykia. Astrakhan Tatars are divided into groups: Yurt, Kundrovtsy, Karagash (the latter consider themselves Nogais rather than Tatars), Alabugat, etc. The two most numerous groups Volga Tatars- Kazan Tatars and Mishars, who differ from the Kazan Tatars in their language and culture. The Mishars generally live somewhat to the west of the Kazan Tatars, in a number of regions of Tatarstan (Chistopol, etc.), as well as in the Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Penza, Saratov regions, Mordovia, Chuvashia and Bashkortostan.

The bulk of the Kryashens are concentrated in Tatarstan (Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny, Zainsky, Mamadyshsky, Nizhnekamsky, Kukmorsky, Kaybitsky, Pestrechensky and other regions), but they also live in Bashkortostan (mainly in the Bakalinsky district), Udmurtia (mainly in the Grakhovsky district), Mari El (in Mari: Tureksky district), Kirov region (in Kilmezsky district) and other places. People close to the Kryashens - the Nagaibaks (about 10 thousand people) - also speak a dialect Tatar language. Almost all Nagaibaks live in the Chelyabinsk region (over 9 thousand), mainly in the Nagaybatsky and Chebarkul regions.

The largest people of the Turkic branch of the Altai language family are the Bashkirs (1,673 thousand people). The Bashkirs are not as dispersed as the Tatars. There are 1,221 thousand Bashkirs living in the Republic of Bashkortostan (more than three-quarters of their total number). There are significant groups of Bashkirs in the Chelyabinsk (166 thousand), Orenburg (53 thousand), Tyumen (47 thousand, including in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra - 36 thousand) regions, Perm Territory (41 thousand), Sverdlovsk region (37 thousand).

Kazakhs (654 thousand people) are settled in those regions of Russia that are adjacent to Kazakhstan: Astrakhan (143 thousand), Orenburg (126 thousand), Omsk (82 thousand). Volgogradskaya (45 thousand), etc.

Among the Kazakhs, three very small groups are distinguished - the Russified Turatin and Steppe, as well as the Kosh-Agach. Turat Kazakhs, or in other words - baptized Kazakhs, live in the Altai Republic (Ust-Kansky district). Steppe Kazakhs according to the 2002 census in the Altai Territory,

where they previously lived has not been identified. Kosh-Agach Kazakhs are compactly settled in the region of the same name (numerically dominating the local Altaians), as well as in the Ulagansky region of the Altai Republic. The Karakalpaks (1.6 thousand) who are close to the Kazakhs live mainly in the border regions - Volgograd, Saratov, and Orenburg.

The Karachais (192.2 thousand) live mainly in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (169.2 thousand) and the Stavropol Territory (15.1 thousand). The Balkars (108 thousand people) who speak the same language live in Kabardino-Balkaria.

The Nogais (91 thousand people) are settled in several regions that are territorially separated from each other: Dagestan (38 thousand), Stavropol Territory (21 thousand), Karachay-Cherkessia (15 thousand), etc. Kumyks (422 thousand people) are concentrated mainly in Dagestan (366 thousand), there are also in North Ossetia - Alania (13 thousand) and the Tyumen region (12 thousand, including in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra - 10 thousand). Crimean Tatars currently live in Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory (about 3 thousand). The Krymchaks, similar in language to them (157 people), professing Judaism, after most of them left for Israel, remained in small groups in the Krasnodar Territory (32 people), Moscow and the Moscow Region (36 people), St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region ( 21 people) and in some other places. There are few Karaites left in Russia (366 people, including 117 in Moscow and 53 in St. Petersburg).

Azerbaijanis (622 thousand people) are spread throughout Russia very widely; there are significant groups of them in Dagestan (112 thousand), Moscow (96 thousand), Tyumen region (42 thousand, including in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra - 25 thousand), in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (19 thousand), St. Petersburg (17 thousand), Rostov (16 thousand), Saratov (16 thousand), Sverdlovsk (15 thousand) regions, Stavropol Territory ( 15 thousand), Samara (15 thousand), Moscow (15 thousand), Volgograd (14 thousand) regions, Krasnodar Territory (12 thousand). Due to the active migration influx of Azerbaijanis in the Russian Federation, there is much more than the 2002 census showed. Turks and Meskhetian Turks are close to the Azerbaijanis in language (according to the 2002 census, 92 thousand and 3.3 thousand people, respectively) . According to the census, the most significant groups of Turks live in the North Caucasus: in the Krasnodar (13 thousand) and Stavropol (7 thousand) territories, Kabardino-Balkaria (9 thousand).

