Early History.  Since the formation of the Russian state, "the most dominant group of people numerically, politically, culturally, and economically have been the Slavs, particularly the East Slavs. Although little is known of the early history of the Slavs, they had by the seventh century A.D. divided into three distinguishable groups:

• West Slavs Ancestors of the Poles, the Czechs, and the Slovaks

• South Slavs Ancestors of the Bulgarians, the Serbs, and the Croatians

• East Slavs Ancestors of the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the Belorussians.

  The East Slavic tribes settled along the Dnepr (NEE-puhr) River in the present-day Ukrainian Republic in the first centuries after the birth of Christ and from there spread northward and eastward. In the ninth century, these tribes became part of the foundation of Kievan Rus', the medieval state of the East Slavs ruled by a Varangian dynasty. (Unless otherwise stated, all quotes come from the Library of Congress Country Area Study--Soviet Union.) 

Kievan Rus’.  "The East Slavs enhanced this political union in the tenth century when they adopted Christianity as the state religion of Kievan Rus'. Nevertheless, tribal and regional differences persisted and became more marked as the realm of Kievan Rus' expanded. To the northwest, East Slavic tribes mixed with the local Baltic tribes, while in the north and northeast they mixed with the indigenous Finno-Ugric tribes." 

East Slav Divisions.  "By the time Kievan Rus' began to disintegrate into a number of independent principalities in the twelfth century, the East Slavs were evolving into three separate people linguistically and culturally:

• Russians North and northeast of Kiev

• Belorussians Northwest of Kiev

• Ukrainians Around Kiev itself and to the south and southwest of Kiev

This process of ethnic differentiation and consolidation was accelerated by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' and its collapse as a political entity in the thirteenth century. For several centuries, the three East Slavic nationalities remained related culturally, linguistically, and to a great extent religiously. Nevertheless, each of them has been influenced by different political, economic, religious, and social developments, further separating them from each other."

Russians 81.5% 

Other terms for ethnic Russians are Russkiy, Velikorusskiy, and in earlier times Rus’ and Ross. Russian peasants are also known as "Great Russians."

History.  "Russians have been the largest and most dominant nationality in...[the Russian Federation,] the Soviet Union and its predecessors, the Russian Empire and Muscovy. From the time of Muscovy's rise as the dominant principality in the northeast of the territory of Kievan Rus', a Russian state continually extended its territory and enabled Ivan III (1462-1505) to proclaim himself ‘Ruler of all Rus'.’"

• Imperial Russia.  "Peter the Great (1682-1725) established the Russian Empire, which during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries reached the Baltic Sea in the northwest and the Black Sea in the southwest, the Pacific Ocean in the east, and the Pamirs (pah-MIRZ) in the south. The Romanov Dynasty, which promoted Russian administrative control over the disparate nationalities in its domain, ruled for three centuries until it was overthrown in February 1917 (according to the Julian calendar; March 1917 according to the Gregorian calendar)." 

• Communist realities.  "After the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in October 1917 (November 1917), Russian domination of political, economic, and cultural life in the Soviet Union continued despite the rule of Joseph V. Stalin, who was Georgian by birth. Yet throughout their history, Russians themselves were subjected to oppressive rulers, whether tsarist or communist. Particularly devastating since the advent of communist rule in November 1917 were the Civil War (1918-21), forced collectivization and industrialization, the Great Terror, and World War II, each of which resulted in extreme hardship and loss of great numbers of Russian people." 

Education.  "The number of Russians attending higher education institutions also was disproportionate to their share of the population. Only Jewish peoples, Armenians, and Georgians had a proportionally higher number of students at these institutions." 

Language. 

• Overview.  "Russian language and culture has had special status throughout the Russian Federation. The Russian language has been the common language in government organizations as well as in most economic, social, and cultural institutions. Higher education in many fields has been provided almost exclusively in Russian, and mastery of that language has been an important criterion for admission to institutions of higher learning. Administrative and supervisory posts in non-Russian republics were often held by Russians having little knowledge of the native language. In 1986 Russian was the language used to publish 78 percent of the books by number of titles and 86 percent of the books by number of copies. The publication of magazines and newspapers printed in Russian and in the other indigenous languages has been equally disproportionate."

• Dialects.  Historically, northern, central and southern dialects occur. Popular, administrative and church styles exist, which still influence vocabulary and grammar. 

Cultural Traits.  In addition to characteristics outlines elsewhere in this text, the following is instructive.    

• Appreciation of nature.  The natural environment and beauty of the land, despite urbanization, are highly valued among many Russian peoples. Poems constantly refer to trees such as birches, oaks, and pines. Nightingales and cranes evoke special meaning. Russian rivers summon expressive songs and heartfelt gratitude.

• Intellectual class.  Those who excel academically and politically have played, and continue to exert, a powerful influence on society at large. 

