About IWGIAIndigenous peoples in Russia
The Russian Federation is a multiethnic society and home to more than 100 peoples. Of these, 41 are legally recognised as “indigenous, small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East”, some others are still striving to obtain this status. This status is tied to the conditions that a people has no more than 50,000 members, maintains a traditional way of life, inhabits certain remote regions of Russia and identifies itself as a distinct ethnic community.
Among the peoples recognised as such are the Evenks, the Saami, the Yupiq (Eskimo) and the Nenets. Other Peoples of Asian and Northern Russia such as the Sakha (Yakuts), Buryat, Komi and Khakass do not hold this status because of their larger populations. A definition of “indigenous” without the numerical qualification does not exist in Russian legislation.
The small-numbered indigenous peoples number approximately 250,000 individuals in total and thus make up less than 0.2% of Russia's population. They traditionally inhabit huge territories stretching from the Kola Peninsula in the west to the Bering Strait in the east, and make up about two-thirds of the Russian territory,
Indigenous livelihood and territory
They have traditionally been hunters, gatherers, fisherfolk and reindeer breeders. For many of them, these activities still constitute vital parts of their livelihoods, even more since the collapse of the Soviet economy and the disappearance of the services it provided. Their languages belong to many different families, such as Finno-Ugric, Manchu-Tungusic and Paleo-Siberian, and their cultures and world views are closely related to their environments: the tundras on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, the vast boreal forests of Northern Eurasia, the Pacific Coast or the magnificent mountains of the Altai and the volcanoes of Kamchatka.
Their territories are rich in natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals, and heavily affected by large energy projects such as pipelines and hydroelectric dams. Any industrial project taking place on indigenous peoples’ lands presents a threat and elicits concern in the indigenous population. A map by the Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (www.csipn.ru) entitled “Places of Potential Conflict Between Industrial Companies and Numerically Small Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East” identifies 70 places of potential conflict.
Indigenous organization in Russia
In 1990, indigenous activists, intellectuals and writers established a national umbrella organization – the Association of Numerically Small Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East (RAIPON). Today, it represents 42 indigenous peoples and aims to protect their rights at the national and international levels.
Download the 2011 yearbook article on indigenous peoples in Russia to read more about major developments and events during 2010