The Gagauz (12 thousand people) are also distributed throughout Russia, mostly dispersed. The largest number of Gagauz people in Russia live in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra (1.6 thousand people) and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (0.9 thousand), in Moscow and the Moscow region (1.7 thousand) .

Turkmen in Russia - 33 thousand. Among them, a compact rural group in the Stavropol region stands out, the so-called Stavropol Turkmen, or Trukhmen, of whom there are 14 thousand people. 3.5 thousand Turkmen also live in Moscow and 2.1 thousand in the Astrakhan region. Uzbeks (123 thousand) are widely settled in Russia, the most significant groups are in Moscow and the Moscow region (28.5 thousand), Samara region (5.5 thousand), Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra (5.2 thousand .), Bashkortostan (5.1 thousand) and Tatarstan (4.9 thousand). The Uighurs close to them (3 thousand people, including 2 thousand in Moscow and the Moscow region) do not form large groups anywhere. The Kyrgyz are also dispersed throughout Russia (32 thousand people), the most noticeable groups of which are in Moscow (4 thousand), Krasnoyarsk Territory (4 thousand) and Tyumen Region (3 thousand).

The 2002 census takes into account the Altai peoples who united in previous censuses under the name of Altaians, living mainly in the Altai Republic and neighboring regions: Altaians themselves, or Altai-Kizhi (67 thousand), Telengits (2.4 thousand), Teleuts (2 .6 thousand), Tubalars (1.6 thousand), Chelkans (0.9 thousand) and Kumandins (3.1 thousand). The Altai-Kizhi are concentrated in the Altai Republic (62 thousand), almost all Telengits, Tubalars and Chelkans are also in the Altai Republic, the vast majority of Teleuts are in Kemerovo region(mainly in the Belovsky district), Kumandins - in the Altai Territory, the Altai Republic and the Kemerovo region. The Chulyms (0.7 thousand), who were included in the Tatars or Khakasses, were not previously distinguished. The Chulym people are settled along the Chulym River (where their name comes from) in the Tomsk region (0.5 thousand) and Krasnoyarsk Territory (about 0.2 thousand). Another small Turkic-speaking people - the Shors (14 thousand) - live in the neighboring Kemerovo region (about 12 thousand), mainly in the area known as Mountain Shoria. 1 thousand Shors live in Khakassia. Khakassians (76 thousand) are settled mainly in the Republic of Khakassia (65 thousand), where they make up 12% of the population. The former division of the Khakass into four or five groups - Kyzyls, Kachins, Sagais, Koibals, and sometimes also Beltirs - has largely been erased, although most Khakass still remember which group they belong to. More than 4 thousand Khakass live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, another 1 thousand are settled in neighboring Tyva. The Tuvans themselves (243 thousand people) are overwhelmingly concentrated in the Republic of Tyva (235 thousand), where they form about 4/5 of the population. In terms of their economic and cultural way of life, the Tuvans-Todzha are distinguished, living mainly in the Todzha region of the republic. Close to the Tuvans are the Tofalars (0.8 thousand people), concentrated mainly in the Irkutsk region (0.7 thousand), mainly in the Nizhneudinsky district. Sometimes the Soyots (2.8 thousand people), who in the past spoke Turkic language, but now switched to the Buryat language. The Soyots are compactly settled in the Okinsky district of Buryatia.

Yakuts (444 thousand people) - one of the most significant in number Turkic-speaking peoples Russia - almost exclusively (97%) are concentrated in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and make up about half of the population there. The Dolgans (7 thousand people), speaking a language very close to Yakut, are concentrated mainly in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (about 6 thousand), and, above all, in the former Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug (now a municipal district ), mainly in the Khatanga and Dudinsky districts. They also exist in the Anabar region of Yakutia. In general, the peoples of the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family make up 8.4% of the population of all of Russia.