• Family.  Within central and northern regions, the extended family, with up to 20 individuals in the home, was typical. Rodno or rodnaya (kinsman, kinswoman) from the Russian word for clan (rod) are endearing terms for all types of kinfolk. Godparenthood likewise was an important, lifelong tie. Among peasants, the extended family with a strong male head is the norm. 

• Religion.  Though estimates vary, over half of all Russians are active practitioners of the Russian Orthodox faith. Blessings and prayers by family members, religious processions and fasting are embedded within the culture. Christenings, weddings and burials retain significant importance. Part of the resurgence of Russian Orthodoxy results from its being regarded as an expression of Russian ethnic identity. Currently, along with a revival of orthodoxy, Eastern religions, parapsychology and mysticism receives interest.

Among peasants, folk religion also plays a part. Evil appearing house spirits (domovoi), wood goblins (leshii) and water elfs (rusalka) could be appeased with various treatments and rites.

Pre-Christian festivals also survive. In the early spring, Trinity (Troitsa) sees the cleaning of the home and decorations with flowers and grass. A sort of Mardi Gras celebration (Maslennitsa) features feasting, plays and celebratory festivities.

Tatar 3.8% 

Overview.  "Three major Tatar (TAH-tahr) groups reside in the [Russian Federation]:

• Volga Tatars (the overwhelming majority of all Tatars in the Russian Federation)

• Crimean Tatars

• Siberian Tatars

Most Tatars are descended from the Turkic-speaking Bulgars (buhl-GAHR) who came into the Volga-Ural region in the seventh century and the Kipchak tribes who invaded the area as part of the Mongol Empire. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, they were part of the Golden Horde. In the fifteenth century, the Golden Horde broke up into the Kazan', Astrakhan', Crimean, and Siberian hordes.

The Volga Tatars, the descendants of the Kazan' and Astrakhan' hordes, were conquered by Russia in the sixteenth century. The Siberian Tatars were incorporated into the Russian Empire later that century, and the Crimean Tatars were incorporated at the end of the eighteenth century." 

Volga Tatars.  Bulgar, Kazanli, Mishar, Mosalman and Tatar are other terms for this ethnic group. 

• Overview.  "After their conquest by Russia, the Volga Tatars were subjected to harsh political, economic, and religious policies. Only the Tatar nobles who had intermarried with Russians and, in many instances, gained positions of power and influence in the Russian state, escaped persecution. Thousands of Tatars were deported north to work in Russian shipyards. Russians confiscated Tatar property, destroyed their mosques and religious shrines, and pressured them to convert to Christianity. After a series of Tatar revolts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the tsarist government began to change its policies. In 1788 Islam was given official status in Russia, and in 1792 Tatars were granted the right to trade with the Turkic populations of Turkestan, Iran, and China." 

• Language.  Based upon the Kazan dialect, Volga Tatars speak a single language. It possesses vocabulary strongly influenced by Persian, Arabic and Russian elements. For over a thousand years, since the adoption of Islam, the language was written in Arabic script. In 1927, Latin script replaced Arabic which, in 1939, was replaced with Cyrillic. Today Cyrillic continues to be used. Three dialects exist: Central, Western or Mishar (for those living outside Tatarstan) and Eastern or Siberian.

• Religion.  Islam, of the Sunni Hanafite legal school, is the primary religion. 1989 marked the 1,100 year anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Tatar peoples. New mosques, editions of the Qur’an and prayer books, renewed religious instruction, and the teaching of Arabic script marked the occasion.

Pre-Islamic survivals are few. The evil eye and power of bracelets to ward off evil may be evident. Navru, the celebration of the arrival of spring (21 March) and Sabantui or Festival of the Plow, are ceremonies in addition to traditional Muslim celebrations. Calligraphers who specialize in shamail or ornamental verses from the Qur’an are highly regarded. 

Crimean Tatars.  Other terms for this ethnic group include Krymskie Tatary, K’rymtatarlar, and Tavricheskie Tatary. 

• Overview.  "Repressive measures by the Russian government against Crimean Tatars and Slavic immigration into Crimea forced many Tatars to emigrate. Others were forcibly deported. During a century of Russian rule, the Tatar population in Crimea declined from about 500,000 at the end of the eighteenth century to fewer than 200,000 by the end of the nineteenth century." Crimean Tatars continue to fight for the return of former rights, and their return to Crimea. By 1993, roughly 250,000 Crimean Tatars returned to Crimea, with 700,000 living elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. 

• Language.  Crimean Tatars speak their own language which survived Soviet repression. Arabic script was used until 1928, followed by Latin which was replaced by Cyrillic in 1938-1939. Currently, a revival of the Arabic script as symbol of ethnic independence and means to enjoy the rich literary treasures of the culture.

• Family.  Historically, the family is the most important kinship group. It preserves group memory, culture and language. A high percentage of Crimean Tatars marry others only from their own ethnic group.

