The smallest nations. The most numerous peoples of the world. List of largest nationalities. List of small peoples of Russia

A small indigenous population is from 0 to 50,000 people. Officially, there are 47 of them throughout the country, except Dagestan. As the most multinational subject of the Federation, the State Council of the Republic itself determines the characteristics of the peoples living on its territory.

Chum salmon. The smallest people - only four people. The Ket language is the last living representative of the Yenisei language family. The last related dialects disappeared at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries along with their speakers.

North of Krasnoyarsk Territory

Hunting and fishing

Nenets (« real man"). The most numerous of the small nations - 44,640 representatives.

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Arkhangelsk Region

Reindeer husbandry

Nivkhi(4652 people). It is assumed that they related peoples live in Polynesia. And the culture originated in Japan, from where its carriers were expelled in the 7th century. Writers Vladimir Sangi, Chingiz Aitmatov, Gennady Gor spoke about the Nivkhs...

Amur region and Sakhalin

Fishing

Sami- (1,771 people live in Russia). They are Laplanders, Lapps. Residents of Lapland - a territory divided between Russia and the Scandinavian countries. They have a distinct national identity, an alphabet (Latin alphabet), a flag and anthem, and their rights are represented by elected representative bodies of cultural self-government. American actress Renee Zellweger is Norwegian Sami on her mother's side.

Kola Peninsula

reindeer husbandry, fishing, sea and land hunting

Yukaghirs(1597 people) - a people on the verge of extinction. The expedition, which took place in 2011, did not reveal a single Yukaghir in the third generation; representatives of the older generation do not remember Yukaghir fairy tales, although they know the names of the characters. Only six native speakers were identified.

Northern Yakutia, western Chukotka, Magadan region

Reindeer husbandry

Teleuts(2,643 people). Richest and ancient history: in 391 the Tubgachamians were conquered, in 403 by the Rourans, in the 280s the Teleuts took Gaochian and ravaged Yuebani, created the state of Gaogyui allied with the Chinese, which was soon destroyed by the Hephthalites, in 550 they were conquered by the Turkuts...

Kemerovo region

Agriculture

Abazins(43,341 people - the second largest among small nations after the Nenets). Historic homeland is the territory of modern Abkhazia. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) in his map of the ancient world mentioned the Abasags in the list of peoples who lived along the banks of the Pontus Euxine. In the 1st century, according to church tradition, the Apostle Andrew preached among the mountain peoples of the Alans, Abazgs and Zikhs. In 1073, Abaza icon painters and jewelry craftsmen participated in the painting of the Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Karachay-Cherkessia

Agriculture

Chukchi(15,908 people). A very warlike tribe - in their kayaks they terrorized not only their neighbors, but also swam to what is now Alaska and Canada. They resisted Russian occupation for almost a century and a half. They managed to appease them only with economic preferences.

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Reindeer husbandry, fishing

Alyutorians(0 people). According to the 2002 All-Russian Population Census, there were 12 of them. In the 2010 census, the Alyutors are not even mentioned as a subethnic group. It is not known whether there are native speakers left.

North of Kamchatka Territory

Reindeer husbandry, fishing, sea slaughter

Vod(64 people). A people close to complete extinction. Today its representatives live only in the village of Ust-Luga (a port will be built here), the villages of Krakolie (the construction plan involves its demolition) and Luzhitsy (it will be in an industrial zone). The port development plan provides for the resettlement of residents in the cities of the Leningrad region, which will completely destroy the water culture.

Leningrad region

Dolgan(7885 people) - the northernmost Turkic-speaking people in the world.

Taimyr

Reindeer husbandry

Nganasans(862 people). Most northern people Eurasia. In 1940-1960 they decided to make them settled, for which several villages were built. Today, only about a hundred people live semi-sedentarily at hunting and fishing “points”.

East Taimyr

Hunting, fishing

Soyots(3608 people). This people was the last to receive their written language. It was developed only in 2001 to revive the Soyot language. In 2003, the Soyot-Buryat-Russian Dictionary was published. Since 2005, the gradual introduction of language teaching into primary school Soyot schools of the Okinsky district of Buryatia.

Buryatia

Reindeer and yak husbandry

About 200 people live in Russia various peoples, however, some of them may soon disappear forever. According to the population census, the number of some peoples does not exceed 10 people, which means that with the departure last representative the language and culture of this people will disappear. Next, we invite you to get acquainted with the peoples who very soon may become another page in the history of our country.

