Small peoples of Russia: list. The smallest people in Russia. Indigenous peoples

in the Russian Federation, these are recognized as peoples living in the territories of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserving their way of life, farming and crafts, numbering less than 50 thousand people in the Russian Federation and recognizing themselves as independent ethnic communities. Unified list Ph.D. The Russian Federation is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the authorities state power subjects of the Russian Federation in whose territories these peoples live.

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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

concept used in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. According to Art. 69, the Russian Federation guarantees the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation also uses the concept of “small ethnic communities". For example, clause "m" of Article 72 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation refers to the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation "the protection of the original habitat and traditional way of life of small ethnic communities."

International documents use the concepts " indigenous people", "indigenous people": for example, in the Convention International organization Labor (ILO) 107 “On the protection and integration of indigenous and other tribal and semi-tribal populations in independent countries” (1957); in ILO Convention 169 “Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries” (1989). However, their interpretations in these documents and in Russian science and practice differ somewhat. International documents are more focused on peoples who have lost their traditional places of residence or have problems in using them, as if incapable of self-organization in the form of national-territorial and other formations. It's about rather, it’s about improving everyday life and living standards in the country as a whole.

In Russia, the equality of all peoples and the possibilities for their self-organization were secured from the very beginning, including through the use of forms of national-territorial autonomy, the creation of national districts, village councils, etc. Opportunities were constantly created for the use of language, the development of writing, etc., Together with As a result, the problems of organizing everyday life and the life of K.M.S. gradually accumulated, especially in the regions of the North and North-East. Technological progress influenced the use of some peoples traditional types fields, and the industrial development of oil and gas fields in its own way has had an even greater impact on them negative impact. Excellent definition

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INDIGENOUS SMALL PEOPLES - in the Russian Federation, special groups of the population living in the territories of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserving their traditional way of life, farming and crafts.

In Russia, one of the first legislative acts aimed at protecting the rights of indigenous peoples was the Statute on Governance foreigners in 1822. In the 1920s, in the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of October 25, 1926 of the year “About the approval of the Time of Resolution on the management of the land of the people and tribes” -on-mi northern ok-ra-in") sfor-mi-ro-van closed re-re-chen, first-in-first-but-included 24th floor -nic communities.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 (Article 69) introduced the concept of “indigenous small peoples”. In the Russian Federation there is a single re-re-chen of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation (2000), and also Pe-re-chen indigenous small-numbered peoples of Se-ve-ra, Si-Bri and Far East of the Russian Federation (2006). The single re-re-chen now does not include 40 nations of Se-ve-ra, Si-bi-ri and Dal-ne-go Vos-ka (Ale-uts, Alu -tor-tsy, vep-sy, dol-ga-ny, itel-me-ny, kam-cha-da-ly, ke-re-ki, ke-you, ko-rya-ki, ku-man-din -tsy, Man-si, na-naytsy, nga-na-sa-ny, ne-gi-dal-tsy, nenetsy, niv-khi, oro-ki, oro-chi, saa-my, sel-ku -py, soy-o-you, ta-zy, te-len-gi-you, te-le-uts, to-fa-la-ry, tu-ba-la-ry, tu-vin-tsy-tod -zhin-tsy, ude-gey-tsy, ul-chi, khan-ty, chel-kan-tsy, chu-van-tsy, chuk-chi, chu-lym-tsy, shor-tsy, even-ki, eve -ny, en-tsy, es-ki-mo-sy, yuka-gi-ry), as well as Aba-zin, be-ser-myan, vod, Izhora-tsev, na-gai-ba-kov, shap-su-gov and 14 na-ro-dov Da-ge-sta-na.