• Religion.  Sunni Islam of the Hanafi legal school is the principal faith of the Crimean Tatars. Historically, religion and culture were fused together within the practice and thought of the people. Prior to the Russian conquest (16th century), some 1500 mosques, 25 schools of theology (madrassas), and 35 primary schools (maktabs) were in existence in the Crimean Peninsula. Currently, the practice of circumcision, marriage and burial rites, Ramadan fasting, and interest in the hajj to Mecca show the continued influence of Islam amongst the people.

• Folk music.  Turkic instruments and melodies dominate traditional Tatar musical styles. The flute (zurna), bagpipe (tulup-zurna), drums (dumbelek) and stringed instruments such as the kemanche (played with a bow), santyr (struck with hammers) and saz (plucked) are used by folk musicians.

Siberian Tatars.  Other terms for ethnic Siberian Tatars are Sibtatars, Tarlyk and Toboliks. 

• Overview.  "[This ethnic group]--mainly hunters, trappers, and horse breeders scattered over a large territory--presented no threat to the Russian state and for a time continued to live unmolested. In the nineteenth century, many Siberian Tatars moved to the cities, seeking employment in the newly built sawmills and tanneries." 

• Ethnic subdivisions

• Tomsk Tatars.  Made up of Kalmaks, Chats and the Erishta, these subdivision Tatars live primarily in the Tomsk (TAWMSK), Novosibirsk (no-vaw-si-DIRSK) and Kemerovsk (kye-mi-RAWFSK) districts. 

• Barabinsk Tatars.  This small group lives in the Barabinsk steppe/Novosibirsk region. 

• Tobolo-Irtysh (taw-BAWL-ir-TEHSH) Most numerous of the Siberian Tatars, this ethnic group includes subdivisions of Tars, Kurdak-Sargatsk, Tobolsk (taw-BAWLSK), Tiumen and Iaskolbin Tatars. These ethnic groups live in the Omsk (AWMSK) and Tyumen (tyoo-MEN) regions.

• Language. 

  • Dialects.  Distinct from the Volga Tatars, the dialects of this Northwest Kipchak group of the Turkic Branch of the Altaic Language Family include Baraban, Tobol-Irtysh and Tomsk. 

  • Alphabet.  In part due to their adoption of Islam over 600 years ago (A.D. 1394), Siberian Tatars use the Arabic alphabet. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Tatar language was forbidden in schools though currently it is being reintroduced. 

• Religion.  Beginning in A.D. 1394-95, Tobolo-Irtysh Tatars adopted Islam, with most Siberian Tatars eventually becoming Muslims. Traditional belief also persists, including adherence to spirits, family guardians (kukol) and sacred objects (trees, earth, sun and certain animals and birds).

Early 20th Century.  "Despite renewed harassment in the second half of the nineteenth century, Tatars formed the intellectual and political elite of the Muslim population in Russia.

Tatars were active in the Revolution of 1905 in Russia. They participated in the First Duma of 1906 and the Second Duma of 1907, and they were the leading proponents of the pan-Turkic movement that emphasized racial, religious and linguistic unity of all Turkic-speaking peoples."

Post-Bolshevik Revolution.  "After the February Revolution in 1917, the Volga Tatars tried to establish an independent federation of Volga-Ural states. This dream proved impossible in the face of both Bolshevik and White Russian opposition. Instead, with the help of the Red Army, the Tatar Autonomous Republic was created in May 1920 as part of the Russian Republic. The Crimean Tatars' attempts to create an independent state in 1917 were also thwarted by the Bolsheviks, and in October 1921 the Soviet leaders created the Crimean Autonomous Republic. Later, however, the Crimean Tatars were exiled from Crimea during World War II and scattered throughout Soviet Central Asia."

Ukrainian 3% 

Another term for ethnic Ukrainians is Ruthens, an old name for Ukrainians still popular in parts of western Ukraine. For a fuller treatment of this ethnic group, see Ukraine .

Overview.  "Ukrainians trace their ancestry to the East Slavic tribes that inhabited the present-day Ukrainian Republic in the first centuries after the birth of Christ and were part of the state of Kievan Rus' formed in the ninth century. For a century after the breakup of Kievan Rus', the independent principalities of Galicia (gah-LI-shah) and Volhynia (vahl-HI-nee-ah) served as Ukrainian political and cultural centers.

In the fourteenth century, Galicia was absorbed by Poland, and Volhynia, together with Kiev, became part of the Grand Duchy (DUCH-ee) of Lithuania. In 1569 Volhynia and Kiev also came under Polish rule, an event that significantly affected Ukrainian society, culture, language, and religion. Ukrainian peasants, except for those who fled to join the Cossacks in the frontier regions southeast of Poland, were enserfed. Many Ukrainian nobles were Polonized."