The Mongolian branch of the Altai language family is represented in Russia by the Buryats, Kalmyks and Mongols. Buryats (445 thousand people) live mainly in the Republic of Buryatia (273 thousand), the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug of the Trans-Baikal Territory (45 thousand) and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug of the Irkutsk Region (54 thousand). In addition, there are a significant number of Buryats in the Irkutsk region and Trans-Baikal Territory outside these autonomous okrugs (27 thousand and 25 thousand, respectively). In the Republic of Buryatia and the Aginsky District, the Buryats make up approximately 3/5 of the population; in the Ust-Ordynsky District they do not form a majority, being inferior in number to the Russians. Kalmyks (174 thousand people) are concentrated mainly in the Republic of Kalmykia (156 thousand, i.e. 90% of all Kalmyks). 7 thousand Kalmyks live in the Astrakhan region, mainly in the areas adjacent to Kalmykia. Kalmyks are divided into several groups: large Derbets, small Derbets, Torguts, Khoshuts, Buzavs (Don Kalmyks). Mongols (2.7 thousand people) are dispersed in Russia: in Moscow (0.5 thousand), Irkutsk region (0.5 thousand), Buryatia (0.3 thousand) and other places. 0.4% of the Russian population belongs to the Mongolian language branch.

The Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altai language family in the Russian Federation includes the Evenks, Evens, Negidals, Nanais, Ulchi, Uilta, Orochi, Udege and (conditionally) Tazy. The largest of the listed peoples are the Evenks (36 thousand people). Only a small part of them (1/10) is concentrated in the former Evenki Autonomous Okrug (now a region of the Krasnoyarsk Territory) (3.8 thousand). Half of all Evenks (18 thousand) live in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Evenks are also settled in the Khabarovsk Territory (4.5 thousand), Buryatia (2.3 thousand), Amur (1.5 thousand), Irkutsk (1.4 thousand) regions and other places. Evens (19 thousand people) live in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (2.5 thousand), in particular in the Eveno-Bytantaysky national region, as well as in the Kamchatka Territory (1.8 thousand), Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (1 .4 thousand), Khabarovsk Territory (1.3 thousand). The Negidals (0.6 thousand people) are concentrated mainly in the Khabarovsk Territory (0.5 thousand), along the Amgun River. The overwhelming majority (90%) of the Nanais (12 thousand people) live in the Khabarovsk Territory (11 thousand), mainly along the Amur River. There are small groups of Nanais in the Primorsky Territory (0.4 thousand) and the Sakhalin Region (0.2 thousand). Ulchi (2.9 thousand people) are settled mainly in the Ulchi district Khabarovsk Territory(2.7 thousand). Uilta, or, in other words, Oroks (0.3 thousand people), live in the Sakhalin region. Orochi (0.7 thousand people) live in the Khabarovsk Territory (0.4 thousand), in the Vaninsky, Komsomolsky and Sovetsko-Gavansky districts. The Udege (1.7 thousand people) are settled in the Primorsky (0.9 thousand) and Khabarovsk (0.6 thousand) territories. The Tazy (0.3 thousand people) - of mixed origin, previously spoke the Nanai and Udege languages, but later switched to Chinese and then to Russian - now mainly live in the Primorsky Territory, in the village of Mikhailovka, Olginsky district.

Koreans (149 thousand people, 0.1% of the country's population) form a separate Korean branch of the Altai language family. Largest number There are Koreans in Russia in the Sakhalin region (30 thousand), they also live in the Primorsky Territory (18 thousand), Rostov Region (12 thousand), Khabarovsk Territory (10 thousand), Moscow (9 thousand), Stavropol Territory (7 thousand), Volgograd region (6 thousand), Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (5 thousand) and other places. Like the Korean language branch, which is formed by one people, the Japanese branch consists of only Japanese (0.8 thousand people in Russia).

There are very few Japanese in Russia; they mainly live in the Sakhalin region (0.3 thousand) and Moscow (0.2 thousand). In general, 9% of the Russian population belongs to the Altaic language family.