According to the Russian law, in order to recognize the nation as a small-numbered native, he must: realize oneself as a self-standing ethnic community (self-identity), maintain the original habitat of the habitat (ter-ri-to-riu), national. thoughts, i.e. special eco-no-mich. space, a common culture, a common native language and have a population in the territory of Russia of less than 50 thousand people. Fatherly for-co-no-da-tel-st-vo about the status and defense of the rights of national minorities ba-zi-ru-et-xia on inter-national norms max, inter-state. before Russia about human rights and protecting the rights of nationals. minorities

Indigenous small-numbered peoples form a separate group of peoples for the purpose of special protection from the side of the state, they have a special status, they have a number of benefits (primarily -ve-noe use of bio-re-sur-sa-mi, earlier retirement, replacement of military service. -on-tiv-noy, in the pe-re-chen pro-fes-siy, including-on the pa-st-ba deer; -you are for the land, etc.). Complex-but-issues in the field of protecting the rights of national minorities ure-gu-li-ro-va-ny by the Federal Law “On Ha -ran-ti-yah of the rights of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation" (1999).

At the federal level, the same federal laws “On the general principles of the organization” do not work -tions of communities of indigenous small-numbered peoples of Se-ve-ra, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation" (2000 year), “About ter-ri-to-ri-yah tra-di-tsi-on-no-go pri-ro-do-pol-zo-va-niya of indigenous small-lo-chis-len -nyh peoples of Se-ve-ra, Si-bi-ri and Dal-ne-go Vos-ka of the Russian Federation" (2001); ut-verzh-de-na Conception of the fe-de-ral-noy tse-le-voy program “Eco-no-mi-ches-koe and so-ci-al-noe development -tie of indigenous small-numbered peoples of Se-ve-ra, Siberian-Bi-ri and Dal-ne-go-sto-ka until 2015" ( 2007). In addition, the subjects of the Fe-de-ra-tions themselves are re-solving the problems of the national. minorities living on their territories.

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

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

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

9. Selkups

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

8. Nganasans

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

7. Orochons

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

6. Evenks

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

5. Chum salmon

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

4. Chulym people

The number of this indigenous people of Russia is 355 people as of 2010. Even though most The Chulym people are recognized by Orthodoxy; the ethnic group carefully preserves some traditions of shamanism. Chulyms live mainly in the Tomsk region. It is interesting that the Chulym language does not have a written language.

3. Basins

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

2. Livs

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

1. Pitcairns

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

Details Published 08/13/2014 16:32 On Friday, December 18, 2011, at Rossiyskaya newspaper The official census results were published. They, of course, were incomplete, the complete ones are never published and lie in archives, and the complete ones published - not in newspapers, of course - occupy several volumes (in Russia/USSR from one book in 1979 to almost 100 in 1897).

I was able to find the data I was interested in about the national composition. But they were in the form of a drawing, and so small that we had to tinker with translating them into readable and then digital form. (However, in the Internet Russian newspaper there was a link to Federal service state statistics. But on the FSGS website there is an attempt to call any of the “ Information materials about the final results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census” ended with the answer The page cannot be found. The following week, access finally appeared. –http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/perepis_itogi1612.htm - I also used his data).

Before turning to the issue of changes in the number of peoples of the North, two fundamental remarks need to be made.

The first is about the specific census of 2010. In it, about 4% of the population (5.6 million people) did not indicate their nationality. This is a huge increase - almost 4 times - compared to the 2002 census (then 1.5 million or about 1%) and quite an avalanche compared to the late Soviet censuses - then there were not even two tens of thousands.

The opinion was expressed that these were all foreigners. But, in our opinion, this is not at all the case. Some of these people really did not want to answer this question, but there are apparently very few of them. The overwhelming majority of those who “did not indicate” are those to whom the enumerators never came. They were recorded on the basis of some lists, databases, etc., they simply wrote down their gender and age and nothing more. This was practiced in 2002, and by 2010 it was even legally permitted. But there are also those who were simply drawn/attributed. And judging by some distortions in the age structure of the population in a number of regions, there were also quite a few of them in 2010.

All discussions about the national composition according to census data must be done with an eye on the mass of “those who did not indicate”.

The second is about taking into account nationality in censuses. In the minds of Russians, national/ethnic affiliation is something obligatory: an integral characteristic received at birth and irreplaceable throughout life. The official record of nationality in documents reflected this opinion, strengthened and consolidated it. And even with the disappearance of such a record, this belief remains widespread. In reality, everything is much more complicated.