Ukraine Division.  "The continuous oppression of the Ukrainian people by the Polish nobility led to a series of popular insurrections, culminating in 1648, when Ukrainian Cossacks joined in a national uprising. Intermittent wars with Poland forced the Ukrainian Cossacks to place Ukraine under the protection of the Muscovite tsar. A prolonged war between Muscovy and Poland followed, ending in 1667 with a treaty that split Ukraine along the Dnepr River. Ukrainian territory on the right (generally western) bank of the Dnepr remained under Poland, while Ukrainian territory on the left (generally eastern) bank was placed under the suzerainty of the Muscovite tsar. Although both segments of Ukraine were granted autonomous status, Muscovy and Poland followed policies to weaken Ukrainian autonomy. A number of uprisings by Ukrainian peasantry led to the crushing of the remainder of Ukrainian autonomy in Poland. Ukrainian self-rule under the tsar ended after Mazepa (mah-ZYA-pah), the Ukrainian hetman (leader), defected to the Swedish side during the war between Russia and Sweden at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

In 1775 Catherine the Great dispersed the Ukrainian Cossacks and enserfed those Ukrainian peasants who had remained free. The partitions of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century placed most of the Ukrainian territory on the right bank of the Dnepr River under Russian rule. The westernmost part of Ukraine (known as western Ukraine) was incorporated into the Austrian Empire."

Renewed Ukrainian Identity.  "The resurgence of Ukrainian national consciousness in the nineteenth century was fostered by a renewed interest among intellectuals in Ukrainian history, culture, and language and the founding of many scholarly, cultural, and social societies.  The Russian government responded by harassing, imprisoning, and exiling leading Ukrainian intellectuals. Ukrainian academic and social societies were disbanded. Publications, plays, and concerts in Ukrainian were forbidden. Finally, the existence of a Ukrainian language and nationality was officially denied. Nevertheless, a Ukrainian national movement in the Russian Empire persisted, spurred partially by developments in western Ukraine, where Ukrainians in the more liberal Austrian Empire had far greater freedom to develop their culture and language."

Civil War (1917-22) Realities.  "After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Ukrainians in both empires proclaimed their independence and established national republics. In 1919 the two republics united into one Ukrainian national state. This unification, however, could not withstand the aggression of both the Red and White Russian forces and the hostile Polish forces in western Ukraine.

Ukraine again was partitioned, with western Ukraine incorporated into the new Polish state and the rest of Ukraine established as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in March 1919, which was later incorporated into the Soviet Union when it was formed in December 1922."

Soviet Rule 

• Early autonomy.  "In the decade of the 1920s, the Ukrainian Republic experienced a period of Ukrainization. Ukrainian communists enjoyed a great deal of autonomy in running the republic, and Ukrainian culture and language dominated."

• Stalin suppression.  "Stalin's rise to power, however, halted the process of Ukrainization. Consequently, Ukrainian intellectual and cultural elites were either executed or deported, and leading Ukrainian party leaders were replaced by non-Ukrainians. The peasantry was forcibly collectivized, leading to a mass famine in 1932-33 in which several million peasants starved to death.

  Pointing to the fact that grain was forcibly requisitioned from the peasantry despite the protests of the Soviet government in the Ukrainian Republic, some historians believe that Stalin knowingly brought about the famine to stop national ferment in the Ukrainian Republic and break the peasants' resistance to collectivization. When western Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union following the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939, the population suffered terror and mass deportations." 

• World War II.  "When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Ukrainians anticipated establishing an independent Ukraine. As the Red Army retreated eastward, Ukrainian nationalists proclaimed an independent state, but the invading Germans arrested and interned its leaders. Ukrainian nationalist forces consequently began a resistance movement against both the occupying Germans and the Soviet partisans operating in the Ukrainian Republic. When the Red Army drove the Germans out of the Ukrainian Republic, Ukrainian partisans turned their struggle (which continued until 1950) against the Soviet army (the name changed from Red Army just after the war) and Polish communist forces in western Ukraine. The Soviet regime deported Ukrainian intelligentsia to Siberia and imported Russians into the Ukrainian Republic as part of their pacification and Russification efforts."

• Dispersion.  "The vast majority of Ukrainians, the second largest nationality in the Soviet Union with about 44 million people in 1989, lived in the Ukrainian Republic. Substantial numbers of Ukrainians also lived in the Russian, Kazakh, and Moldavian republics. Many non-Ukrainians lived in the Ukrainian Republic, where the Russians, with over 11 million, constituted the largest group."

  Language.  "Ukrainians have a distinctive language, culture, and history. In 1989, despite strong Russifying influence, about 81.1 percent of Ukrainians residing in their own republic claimed Ukrainian as their first language."

• Language.  "Ukrainians have a distinctive language, culture, and history. In 1989, despite strong Russifying influence, about 81.1 percent of Ukrainians residing in their own republic claimed Ukrainian as their first language."

• Cities.  "By the 1980s, the majority of Ukrainians, once predominantly agrarian, lived in cities. The major Ukrainian cities in 1989 were Kiev (KEE-if), the capital of the Ukrainian Republic, with a population of 2.6 million, and Khar'kov (KAHR-kahf), Dnepropetrovsk (dah-nye-prah-pee-TRAHFSK), Odessa (oh-DE-sah), and Donetsk (dah-NYETSK), all with over 1 million people."

