The People

  1. The NENETS (Samoyeds, Yuraks, Nentsy) consist of 35,000 people who speak the Nenet language, which belongs to the Samoyedic group of the Uralic language family. The group lives in northern Russia from the Kola Peninsula in the west to the lower Yenisei River in the east, within the Nenets, Yamal-Nenets, and Taymyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous Districts.
  2. The NGANASANS (Tavgi, Samoyed Tavgi) include 1,300 people who speak the Nganasan language of the Samoyedic group of the Uralic language family. They inhabit the area between the Pyasina and Khatanga Rivers and the Taymyr River basin within the boundaries of the Taymyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous District.

    Khants and birch-bark-covered dwelling, 1909-1910.
    No. 1706-8.

  3. The SEL'KUPS (Ostyaks, Ostyako-Samoyeds) consist of 3,600 people who speak the Sel'kup language of the Samoyedic group of the Uralic language family and inhabit the Krasnoselkup region of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District and other parts of the regions of Tyumen and Tomsk. A small group lives in the Turuhansk District of the Krasnoyarsk region.
  4. The KHANTS (Ostyaks, Ob Ostyaks) are comprised of 23,000 people who speak the Khant language of the Finno-Ugrian group of the Uralic language family and live in the regions of the Ob and Irtysh Rivers and their tributaries, within the range of the Khants-Mansi and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts.
  5. The MANSIS (Voguls) include 8,500 people who speak the Mansi language of the Finno-Ugrian group of the Uralian language family. They inhabit the Ob River basin (along its tributary, the Northern Sos'va, and the Konda, a tributary of the Irtysh, and in the region of Beryozov) within the boundaries of the Khant-Mansi and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts.

    Evenk family of a prosperous reindeer breeder, early 1900s. No. 1659-11.

  6. The DOLGANS number 6,900 people who speak the Dolgan dialect of the Yakutian language of the Turkic group of the Altaic language family. They live in the southern part of the Taymyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous District.



    Evenk women and their children, early 1900s. No. 5659-24

    Evenk child and an infant in a cradle, early 1900s. No. 5659-78.

  7. The EVENKS (Tungus) include 30,000 people who speak the Evenk language (comprised of three subdialects) of the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altaic language family. They are dispersed over extensive areas of taiga and tundra from the west side of the Yenisei River to the tundra north of the Arctic Circle between the Yenisei and Lena Rivers in the north, and to the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk coast in the east. The Evenk Autonomous District is located in central Siberia.
  8. The EVENS (Lamut) consist of 17,000 people who speak the Evenk language of the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altaic language family. They live east of the lower Lena River in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), in the regions of Magadan and Kamchatka, on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, in the Chukchi and Koryak Autonomous Districts of the Khabarovsk region.
  9. The CHUVANTSY comprise 1,500 people who are descendants of the Yukaghir of Chuvan origin and Russian Cossacks. Nomadic groups speak the Chukchi-Koryak language, whereas the sedentary groups speak the Markovsky dialect of the Russian language. Their native, traditional language is lost. They live in the region of the Anadyr River and its tributaries within the Chukotka Autonomous District in northeastern Siberia.

    Chukchi woman in a reindeer-breeding camp, 1970. No 823-3.

  10. The CHUKCHIS (Luoravetlan) consist of 15,000 people who speak the Chukchi language of the Chukchi-Kamchatka (Paleoasiatic) language family and live in northeastern Russia, within the boundaries of the Chukchi Autonomous District of the Magadan region, north of the Koryak Autonomous District of the Nizhnekolymskii (lower Kolyma) region of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
  11. KORYAKS (Nymylany) consist of 9,200 people who speak the Koryak language of Chukchi-Kamchatka (Paleoasiatic) language family. They live throughout the entire territory of the Koryak Autonomous District and in the Bystrinsky District of the Kamchatka region on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in the Magadan region.
  12. The KETS (Yenisei Ostyaks, Yeniseyan) have a population of 1,100 people who speak the Ket language, which belongs to a group of isolated languages. They live as dispersed groups along the middle and lower valley of the Yenisei River in the Krasnoyarsk region.
  13. The NEGIDALS (Gilyaks) consist of 600 people who speak the Negidal language of the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altaic language family. They live in the Khabarovsk region along the Amur and Amgun Rivers in southeastern Siberia.
  14. The YAKUTS are one of the most numerous non-indigenous peoples of Siberia. They have a population of 382,000 people that represents an intrusion of Turkic people from Central Asia. They speak the Yakutian language of the Turkic group of the Altaic language family and live mostly in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), with lesser numbers residing in the Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk regions, the Evenk Autonomous District, and the former Soviet Republics.

    Koryak reindeer herder, twentieth century.


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