North Caucasian language family

The third largest (after Indo-European and Altaic) language family is North Caucasian, divided into two branches: Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan. The Abkhaz-Adyghe branch unites Abkhazians, Abazas, Kabardians, Circassians, Adygeis and Shapsugs. Abkhazians live mainly in Abkhazia, but there are few of them in Russia (11 thousand people). They are distributed dispersedly in the Russian Federation and do not form compact habitats anywhere. Most of all Abkhazians are in Moscow (4 thousand) and Krasnodar Territory (2 thousand). The Abazins (38 thousand people) are close to the Abkhazians in language, mainly living in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (32 thousand people). Four closely related peoples - Kabardians, Circassians, Adygeans and Shapsugs - are sometimes called by the common name Adygs. The largest of them - Kabardians (520 thousand people) - mainly live in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (499 thousand, i.e. 96% of their total number). There are noticeable groups of Kabardians in the Stavropol Territory (7 thousand) and North Ossetia-Alania (3 thousand). Among the Kabardians, there is a group of Mozdok Kabardians who live in the Mozdok region of North Ossetia-Alania and profess Christianity, unlike the majority of Kabardians who adhere to Islam. Speaking the same Kabardian-Circassian language as the Kabardians, the Circassians (61 thousand people) live mainly in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (50 thousand people). 4 thousand Circassians are settled in the Krasnodar region. Adygeans (129 thousand people) live mainly in the Republic of Adygea (108 thousand) and make up 24% of the population. The small Shapsug people (3 thousand people) are almost entirely concentrated in the Krasnodar Territory, in the Tuapse and Lazarevsky districts. The peoples of the Abkhaz-Adyghe branch make up 0.5% of the population of our country.

The second branch of the North Caucasian language family - Nakh-Dagestan - unites Chechens, Ingush, Avars, 13 Andocesian peoples, as well as Archins, Laks, Dargins, Kubachi, Kaytags, Tabasarans, Lezgins, Aguls, Rutuls, Tsakhurs, Udins. The largest of these peoples are the Chechens (1,360 thousand people), who mostly live in Chechen Republic(1,032 thousand), there are also noticeable groups of Chechens in Ingushetia (95 thousand), Dagestan (88 thousand), Rostov region (15 thousand), Moscow (14 thousand), Stavropol Territory (13 thousand), Volgograd (12 thousand), Tyumen (11 thousand), Astrakhan (10 thousand) regions. The Chechens of Dagestan form a group of Akkintsy (Aukhovtsy), inhabiting mainly the Novolaksky, Kazbekovsky, Khasavyurt and Babayurt districts of the republic. The Ingush (413 thousand people) are settled mainly in the Republic of Ingushetia (361 thousand). The most visible group of Ingush outside the republic lives in North Ossetia-Alania (21 thousand).

Indigenous Dagestan peoples are concentrated mainly in the Republic of Dagestan. There are 814 thousand Avars, including Ando-Tsez and Archin people in Russia. Of these, 758 thousand are in Dagestan. The number of the second largest people of Dagestan - the Dargins - is 489 thousand. Like other Dagestan peoples, the Dargins live mainly on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan (405 thousand). There is a noticeable group of them in the Stavropol Territory (40 thousand). As for the number of Kubachi and Kaitag residents, according to some Dagestan scientists, there are 4 thousand and 17 thousand people, respectively, although the 2002 census counted much less. Another 6 peoples are settled primarily in Dagestan. These are Laks (157 thousand people in Russia, of which 140 thousand are in Dagestan), Tabasarans (132 and 110 thousand, respectively), Lezgins (412 and 337 thousand), Aguls (28 and 23 thousand), Rutuls ( 30 and 24 thousand), Tsakhur (10 and 8 thousand). There are noticeable groups of Tabasarans (5 thousand) and Lezgins (7 thousand) in the Stavropol Territory. Lezgins also live in the Tyumen (11 thousand, including in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra - 9 thousand) and Saratov (5 thousand) regions.

The Nakh-Dagestan group also includes the Udins (there are 3.7 thousand of them in Russia). There are groups of Udins in the Rostov region (1.6 thousand) and Krasnodar region (0.8 thousand). The Udins also live outside of Russia - in Azerbaijan and Georgia, as do the Lezgins and Tsakhurs, many of whom are settled in the regions of Azerbaijan bordering Russia. 2.7% of the population of the Russian Federation belongs to the Nakh-Dagestan language branch. In general, 3.2% of the country’s residents belong to the North Caucasian family.

Scientists conventionally call 10 peoples of Russia Paleo-Asian. These are probably the descendants of the most ancient, pre-Tungusic population of Eastern Eurasia. Of these, only 5 peoples of the Chukotka-Kamchatka language family speak related languages. Some linguists also distinguish the Yenisei and Eskimo-Aleut language families, but this division is not generally accepted. The Chukchi-Kamchatka family includes the Chukchi, Koryaks, Kereks, who form the Chukchi-Koryak language branch, and the Itelmens and Kamchadals, who form the Itelmen language branch. The most numerous of them are the Chukchi (16 thousand people), who are settled within the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (13 thousand). In addition, 1.5 thousand Chukchi live in the neighboring Kamchatka Territory. Koryaks (9 thousand people) are also settled mainly within the Kamchatka Territory (7 thousand). There are Koryaks in the neighboring Magadan region (0.9 thousand people). Among the Koryaks, there is a group of Alyutors (number, according to one estimate, about 3 thousand people, while the census counted only 12 people), living mainly along the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Isthmus.