• Soviet Union Representation

  • Education.  "Although Ukrainians constituted about 15 percent of the Soviet Union's population in 1989, their educational and employment opportunities appeared unequal to their share of the population. In the 1970s, they ranked only eleventh out of seventeen major nationalities (the nationalities corresponding to the fifteen union republics plus Jews and Tatars) in the number of students in secondary and higher education and ninth in the number of scientific workers in proportion to their share of the total population."

  • Communist Party.  "Since the death of Stalin in 1953, the number of Ukrainians in the CPSU has steadily increased. Nevertheless, Ukrainians remained underrepresented in the party relative to their share of the population. This was particularly true in the Ukrainian Republic, where in the 1970s the Ukrainian proportion of party membership was substantially below their proportion of the population. The percentage of Russians in the CPSU in the Ukrainian Republic, however, was considerably higher than their share of the republic's population. Although in the past Ukrainians had held a disproportionately high percentage of seats on the CPSU Central Committee, since 1961 their share of membership in this body has steadily declined to 13 percent of the seats in 1986."

  Chuvash 1.2% 

Chuvash 1.2% 

Another term for this ethnic group is Chavash. 

Overview.  "Descended from the Finno-Ugric (OO-grik) tribes of the middle Volga area and the Bulgar tribes of the Kama and Volga rivers, the Chuvash (choo-VAHSH) were identifiable as a separate people by the tenth century A.D. Conquered by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, they became part of the Kazan' Horde. Since the mid-sixteenth century, they have been under Russian rule. After the revolutions of 1917 and the Civil War, the Soviet government established the Chuvash Autonomous Oblast (OB-last) within the Russian Republic. In 1925 the oblast became the Chuvash Autonomous Republic."

Religion.  As early as A.D. 1307 inscriptions tell of the conversion of some Chuvash to Islam. Between the 16th to 18th centuries, indications of image and spirit practice amongst the peoples exist. Russian Orthodox practitioners tried to convert Chuvash peoples by force in the 17th century, but met with little success. A century later, the Bible was translated into Chuvash. Some conversions to Russian Orthodoxy occurred, yet indigenous practice and spirit worship continued.

Distribution.  "In 1989 the Chuvash population was over 1.8 million. Slightly over half lived in the Chuvash Autonomous Republic within the Russian Republic, where they constituted over 67 percent of the population. Large concentrations of Chuvash also resided in the Tatar Autonomous Republic, the Bashkir Autonomous Republic, and other parts of the Russian Republic." 

Language 

• Overview.  "The Chuvash speak a unique language that includes a large number of Finno-Ugric and Slavic loanwords but that belongs to the Bulgar group of Turkic languages. Because no written Chuvash language had existed before the Russian conquest, it is the only Turkic language in the Soviet Union to have always used a Cyrillic alphabet. In 1989 about 76.5 percent of the Chuvash considered Chuvash as their first language." Common Turkic languages are related in part to Chuvash. 

• Dialects.  Virval occurs in the north, with Anatri, the literary tongue, being in the south.

Rural Bent.  "In the 1980s, the Chuvash remained overwhelmingly rural and agricultural. In 1987 Cheboksary (che-bahk-SAHR-ee), the administrative center of the Chuvash Autonomous Republic, was the only city in the autonomous republic with over 100,000 people."

VI. Bashkirs 0.9% 

Bashkort is another term for this ethnic group. 

Overview.  "The Bashkir (bahsh-KEER) nationality developed from a mixture of Finno-Ugric tribes and a variety of Turkic tribes. They were recognized as a distinct people by the ninth century, when they settled an area between the Volga, Kama, Tobol, and Ural rivers, where most Bashkirs still live. Conquered by the Mongols of the Golden Horde in the thirteenth century, the Bashkirs were absorbed by different hordes after the breakup of the Golden Horde. Since the sixteenth century, they have been under Russian rule. Impoverished and dispossessed of their land by Russian settlers, the once-nomadic cattle breeders were forced to labor in the mines and new factories being built in eighteenth-century Russia.

• Dialects.  Based primarily on phonetic differences, two Bashkir dialects exist, Yurmata in the south and Kuvakan in the east. 

Rural Bent.  "The Bashkirs remained predominantly rural and agricultural; less than 25 percent of them lived in urban areas in the 1980s. Although Ufa (oo-FAH), the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Republic, had over 1 million people in 1987, the overwhelming majority were Russians."

Belorussians 0.8% 

Other terms for this ethnic group include Belarussians, Byelorussians, or White Russians. For a fuller treatment, see Belarus .

Overview.  "The ancestors of present-day Belorussians (byel-oh-RUSH-ahn) were among those East Slavic tribes that settled the northwestern part of Kievan Rus' territory, mixing with and assimilating the indigenous Baltic tribes. After the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century and the collapse of Kievan Rus', Belorussian lands, together with the greater part of Ukraine, became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania." 