From census to census, many people change what the 2010 census form called “Your Nationality.” Ethnographers speak in such cases about a “change of ethnic identification.” Among the peoples of the North, such processes are quite noticeable. This is especially likely for people of ethnically mixed origin. For example, children from mixed families, where, as a rule, the mother is “indigenous” and the father is “non-indigenous”, recorded in one census according to the mother’s nationality, in the next, when they grow up, they indicate the nationality of the father. And in the third census, they again talk about the mother’s nationality.

In addition, methodological factors come into play: one census identifies given people, the other “hides” it in something larger, related. For example, the 1926 Census counted about 700 Chuvans; in 1939 they were also counted as a separate people (“ethels”), but were not singled out, but classified as “other northern peoples.” And in the censuses of 1959, 1970 and 1979. all those who called themselves Chuvans were classified as Chukchi. And ethnographers called this “ethnic consolidation.” And it happens the other way around. With regard to the peoples of the north: the same Chuvans were classified as Chukchi in 1979, and in 1989 they were considered a separate people (about 1.4 thousand people). Or, for example, the Enets, who in the results of all Russian/Soviet censuses were rewritten as Nenets and only in 1989 began to be identified as a separate people (200 people).

Finally, in addition to the methodology, there is also the practice of conducting a census, when administrative resources are often used, as in elections. The Bashkir-Tatar disagreements in Bashkortostan are well known, when in 2002 the leadership of the republic campaigned for certain border population groups, previously registered as Tatars, to be recorded as Bashkirs. Less well known are similar cases in Dagestan, where, for example, census takers simply told the small Archin residents that there was no such people and recorded them as Avars, or in Kamchatka, where census takers demanded proof of this from those who called themselves Kamchadals. All this clearly contradicts the census regulations and its instructions, but, most likely, this was indicated to the enumerators at the local level.

I dwell on this in such detail so that it is clear that not only, but often, and not so much, birth and death rates influence the change in the number of peoples between censuses. And sometimes these processes are very far from “reproduction” and “extinction”.

Finally, about the peoples of the North. I checked the list of peoples of the North according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 17, 2006 N 536-r (as amended on May 18, 2010 N 352). Judging by it, 40 ethnic groups belong to the indigenous minorities (it is interesting that the website of the State Duma Committee of the North http://www.severcom.ru/nations/, where a list of 38 nations is given, is at least 5 years behind the times - verified on December 25, 2011) .

So, what did the 2010 census tell us about the peoples of the north, “the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East Russian Federation"(SIPN) in official terminology, or simply “indigenous”, as residents of the North say.

Below is a table of changes in the numbers of these forty peoples of the Russian North over the last three censuses. By the way, when analyzing the census, we can talk not about 40, but 38 peoples: the 2010 census did not find Alyutors at all (in 2002 - 12 people, assigned to the Koryaks), and counted only four Kereks, and in their habitat - Chukotka District- only one was rewritten.

It should be noted right away that many of the peoples mentioned in this table began to be taken into account in government statistics only in the 1990s, with the rise of democratization, and with it national movements. Therefore, it is impossible to trace the dynamics of their numbers over the entire more than 20-year period. And to compare the number of twenty-eight nations in 1989 with the number of thirty-eight in 2002 and 2010, as was often done, is completely wrong. Therefore, we separately gave the dynamics for the entire period of a group of unchanged 28 nations, so that the general situation would be better clear. Moreover, the intervals between censuses are different: almost 14 and 8 years. Therefore, in addition to the increase for the entire intercensus period, we present the average annual increase, which will allow us to make more accurate comparisons.