Some ethnologists consider the Alyutor people to be an independent people. Kereks related to the Koryaks (8 people) - the smallest indigenous people of Russia - lived in the village of Maino-Pilgino, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Now most of them have dispersed to different regions of our country, and only 3 people remain in Chukotka. The Itelmen branch of the Chukchi-Kamchatka language family includes the Itelmens (3.2 thousand people). They live mainly in the Kamchatka Territory (2.3 thousand), and half of them are settled in the territory of the former Koryak Autonomous Okrug. 0.6 thousand Itelmen live within the neighboring Magadan region. As for the Kamchadals (2.3 thousand people), they can be attributed to the Itelmen branch, and to the entire Chukchi-Kamchatka language family conditionally, since this people, formed as a result of the mixing of Russians and Itelmens, now speaks Russian language. The vast majority of Kamchadals (1.9 thousand people) are concentrated in the Kamchatka Territory, 0.3 thousand live in the Magadan Region. There are 1.8 thousand Eskimos in Russia. Russian Eskimos live mainly in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (1.5 thousand). They are divided into three groups (Naukans, Chaplins and Sirenikis), whose languages ​​are very different from each other. The Naukans live in the city of Anadyr, as well as in the villages of Lorino, Lavrentiya and Uelen in the northeast of the Chukotka Peninsula, the Chaplinians live in the villages of New Chaplino, Sireniki, Provedeniya and Uelkal in the southeast of the Chukotka Peninsula, the Sireniki people live in the village of Sireniki (their language has almost disappeared) .

Aleuts (0.5 thousand people) live in the Kamchatka region (0.4 thousand), mainly on the Commander Islands. Russian Aleuts are divided into two groups: Beringians and Mednovites. The Bering people are concentrated in the village of Nikolskoye on Bering Island (one of the Commander Islands). Nowadays their Aleut language has almost disappeared, and the vast majority of them speak Russian. The second group of Russian Aleuts - Mednovtsy - until the end of the 1960s. lived on Medny Island (Commander Islands), in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Then they were resettled to the village of Nikolskoye on Bering Island, where Bering Aleuts and Russians live. The Mednovites can be included in the Aleut group only conditionally, since they did not speak one of the Aleut languages, but a kind of “mixed” language, formed as a result of mixing a number of Aleut dialects with the Russian language. Now this language, like the Bering language, has almost disappeared, and the majority of Mednovites speak Russian.

The Kets (1.5 thousand people), which some linguists attribute to the hypothetical Yenisei language family, are settled mainly in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (1.2 thousand) along the Yenisei River. The extremely small yugas (19 people) are not compactly settled anywhere: in their old place of residence in the village of Vorogovo, Krasnoyarsk Territory, only three people remained, the rest dispersed to different settlements in Russia. Nivkhov in Russia 5 thousand people. They live in the Khabarovsk Territory (2.5 thousand) and the Sakhalin Region (2.4 thousand).

Kartvelian language family

Georgians (198 thousand people) and Georgian Jews (53 people) form the Kartvelian language family. In Russia, Georgians are dispersedly settled. There are most of them in Moscow (54 thousand), Krasnodar Territory (20 thousand), the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania (11 thousand), Rostov Region (11 thousand), St. Petersburg (10 thousand), Moscow Region ( 10 thousand), Stavropol Territory (9 thousand). Georgians also include a number of groups that some scientists recognize as separate peoples - Mingrelians, Laz, Svans, Adjarians, Ingiloys.

Afroasiatic language family

Among the small families in Russia is the Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic) language family, to which the Arabs, Central Asian Arabs (conditionally) and Assyrians belong. During the census, about 11 thousand Arabs were counted. Apparently, there are somewhat fewer of them, since they included part of the Central Asian Arabs, who, on the contrary, are actually more numerous than the census showed (less than 0.2 thousand people). The majority of Arabs are in Moscow (3 thousand) and the Rostov region (2 thousand); Central Asian Arabs live in small groups throughout the country. Assyrians (total number - 14 thousand people), as well as Arabs, most of all in Moscow (about 4 thousand)