Polish Dominance.  "When in 1569 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined in dynastic union with Poland to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Belorussians shared with Poles and Lithuanians a common king and parliament.

For the next two centuries, Polish influence in Belorussia was dominant. Belorussian nobles, seeking the same privileges as their Polish counterparts, became Polonized and converted from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. Only the peasants retained their Belorussian national culture and Orthodox religion."

Russian Rule

• Persecution.  "With the partitions of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century, Belorussian lands passed to the Russian Empire. The tsarist government viewed Belorussians as simply backward, somewhat Polonized, Russians. It persecuted those Belorussians who had become Uniates in 1596 and forced them to reconvert to Orthodoxy." 

• Resurgence. "Nevertheless, in the second half of the nineteenth century Belorussians experienced a national and political revival and developed a renewed awareness of their separateness from both the Poles and the Russians.

The fledgling Belorussian political movement at the turn of the century reached its zenith during the February Revolution in 1917 and culminated in the establishment of the Belorussian Democratic Republic in March 1918. The newly created republic had its independence guaranteed by the German military."

• Soviet incorporation.  "But when Germany collapsed, the new republic was unable to resist Belorussian Bolsheviks, who were supported by the Bolshevik government in Russia. On January 1, 1919, the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was established and was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union. The western portion of Belorussia was ceded to Poland. At the end of World War II, that territory was incorporated into the Soviet Union." 

Distribution.  "Numerically the [Belorussians are the] smallest of the three East Slavic nationalities [In 1989],...over 1.2 million Belorussians lived in the Russian Republic, with sizable Belorussian minorities in the Ukrainian, Kazakh, and Latvian republics." 

Language 

• Overview.  "Belorussians, like Russians and Ukrainians, speak an East Slavic language. Prior to 1917, both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets were used, but subsequently Cyrillic became the official alphabet. In 1989 about 71 percent of Belorussians in the Soviet Union considered the Belorussian language their first language, while the remainder considered Russian their native tongue." 

• Dialects.  Two main dialects exist--the Northeastern (Polotsk and Vietbsk-Mogilev) and Southwestern (grodno-Baranovichi and Slvetsk-Mozir). In addition, a modern literary language is built upon a middle-of-the-road Northeastern/Southwestern dialect. 

Urbanization.  "In the late 1980s, the Belorussian Republic was the third most urbanized in the Soviet Union, with 64 percent of the republic's population residing in urban areas in 1987--a jump of 33 percent from 1959. Of the Belorussian population in the Soviet Union, about half lived in urban areas. This apparent anomaly was caused chiefly by the large number of Russians residing in the republic's cities. 

The capital and largest city in the Belorussian Republic, Minsk, had a population of almost 1.6 million people in 1989. Other major cities were Gomel' (gah-MEL), Mogilev (mah-gi-LYAHF), Vitebsk (VEE-tipsk), Grodno (GRAHD-nah [Hradna "KRAHD-nah"]), and Brest, all of which had populations of fewer than 500,000." 

Soviet Union Representation

• Education.  "Although Belorussians were the fourth most prevalent nationality in the Soviet Union, they ranked only fifteenth in the number of students in higher education institutions and tenth in the number of scientific workers in the Soviet Union."

• Communist party. "They have fared much better in terms of sharing political power, however. Between 1970 and 1989, Belorussian membership in the CPSU has been fairly representative of their share of the population. In the CPSU Central Committee, Belorussians have actually held a somewhat higher percentage of full-member seats than warranted by their share of population. Paradoxically, they have not fared so well in their own republic. Although Belorussians made up 78.7 percent of the population of the republic in 1989, they had only 70 percent of the party membership in the Belorussian Republic. Russians, however, with only 12 percent of the population of the republic, constituted about 19 percent of the party membership."

Moldavi 0.7%

Moldovans or Moldavians are other terms for this ethnic group. For a fuller treatment, see Moldavia .

Overview.  "Although Moldavians (mahl-DA-vee-ahn) have their own union republic, the existence of Moldavians as a separate nationality has been debatable. Soviet authorities consider Moldavians a distinct nationality. But most Moldavians see themselves as ethnic Romanians because they do not differ from the population of Romania linguistically or culturally. They believe that the creation of the Moldavian Republic and the "artificial" Moldavian nationality was, from its inception, an attempt to legitimize Soviet political claims to a portion of Romanian territory."

History

• Centuries of overrule.  "Ancient Moldavia, a territory that included portions of both present-day Romania and the Soviet Union's Moldavian Republic, was part of Scythia (SI-thee-ah). Later, it fell under partial control of the Roman Empire. As the Roman Empire declined, Moldavia was invaded by successive waves of barbarians moving into the empire. 

Between the tenth and twelfth centuries, part of Moldavia belonged to Kievan Rus' and later to the principality of Galicia. Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, most of Moldavia was a vassal state of the Tatars. 