Some of the indigenous minorities in the all-Russian census are classified as ethnographic groups as part of others, large nations. They are marked in the table (*). Tuvinians-Todzha were considered an ethnic group of Tuvans in 2002, but Telengits, Tubalars and Chelkans were separate peoples in 2002, but now they have become ethnic groups as part of the Altaians. What influenced this change in the opinion of ethnographers, namely, it is on their recommendations that statisticians rely when taking into account national composition, for 8 years it is unclear? After all, even earlier, before the 2002 census, they insisted that these indigenous minorities, together with the Kumandins and Teleuts, be considered independent peoples and separated from the Altaians. But the Alyutors, who were considered part of the Koryaks in 2002, were made into separate nations, but none of those rewritten called themselves that.

In general, the number of all indigenous indigenous peoples has increased, although much less than in 1989-2002. However, in the country as a whole, the population is declining, and the small numerical increase of indigenous minorities looks more impressive against this background. Perhaps voices will again be heard about the “moderately optimistic demographic situation” among the indigenous northerners.

But, looking at the table more closely, we will see that the increase was not noted among all nations, but only among fourteen; 24 had a reduction in numbers. In the last intercensus period, 18 peoples grew, and the numbers of only 10 decreased. There is a clear deterioration in the situation.

If we talk about the increase in the number of certain peoples, we note right away that in the current situation, numbers in excess of 12-15% (which corresponds to an average annual increase of 1.4-1.8%) are impossible from a demographic point of view. The average annual increase among the fastest growing peoples of Russia only due to natural growth - the Chechens and Ingush - was about 1%. We believe that this is the maximum possible for the period 2002-2010. Therefore, when we see numbers of the order of 20-50%, it is clear that this increase was achieved due to non-demographic factors. Most likely, this indicates some kind of ethnic processes, since there is no need to talk about the migration of indigenous minorities to Russia from the outside. This applies both to the increase among the Telengits, Chelkans, Tubalars and Soyots, and to the decrease of the Tuvinians-Todzhas, Chulyms and Vepsians.

Of course, a change in ethnic identification as a source of population growth is quite normal, but for small and recently constituted communities it is not very constant or reliable. An example of this can be the strong decrease in the number of those who in 2010 called themselves Tuvan-Todzha or Kamchadal. And, if we go beyond the official list of indigenous minorities, the number of Komi-Izhemtsy has also sharply decreased (from 15,607 in 2002 to 6,420 in 2010).

If we evaluate the natural growth of the three unusually grown peoples from the Altai Republic, it would be necessary to compare them with the Teleuts, Kumandins and the Altaians who live nearby. All of the above showed a slight increase or slight decrease: practically unchanged numbers.

This means that only seven peoples remain with stable positive dynamics: Nenets, Dolgans, Evenks with Evens, Yukaghirs, Khanty and Mansi. Of these, perhaps only the Nenets are growing in numbers due to high birth rate among the reindeer herders of Yamal and Taimyr (but not the European tundra of the Nenets Okrug). In all other cases, there are other explanations. For example, a change in ethnic identification as a source of growth in the number of Khanty and Mansi, which was also noted in the 1990s. The Dolgans are growing exclusively at the expense of the Yakut tribesmen (from the Anabar ulus), where their number increased 1.5 times (and in 1989-2002 tripled); in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the number of Dolgans remained unchanged. We cannot explain only the growth in the number of Yukaghirs. The demographic parameters of this people are not too different from the neighboring Evens and Chukchi, and even the Yakuts - which means that non-demographic factors also take place here. But these factors are stable and have ensured the rapid growth of the Yukaghirs for half a century. 440, 593, 801, 1112, 1509, 1603 - this is the dynamics of their numbers in Russia according to post-war censuses. Little Yukaghirs “assimilate” their neighbors - otherwise you cannot explain the annual growth rate of 2-3% from 1959 to 2002, and 0.8% in the last eight years is not at all small.

As for the peoples whose numbers have decreased, there is no single factor responsible for this process. There is a decline in the birth rate and ethnic processes- assimilation by Russians. The most culturally Russified and/or mixed races are decreasing more quickly. These are the Vepsians and Shors, the Sami, the peoples of the Amur region, the Aleuts and Chuvans. Previously, we believed that the Sami population would continue to grow, as in 1989-2002, thanks to the same “change of ethnic identification” that is observed among the Mansi. But the national revival of the Sami in the 2000s died down and everything returned to the previous assimilation, recorded almost from the end of the 19th century.