Sino-Tibetan language family

The Sino-Tibetan language family is represented in Russia by the Chinese and Dungans. Dungans speak one of the dialects Chinese language, but unlike the Chinese they profess Islam. According to the 2002 census, there are only 35 thousand Chinese in Russia, but not all of them were counted during the census. Most of the Chinese are in Moscow (13 thousand people), in the Primorsky (4 thousand) and Khabarovsk (4 thousand) territories, Sverdlovsk (2 thousand), Irkutsk (1 thousand) and Rostov (1 thousand) regions , St. Petersburg (1 thousand people) and other regions. As for the Dungans, representatives of this people in our country are very small in number (0.8 thousand people) and do not form compact areas anywhere. The most noticeable group is in Ingushetia (0.2 thousand).

Austroasiatic language family

There are also representatives of the Austroasiatic family in Russia; these are the Vietnamese living in our country, whose numbers have increased noticeably in recent years. The census recorded slightly more than 26 thousand Vietnamese. The majority of Vietnamese (about 16 thousand people) are concentrated in Moscow.

Racial composition of Russia. Human races(Ch. r.) are collections of populations, i.e., territorial communities of people, within which marriages take place over many generations much more often than with persons of other communities. Ch.r. are in a state of dynamic equilibrium, change in space and time and at the same time have a certain genetically determined stability. For all basic morphological, physiological and psychological characteristics similarities between all Ch. r. is large, and the existing differences do not relate to the biologically most important features structure and functions of the human body and are manifested in a relatively small number of signs. Fully viable and fertile offspring are born from marriages between representatives of any race. The complete biological and socio-cultural usefulness of mixed groups has been proven, which serves as proof of the anti-scientific essence of various racist theories.

The concept of division is widely accepted modern humanity into three races: “black”, “white” and “yellow”. However, skin color is not the only, and in some cases not the main feature for distinguishing races. Scientists use a set of characteristics to make this distinction.

Currently, some scientists deny the existence of races. However, they leave aside the characterization of morphological racial differences and do not fully illuminate those problems that in the past became the basis for racist perversions of science. On the scale of the genus, the racial differences known to us are striking at the first acquaintance with the diversity of modern humanity.

Among the races modern people, belonging to the island. This subspecies of Homo sapiens sapiens is primarily distinguished by the largest divisions, usually called large races. These are Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid and Australoid. The population of Russia is represented by the first two large races. In the contact zone of large races there are a number of mixed racial types.

Caucasians in general have wavy or straight soft hair different shades, light or dark skin, a wide variety of iris colors (from brown to light gray and blue), strong development of tertiary hair, weak or medium protrusion of the cheekbones, slight protrusion of the jaws, a narrow protruding nose with a high bridge, thin or medium-thick lips. Caucasians are divided into three main groups or branches: southern - with dark skin, predominantly dark eyes and hair; northern - from fair skin, a significant proportion of gray and blue eyes, light brown and blond hair; intermediate, which is characterized by medium-intensive pigmentation. According to the color of the skin, hair and eyes, according to the structure of the facial skeleton and soft parts of the face, according to the proportions of the cerebral part of the skull, often expressed by the cephalic index, and according to some other characteristics, various races of the second order are distinguished among Caucasians.

To the east Within the boundaries of their range, Caucasians have been mixing with Mongoloids since ancient times. As a result of their early mixing, which probably began in the Mesolithic era (10-7 thousand years ago), the Ural race was formed in the north-west of Siberia and in the extreme east of Europe, which is characterized by a combination of intermediate Mongoloid-Caucasian features with some specific features. The laponoid race is close to the Ural race in many ways. Some anthropologists combine these races into one - the Ural-Laponoid races, the features of which are also expressed in a less dramatic form among some Volga peoples.

Ethnic and National composition population of the Russian Federation

* For the category “Avars” the figure is given without taking into account the number of Ando-Tsez groups and Archins, and for the category “Dargins” - without taking into account the Kaitags and Kubachi people.** In 1989, the Ando-Tses and Archins were included in the Avars; The Dargins include the Kaitag and Kubachi people.

There was a decrease in Russians by 3%, and the share of the country's population decreased by 2%. The main reason for the decline is the low birth rate and high death rate. A secondary factor in the reduction is migration outflow. In general, migration plays a positive role, compensating for the decline in the Russian population. Additional source demographic replenishment is assimilation in favor of the Russian language and ethnic identity among other groups. In general, we can talk about the numerical stagnation of Russians with a tendency to decline due to demographic aging.