 

The first independent Moldavian state arose in the mid-fourteenth century and lasted until the beginning of the sixteenth century when Moldavia became a vassal state of Turkey. In the late eighteenth century, Russia attempted to secure control of Moldavia and finally succeeded in 1812, when the portion of Moldavia known as Bessarabia (be-sah-RA-bee-ah) was ceded to Russia." 

• Russification efforts.  "Despite tsarist efforts to Russify Bessarabia by settling large numbers of Russians, Ukrainians, and Jews there, at the time of the February Revolution of 1917 most of the inhabitants considered themselves Romanians. They established the Democratic Moldavian Republic soon after the onset of the revolution and then joined with Romania in April 1918." 

• Soviet realities.  "In 1924 Soviet authorities created the Moldavian Autonomous Republic for the Romanian-speaking population remaining in the Soviet Union. But only about 30 percent of the inhabitants of the newly created autonomous republic were "Moldavians," or Romanian speaking. The majority of the residents of the republic were Ukrainians, Jews, or Russians. 

In 1940 the Soviet Union reincorporated Bessarabia and, together with the territory of the Moldavian Autonomous Republic that contained a mostly Romanian speaking population, formed the Moldavian Republic. In 1944 Romania, under pressure from the Soviet Union, formally recognized the existence of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic." 

Distribution.  "According to the 1989 census, over 3.3 million Moldavians lived in the Soviet Union, of whom 83 percent resided in the Moldavian Republic. The republic, the second smallest of the union republics in area, had a population of over 4.3 million, of which nearly 2.8 million, or over 64 percent, were Moldavians. Ukrainians constituted 14 percent of the population, while Russians made up another 13 percent. Only the Ukrainian and Russian republics had sizable Romanian-speaking minorities in their territory." 

Language.  "According to 1989 statistics, 91.6 percent of Moldavians in the Soviet Union considered Moldavian their first language.   Spoken Moldavian did not differ from the language spoken in Romania; however, Soviet authorities replaced the traditional Latin alphabet with the Cyrillic alphabet." 

Rural Bent.  "The Moldavians were one of the least urbanized nationalities, behind only the Kirgiz as the most rural people in the 1970s. In 1986 only 47 percent of the Moldavian Republic's population lived in urban areas. This represented an increase of 15 percent from 1970, when it was the least urbanized of all the union republics. The overwhelming majority of Moldavians lived in rural areas, while Russians in the republic resided mostly in the cities. The largest city in 1989 was the capital, Kishinev (KI-shi-nef [chisinav, "kee-shee-NAUH"]), with a population of 665,000. Two other cities had a population of over 100,000."

Education.  "In the 1970s, Moldavians were last among the major nationalities in the number of students in higher education institutions and the number of scientific workers per thousand. The Moldavian Republic also consistently ranked last among the union republics in the number of students in higher education per thousand."

Communist Party.  "Moldavian representation in the CPSU as well as in its own republic has been among the lowest of all the nationalities. In the 1980s, Moldavians were next to last among union republic nationalities in their share of total party membership. In the republic, Russians and Ukrainians held a disproportionate number of seats in the party. Of the nine Moldavian Republic's Central Committee members elected in 1971, five were Russian, three were Ukrainian, and one was Moldavian."      

Religion.  Eastern Orthodoxy is the primary religion of the Moldavian peoples. Icons of Christ on the cross or the Virgin Mary with child are common within most households, even amongst the nominal practitioners. Christmas and Easter are the most important holidays. Meticulously painted eggs at Easter become objects of genuine art.

Other Groups 8.1%

Cossacks

• Overview.  The term "Cossack" comes from the Turkic "kazak" meaning "freebooter, vagabond" (not to be confused with Kazakh ethnic name existing in Kazakhstan). Don Cossack is another term for this group.

"Originally peasants, primarily Ukrainian and Russian, who fled from bondage to the lower Dnepr (NEE-pahr) and Don river regions to settle in the frontier areas separating fifteenth-century Muscovy, Poland, and the lands occupied by Tatars. The Cossacks, engaged in hunting, fishing, and cattle raising, established permanent settlements and later organized themselves into military formations to resist Tatar raids. Renowned as horsemen, they were absorbed into the Russian army as light cavalry or irregular troops by the late eighteenth century."

• Language.  Influenced by Ukrainian, Turkish and Tatar vocabulary, Cossack language is a Southern variant of the Great Russian dialect. 

• Kinship and family ties.  Historically, Cossack society was made up of single males. Blood brotherhood became the most important tie. Godfatherhood, over time, became prominent. A traditionally free life-style looked down upon marriage. Over the centuries, however, marriage and family became the common practice.

Masculine dominance and a propensity for spousal abuse, remain. High rates of divorce and legal abortion are common. The military profession, with male bonding and friendship as uppermost, is held in high regard. In the older man, hospitable ways, impeccable integrity, and clarity of mind are valued. Drinking, especially of vodka, is a ritual few abstain from.

