Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, as the largest country in the world, has great ethnic diversity. It is a

multinational state A multinational state or a multinational union is a sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or states. This contrasts with a nation state, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population. Depending on the definition of ...

and home to over 190 ethnic groups countrywide. According to the population census at the end of 2021, more than 147.1 million people lived in Russia, which is 4.3 million more than in the 2010 census, or 3.03%. At the same time, only 130.587 million census participants indicated their nationality. The top ten largest nations besides Russians included in descending order:

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

Bashkirs The Bashkirs ( , ) or Bashkorts (, ; , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Russia. They are concentrated in Bashkortostan, a Republics of Russia, republic of the Russian Federation and in the broader historical region of B ...

, Chuvash, Avars,

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

Dargins Dargins or Dargwa (, ''darganti'') are a Northeast Caucasian native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus, and who make up the second largest ethnic group in the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. They speak the various Dargin lang ...

and

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

. Population censuses in Russia allow citizens to report their nationality according not only to their ancestry, but also to self-identification. The 83 (or 85) federal subjects which together constitute the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

include: * 21 national

republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although ...

(self-governing regions organized along ethnic lines) * 4 autonomous okrugs (usually with substantial or predominant ethnic minority) * 1

autonomous oblast An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the ''oblast'' (province) level of the overall administrative subdivision. There were autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union and later some federal subjects of Russia w ...

Ethnic groups of Russia, 1926–2021

1926–1979

1989–2021

Population pyramids

File:Russian ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Russians File:Bashkirs ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Bashkirs File:Tatars ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Tatars File:Chechens ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Chechens File:Ukrainian ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Ukrainians File:Kazakhs ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Kazakhs File:Kabardians ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Kabardians File:Chuvash ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Chuvash File:Avars ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Avars File:Armenians ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Armenians File:Crimean Tatars ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Crimean Tatars File:Germans ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Germans File:Belarusians ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Belarusians File:Tajiks ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Tajiks File:Uzbeks ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Uzbeks File:Tuvans ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Tuvans File:Kumyks ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Kumyks File:Dargins ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Dargins File:Buryats ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Buryats File:Azerbaijanis ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Azeribaijanis File:Ingush ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, Ingush File:No ethnicity ethnic group population pyramid 2021.svg, stated No ethnicity File:Lezgins population pyramid 2021.png, Lezgins

Ethno-racial groups

Based on the Last Census, 2021, the total population was 147,182,123, but only 130,045,163 indicated a nationality. It is estimated that the percentage of those who didn't indicate a nationality is very similar to the percentage of those who did.

Future projections

The ethnic demographic mix of the Russian Federation is projected to change far into the future. The majority population, ethnic Russians, who have been in slight decline since the 1950s will decline further due to a below replacement fertility rate and population ageing. In 2010, rough population projections from Ivan Beloborodov projecting to 2030 estimated that the percentage of Russians within the population would decrease to around 70 to 60% of the total population.

Language and culture

Although the

constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

recognizes Russian as the official language, the individual republics may declare one or more official languages. Many of these subjects have at least two—Russian and the language of the "eponymous" nationality. There is a minority language scene in most subjects of the country, with more than 1,350 newspapers and magazines, 300 TV channels and 250 radio stations in over 50 of these minority languages. Moreover, new legislation allows usage of minority languages in federal radio and TV broadcasting. In 2007, there were 6,260 schools which provided teaching in 38 minority languages. Over 75 minority languages were taught as a discipline in 10,404 schools. The Ministers of Council of Europe has noted significant efforts to improve the supply of minority language textbooks and teachers, as well as a greater availability of minority language teaching. However, as Ministers has noted, there remain shortcomings in the access to education of a person(s) belonging to certain minorities. There are more than 2,000 national minorities' public associations and 560 national cultural autonomies, however the Committee of Ministers has noted that in many regions, amount of state support for the preservation and development of minority cultures is still inadequate. There's a significant difference between "eponymous" ethnic groups and nationalities without their own national territory, as resources of the last are relatively limited.

Indigenous peoples

Russia is also home to a particular category of minority peoples, i.e. small indigenous peoples of the North and Far East, who maintain very traditional lifestyles, often in a hazardous climatic environment, while adapting to the modern world. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia passed legislation to protect rights of these small northern indigenous peoples. Gil-Robles has noted agreements between indigenous representatives and oil companies, which are to compensate potential damages on peoples habitats due to

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods V ...

. As Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe noted in 2007, despite some initiatives for development, the social and economic situation of numerically small indigenous peoples was affected by recent legislative amendments at the federal level, removing some positive measures as regards their access to land and other natural resources.

Maps

File:Ethnic map of Russia 1989.png, 1989 ethnic map of Russia showing the largest ethnic group of each region or Republic; with brown as

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

, green as

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

File:Ethnic map of Russia 2010.png, Ethnic map of Russia, 2010 File:Largest ethnic minority by federal subject 2010.svg, Largest ethnic group apart from Russians: yellow –

, lawn green – Tatars, green – Kazakhs, orange –

, blue – Buryats, gray-blue – Germans, pink – Koreans File:Two largest ethnic minority by federal subject 2010.jpg, The largest two ethnic groups, excluding Russians, in each region (Census 2010) File:Ethnic Russian population in the Russian Federation.png, Distribution of Russians, 2010 File:Tatars by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Tatars, 2010 File:Ukrainians by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Ukrainians, 2010 File:Bashkirs by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Bashkirs, 2010 File:Chuvashs by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Chuvashs, 2010 File:Chechens by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Chechens, 2010 File:Armenians by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Armenians, 2010 File:Mordvins by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Mordvins, 2010 File:Kazakhs by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Kazakhs, 2010 File:Azerbaijanis by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Azerbaijanis, 2010 File:Belarusians by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Belarusians, 2010 File:Germans by federal subject 2010.svg, Distribution of Germans, 2010

References

External links

Population by mother tongue and districts in 50 Governorates of the European Russia in 1897

* ttp://blc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/Coyne_BLC.pdf Ethnic and National Minorities of the Russian Federation: A Diversity Based Curriculum for the Intermediate Russian Classroom {{Russia topics Social groups of Russia