The census results once again confirmed that Russia is one of the most multinational states in the world.

National affiliation during the population survey was indicated in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation by the respondents themselves on the basis of self-determination and was recorded by census workers strictly from the words of the respondents. The census received more than 800 various options population's answers to questions about nationality, the spellings of which often differ from each other only due to the language dialect and accepted local self-names ethnic groups. When processing census materials, the population's answers about nationality were systematized into approximately 160 nationalities.

In 2002, there were 23 of the most numerous nationalities, the population of which exceeded 400 thousand people; in 1989, there were 17 such nationalities. Due to population growth, this group included Azerbaijanis, Kabardians, Dargins, Kumyks, Ingush, Lezgins and Yakuts, Jews dropped out due to population decline. As in 1989, the number of seven nations exceeds 1 million people, however, changes have occurred in the composition of this group: during the intercensal period, Chechens and Armenians entered the group, Belarusians and Mordovians left.

So, according to Goskomstat data:

The Russian population is still the largest(about 116 million people) and accounts for almost 80% of the total population. Compared to 1989, its share in the entire population of the country decreased by 1.7 percentage points. This happened mainly due to natural loss, amounting to almost 8 million people, which could not be compensated by the slightly more than three million migration increase of Russians.

Second largest population in the country, as with the previous census, occupied by Tatars, whose number is 5.56 million people (almost 4% of the country's population).

Due to emigration and natural decline, it decreased during the intercensal period number of Jews(from 0.54 million people to 0.23 million people) and Germans(from 0.84 million people to 0.60 million people).

Mainly due to migration growth, the number of Armenians(from 0.53 million people to 1.13 million people), Azerbaijanis(from 0.34 million people to 0.62 million people), Tajiks(from 0.04 million people to 0.12 million people), Chinese(from 5 thousand people to 35 thousand people).

First after the 1926 population census, the number of people who classified themselves as Kryashens(about 25 thousand people). Also, for the first time since the 1897 census, the number of persons who called themselves Cossacks(about 140 thousand people), and a number of small peoples of Dagestan.

From approximately 1.5 million people, which not filled in answer to the question on the census form about nationality, almost two thirds are living in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region.

Racial and ethnic (national) composition of the population

In resolving issues related to the justification of the location of productive forces, great importance has the study of the racial and ethnic (national) composition of the population, i.e. the ratio of representatives of individual races and peoples, their distribution, legal status, labor skills, etc.

All of humanity characteristic features appearance People are usually divided into three large races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Equatorial.

Representatives of the Caucasian race, constituting 47% of the total number of inhabitants of the Earth, to the great geographical discoveries lived in Europe, North Africa, the Near and Middle East and India, and later settled throughout the world. People of the Mongoloid race, constituting 37% of the world's population, live mainly in the Eastern and South-East Asia. The Mongoloid race also includes indigenous people America - Indians. Representatives of the equatorial, or Negro-Australoid, race (about 5% of the Earth's population) live mainly in Africa.

The rest of the planet's inhabitants (about 11-12%) belong to mixed and transitional racial groups, formed as a result of migrations and mixing of racial types.

Large races, in turn, are divided into so-called small races. For example, Caucasian is divided into northern, Baltic, Alpine and a number of other small races.

Human races-- a group of people connected by a common origin and external physical signs(skin color, hair type, facial features, etc.), formed in the distant past under the influence of the natural environment. These traits are mainly of an adaptive nature, acquired by humans as a result of adaptation to the conditions of the natural environment.

Nations(peoples, ethnic groups) were formed as society developed, usually from representatives of several small or large races.

The characteristic features of an established nation are: common territory, language, economic life, national culture, sense of patriotism.

Thus, peoples (ethnic groups) are groups of people united by the historically established unity of language, territory, economic life and culture, national identity. There are about 4 thousand peoples in the world, which can be classified according to various criteria, including size and language.

The numerous peoples (from 100 million or more people) include: Chinese - Han (representatives of the Han ethnic group live mainly in China and make up more than 95% of the population of this country), Hindustani (residents of India, make up about a quarter of the population of this country), Americans (USA), Bengalis (the main population of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal), Punjabis (mainly residents of Pakistan and the Indian state of Punjab), Biharis (residents of the Indian state of Bihar, Bangladesh, Nepal), Russians, Brazilians, Japanese, Mexicans, Javanese.

The number of most peoples is small - less than 1 million people.