Speaking about the resettlement of indigenous peoples in the country, it must be said that for the second decade they have been concentrated in areas of main settlement: in 1989, 6.7% of indigenous peoples lived outside “their” regions, in 2002 - 4.3, in 2010 - 3.4% . The urbanization of indigenous northerners is growing, although it remains much lower than the national average: in 2002, 30.3% of indigenous minorities lived in urban settlements, and in 2010 - 32.5%. Moreover, the peoples who joined the indigenous indigenous peoples in the 1990s are more urbanized than the peoples on the 1989 list (“old indigenous peoples”) - 41% versus 31%.

If we take individual regions, then out of 26 territories where there is data on indigenous minorities, an increase in their numbers was recorded in 7 (Altai Republic, Buryatia, Sakha-Yakutia, Khakassia, Tyumen and Magadan regions and in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug), in the remaining 19 the population of indigenous peoples has decreased, especially strongly in the Republics of Tyva, Komi and Kareli, Tomsk and Leningrad regions.

Regions with an increase in the number of indigenous peoples are marked in green.

The 2010 census noted a decrease in the numbers of most indigenous peoples throughout the country and in most areas of their settlement. However, in general total number The number of indigenous indigenous peoples has increased slightly. But the entire population of Russia continued to decrease and this will be the main result of the census. Therefore, there is reason to assume that the deterioration of the situation among the indigenous indigenous peoples will again, like eight years ago, be retouched by scientists and not noticed by society.

Dmitry Bogoyavlensky

Institute of Demography NRU-HSE
2012

© Center for the Promotion of Indigenous Peoples

Residents of large Russian cities know little about the peoples living in the North of the country and carefully preserving their extraordinary culture and way of life. Some specific knowledge comes to us from books and means mass media, but nothing more. Let's get to know these little ones northern peoples closer.

Indigenous peoples of the North (Siberia)

For many centuries in a row, the territories of Siberia were inhabited different peoples who lived in small villages. They lived in clans or communities, peacefully neighboring each other. They ran a joint household and maintained family ties. The large expanses of the Siberian region became the reason for the isolation of each community and formed many languages ​​and linguistic groups. Also, some settlements were absorbed by stronger ones and disappeared, others, on the contrary, acquired new territories and developed intensively.

Selection

The definition of the inhabitants of the North and Siberia as a special group dates back to the period of arrival Soviet power. Then it was possible to count about fifty separate groups. As a rule, the peoples of the North were engaged in reindeer herding, and their nomadic way of life differed significantly from the vision of the new government.

When speaking about the inhabitants of Siberia, they meant the small peoples of the North. As for language, some language groups have so far failed to discover close relatives. Soviet government adopted separate bills on economic and social development peoples, but due to the intervention of the authorities, alcoholism and other social problems actively spread there.

By the 80s, it turned out that the indigenous peoples of the North had not forgotten their language, retained their culture and the desire to increase and use the knowledge of their ancestors. They are entirely dependent on their animals and have managed to preserve the ancient way of life in harmony with nature.

Story

The Samoyed tribes who settled in the north are considered the very first inhabitants of the Siberian expanses. They were engaged in fishing and breeding deer. To the south of them lived the Mansi, who mainly worked hunting and led a predominantly nomadic lifestyle. It was the valuable animal skins that were their main currency, for which they bought goods or used them as a ransom to their wives' relatives.

Settled in the upper reaches of the Ob River Turkic tribes. Their main occupations are nomadic cattle breeding, ore mining and blacksmithing. The Buryats settled to the west of Lake Baikal, who also mined iron ore and made products from this metal.

Vast lands from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Yenisei were occupied by Tungus tribes. They were mainly engaged in reindeer herding, fishing and hunting, some were engaged in handicrafts.

Towards the end XVII century The most developed of all were the Yakut and Buryat peoples, and the Tatars were even able to organize a state.