• Religion.  Russian Orthodoxy, with a substantial group of "Old Believer" adherents, is the common religious practice. Though most call themselves Christians, faithful adherence to church ritual may not always be present. 

Jewish Peoples See Non-Russian Orthodox Religious History for a treatment of this ethnic group.

Vocabulary 

Multiple Choice.  Run the mouse over your answer if you chose correctly the answer will change to blue bold italics "like this".

1. _____ The __________ Slavs are ancestors of the Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians. 

          a. South 

          b. East 

          c. West

2. _____ The most dominant ethnic group in the current Russian Federation and former Soviet Union/Russian Empire/Muscovy is the   

          a. Belorussians. 

          b. Russians. 

          c. Communists.

3. _____ Most Russians possess a strong appreciation for

          a. urban development and architecture.

          b. the natural environment and beauty of the land.

          c. hamburgers and French fries.

4. _____ After Russians, the most numerous ethnic group in the Russian Federation is the

          a. Belorussians.

          b. Chetneks.

          c. Tatars.

5. _____ The religion of the Volga and Crimean Tatars is of the __________ Hanafite legal school.

          a. Shia

          b. Sufi

          c. Sunni

6. _____ Islam was adopted by Volga Tatar peoples   

          a. just under 500 years ago.

          b. just over 1,100 years ago.

          c. since earliest times.

7. _____ Siberian Tatars currently use the __________ alphabet.

          a. Cyrillic

          b. Arabic

          c. Latin

8. _____ What ethnic group historically formed the intellectual and political elite of Russia’s Muslim population?

          a. Chetneks

          b. Chuvash peoples

          c. Tatars

9. _____ Historically, __________ and Russian governments have struggled for power over Ukrainian peoples.

          a. Romanian

          b. Polish

          c. Moldavian

10. _____ Historically Ukrainians were __________ in the Soviet Union’s educational and political establishments.

          a. underrepresented 

          b. overrepresented

          c. about equal to their population percentage                  

True or False.  Run the mouse over the question.  If the answer answer is "True" the whole question will turn to green bold italics..."like this".  If the answer is "False" it will turn to red bold..."like this".

1. _____ Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serb, Croatian, Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian peoples all come from similar Slavic roots.

2. _____ Traditionally, Russians have subjected themselves to oppressive rulers.

3. _____ Russians as a whole have given little prestige to those who pursue intellectual vocations.

4. _____ In part, the resurgence of Russian Orthodoxy is due to its being perceived as an expression of true Russian identity.

5. _____ The Volga Tatar language for over a thousand years used the Arabic alphabet.

6. _____ The current revival of Arabic script with Crimean Tatar peoples symbolizes, in part, their sense of ethnic independence.

7. _____ Crimean Tatars intermarry with only a few others of their ethnic group.

8. _____ Prior to the 16th century Russian conquest of Crimea, many Muslim mosques and schools were present in the region.

9. _____ During Stalin’s rule, development of distinct culture was encouraged.

10. _____ Though historically an agrarian people, by the 1980s, most Ukrainians lived in urban areas.

Akiner, Shirin. Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union. London: Hartnoll, Ltd., 1986. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook Page on Russia. 27 Jan 1998. http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/factbook/rs.htm

Richmond, Yale. From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1996.

Troyanovsky, Igor. Religion in the Soviet Republics: a Guide to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Other Religions. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

Zickel, Raymond E. ed. Soviet Union Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Department of the Army, DA Pam 550-95, 1991.                                

Resources

Abramowitz, Yosef I. and Micah H. Naftalin. "Anti-Semitism in the Former Soviet Union: An Overview." Union of Councils for Soviet Jews Position Paper. 

http://www.shamash.org/ucsj/stories/123197intro.shtml

Ahrari, M.E. The New Great Game in Muslim Central Asia. Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1996

Alexander, Pat, ed. Eerdman’s Handbook to the World’s Religions. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 1994.

Bodansky, Yossef. Chechnya: The Mujahedin Factor. 

http://www.amina.com/chechens/article/muj_fact.html

Bodansky is the Director of the Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare of the U.S. Congress and is the World Terrorism Analyst with the Freeman

Center for Strategic Studies, Houston, Texas.

Chechen Republic Online.

http://www.amina.com/chechens/

Department of Foreign Relations for President of the Republic of Tatarstan, "The Republic of Tatarstan: Religion."

http://www.tatar.ru/english/00000032.html

Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia, Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Turner, B. Kali. Multifaith Information Manual. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Multifaith Council on Spiritual and Religious Care, 1993. (Available from Multifaith Resource Center, 45 Windy Hill Ct., Wofford Heights, CA 93285, Phone (619) 376-4691)

Welty, Paul Thomas and Miriam Greenblatt. The Human Expression, Fourth Edition, World Regions and Cultures. Westerville, Ohio: Glencoe Division, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 1992.  

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