The classification of peoples by language is based on the principle of their kinship, i.e., taking into account the relatedness of the origin of the language. On this basis, all peoples are united into linguistic families. There are about 20 such families in total. The most common of them is the Indo-European family, its languages ​​are spoken by almost half of all humanity. Included Indo-European family Slavic, Romance, Germanic, Celtic, Baltic and other language groups are distinguished. Sino-Tibetan, Altai, Uralic, Caucasian, Niger-Kordofanian, Semitic-Hamitic families of languages ​​are also widely spoken.

In accordance with the national composition of the population, all countries of the world are divided into single-national and multinational. In general, the world is dominated by multinational states, some of which are home to dozens and even hundreds of peoples. Representatives of such states can be India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, the USA, and most African countries. Examples of single-national states are Poland, Hungary, Germany (in Europe), Chile (in Latin America), Japan, Korea, Bangladesh (in Asia), Australia.

Ethnicity, nation is a historically stable community of people united common language, culture, traditions, identity, common territory where the nation was formed.

is a multinational country inhabited by 130 peoples, of which 78% are the Russian nation, numbering 116 million people. Among other large nations, with a population of more than 1 million people. - Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Chechens, Armenians. The population of other nations ranges from several hundred (small peoples of the Far North) to 1 million people. The number of nationalities numbering up to 10 thousand people in Russia is more than 60.

Among Russian nationalities about half are classified as “foreign”, i.e. having their own state entities outside Russia. These are representatives of the former republics of the USSR, as well as Germans, Koreans, Greeks and others (their total number is slightly more than 5 million people), and the largest group is Ukrainians. The indigenous peoples of Russia have different ethnic roots - Indo-European (including Slavic), Finno-Ugric, Turkic, Mongolian, Paleo-Asian, etc.

The following areas of residence of indigenous nations have formed in Russia. The area of ​​residence of the Russian people is the zone of the main economic development, stretching from west to east of Russia, with the majority of the population concentrated in Central and Southern Russia.

At the same time Russian population settled everywhere, throughout Russia. For - more than 20 million people live in. Russians, incl. in border areas and their share is 30–50%, about 2 million Russians live in non-CIS countries. Total number Russian nation in the world
is about 150 million people.

The main areas of residence of other peoples of Russia are:

• The Ural-Volga region, where the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mari El, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia are located, are adjacent to the Komi Republic and Komi-Permyak Republic from the north national district. The peoples of these republics have long lived in close proximity to each other and to the Russian population, so their settlements are mixed with each other and are often located outside the borders of their republics. Thus, less than 40% of the Tatars of Russia live on the territory of Tatarstan, the rest are settled from Moscow to the Yenisei. In many republics, the majority of the population is Russian. By religion they are mainly Orthodox and Muslim.
• The North Caucasus region includes the Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, Chechen, North Ossetian, Dagestan and Kalmyk republics. The history of these peoples was complex, both during the period Russian Empire, and in Soviet times, when a number of nations were during the Great Patriotic War deported - these are Balkars, Ingush, Chechens, . By religious affiliation they are Muslims, Kalmyks are Buddhists, and Orthodox.
• The Siberian region is home to several republics - Yakut, Buryat, Khakass, Tuva, Gorno-Altai. A common feature of the population is their Turkic and (among the Buryats) origins and their affiliation with the Orthodox, Buddhist religions and shamanism. These peoples are weakly assimilated by Russian culture, retain their traditions, occupations, way of life, and weakly mix with other peoples.
• The Far North is a region where about 30 small-numbered northern peoples, some of which have their own national districts - Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets, Khanty-Mansi, Evenki, Dolgano-Nenets (Taimyr), Chukotka, Koryak. Other peoples are either very scattered throughout the North (Evens) and the Far East, or are so small in number that they settle in several administrative regions, rural districts, and populated areas. By religion, they are mostly Orthodox and adherents of local beliefs.
• European northwest, most large people of which are those living in the Karelian Republic, as well as other small Finno-Ugric peoples - Vepsians, Sami, Izhorians, some of whom were assimilated by the Russian population.

The living of many peoples in close proximity to each other, with their own customs and traditions, poses a rather complex problem. At the same time, the country’s economy has a variety of forms economic activity, associated with the way of life and traditions of each people, is undoubtedly a blessing. It helps, for example, to conduct rational farming and develop resources in such harsh areas as tundra and forest-tundra, northern taiga and coast, semi-deserts and mountains.