Indigenous peoples of the North

The Constitution of the Russian Federation clearly outlined the right of every person to national self-determination. Essentially, Russia is multinational state with many small nationalities on the territory, therefore the preservation of their culture and exceptional way of life is one of the priorities of the state.

Yakuts

The most numerous people of Siberia, its number reaches 478 thousand people. The Yakut Republic of Sakha has a fairly impressive territory of the Far Eastern Federal District. The Yakuts themselves have a vibrant culture, original customs and even a unique epic, folk tales, legends.

Buryats

Another people of northern Siberia with a republic of the same name and the same number as in Yakutia. IN Siberian regions Buryat cuisine is very popular. Enough interesting story and traditions make the inhabitants of these lands special. In addition, the Republic of Buryatia is a recognized center of the Buddhist movement in Russia.

Tuvans

The Republic of Tyva is another significant republic on the territory of the Siberian Federal District. The total number of Tuvans reaches 300 thousand. The traditions of the population are associated with shamanic rituals and Buddhism.

Khakassians

An ancient people of Siberia who live west of Lake Baikal. They also managed to create their own republic with its capital in the city of Abakan. Distinctive features Khakassians are small in number, have unique culture and customs.

Altaians

The peoples of the North living in the Altai mountain system created their own compact habitats - the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic. Despite the small number - 70 thousand, this is a fairly large group. Pronounced Altai culture and their own rich epic does not allow them to get lost among numerous peoples Siberia. Centuries of living in the mountains and harsh weather conditions have left their mark on the life and traditions of the Altai people.

Nenets

Their compact residence on the territory of the Kola Peninsula and their culture protected by state legislation made them one of the most known to the world nomadic reindeer herders. Unique language and a rich oral epic make it possible for the Nenets to increase their numbers in our days.

Evenks

They live not only in the vast expanses of the Russian Federation, but also in China and Mongolia. The Evenks are famous pathfinders and experienced hunters, but due to their uncompacted residence, they have partially assimilated. Evenk culture and reindeer husbandry are very interesting for Western media and cultural experts.

Khanty

Ugorskaya language group small Siberian peoples. Scattered across the territories of the Ural and Siberian Federal districts. Although traditional religion Shamanism is considered, but gradually more and more Khanty consider themselves Christians, which leads to the loss of their original culture.

Chukchi

Siberian nomads, peoples of the Far North living on the Chukotka Peninsula. The main worldview is animism, and Mongoloid roots classify the people as aborigines.

Shors

One of the most ancient Turkic-speaking peoples Siberia from rich history and epic. The bulk of the Shors moved to big cities, assimilated and lost their roots.

Ethnography describes many more peoples who have largely lost their primitive culture and only some of its elements have survived to this day. These are: Mansi, Nanais, Koryaks, Dolgans, Siberian Tatars, Soyots, Itelmens, Kets and other small peoples of the North. All of them have, to one degree or another, assimilated with other indigenous peoples, speak different local dialects and engage in their characteristic crafts. And reindeer breeding has become a profitable state industry.

Contemporary issues

These days modern peoples The North and Siberia attract close attention from the authorities and the public due to a number of factors.

The areas where small indigenous peoples live are rich in mineral resources. This includes gold, oil, uranium, and gas. It turns out that the peoples of the North live in strategically important territories. Therefore, at this stage there is a clash of interests of people who want to live on the land of their ancestors, and commercial organizations that pursue consumer goals. State companies that want to extract any benefit from these lands only harm local residents with their activities - they pollute water bodies and destroy forests. This negatively affects the environmental situation and the original life of the peoples of the North.

In order for local settlements to protect their lands, rights, culture and way of life, it is necessary to be included in the list of indigenous peoples of the North. And if there is no territory, then it will be almost impossible to ensure safety and subsequent study native language heirs of the group. On at the moment many peoples have lost their special dialects, Yakut has become their native language for many, and almost everyone knows Russian. Therefore, joining one of the groups provides an opportunity to fully develop and pass on knowledge to coming generations.