1. Khanty. This is the largest ethnic group on the list - according to the census, there are 31,000 Khanty in Russia. They live in the north of Western Siberia, breed deer, fish and hunt; they are unlikely to be able to visit the spalotus.me spa. The photo shows a shaman.

11. Koryaks. Indigenous inhabitants of the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, now there are only more than six thousand of them in Russia. One of the northernmost peoples in the world. A musher is a dog sled driver in the village of Ilpyr.

12. Tofalars. Tofalarka in national costume.

13. A total of 600 Tofalars (formerly called Karagas) now live in Eastern Siberia.

14. Archintsy. In the 2010 census, only 12 people indicated this nationality, apparently, which is why they were included in the Avars. They live in Dagestan. National headdress of Archinka women.

15. Water. Residents of the Leningrad region. Now there are just over seventy of them left. Girl in national costume

16. N.F. Nesterov is a representative of an ancient Votic family. In his hands he holds “chapiu” - they are needed for weaving large fishing nets.

17. Nivkhs (Gilyaks). They live near the mouth of the Amur River (Khabarovsk Territory) and on the northern part of Sakhalin Island. The name translates as “man”, or gilemi - “people on oars”. In total there are a little more than 4,000 people in Russia. Nivkh in festive costume

18. Selkups. Selkups (or Ostyak-Samoyeds) are a people living in the north of Western Siberia. There are 3,600 people left in Russia. Samoyed Ostyaks

19. Reindeer herder

20. Nganasans. Nganasans inhabit the east of the Taimyr municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the territory subordinate to the administration of the city of Dudinka. The northernmost people of Eurasia, there are 860 of them in Russia. The self-name "nya" is "comrade". Little Nikita and Alexey Chunanchary

24. Chum salmon. Kety (self-name keto, ket - “person”), a little more than a thousand people live in Russia. Kets family, early 20th century.

25. Dolgans. They are considered the northernmost Turkic-speaking people in the world. The Cossacks, who brought Orthodoxy with them, gave the Dolgans their surnames at baptism: Kudryakov, Zharkov, Chuprin, Porotov. The surnames have been preserved to this day. Now there are just under 8,000 people left in Russia; they live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Sakha. Girls in national costumes.

The Russian Federation includes a considerable amount of various peoples - according to experts, about 780 groups. So called small peoples Russia live in northern territory, running along 30 regions of the country. If you add up their numbers, there won’t be that many of them: a little more than a quarter of a million. As of 2010, about 45 indigenous groups live in our state. This article will talk in detail about the peculiarities of residence, legal powers, problems and legal status of the small peoples of Russia.

What are Russian small peoples?

Small specialists call small ethnic communities, preserving their traditions, customs and cultural characteristics of residence. The problem of the livelihoods of small nations is raised not only at the all-Russian, but also at the global level. Thus, in 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution according to which special attention should be paid to small and indigenous communities. Russia did not stand aside then: the 1993 Constitution proclaimed the principle of guaranteeing rights and freedoms both for ordinary citizens and for indigenous representatives of the country. At the constitutional level, the consolidation of the rights of indigenous people is an integral element in the system of protection and support of democratic state development.

Why has the problem of the existence of small-numbered peoples of Russia received special attention recently? The answer to this question lies in history. The fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century, some peoples of our state faced a number of problems: economic, demographic, social and, of course, cultural. This happened, as you might guess, due to profound state changes: revolutions, repressions, civil and Great Patriotic War etc. At the beginning of the 90s, the issue of preserving the remaining indigenous and small peoples of Russia became acute.

It must be said that ethnic groups of a small type do not play last role in the cultural development of the country. Moreover, they are integral part multinational people of Russia, act as an independent factor thanks to which the revival of the once great Russian statehood is taking place. So what is the policy? current authorities in relation to the small peoples of Russia? This will be discussed further below.

Legal basis for the existence of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation

Legal recognition of the status of certain ethnic groups is far from a new phenomenon. At the beginning of the 19th century Russian Empire There was a special Charter on the life of foreigners, dating back to 1822. In this document, the indigenous inhabitants of certain territories of Russia were guaranteed the rights to self-government, land, cultural identity, etc. Soviet time A similar policy continued, but the places where national minorities settled began to be ruthlessly divided. Relocation from place to place, as well as the principle of paternalism (dictation of behavioral norms) played a role in small nations cruel joke: centuries-old traditions and customs gradually began to disappear.

The problem was discovered in the 90s. In order to prevent further acceleration of the process of removing language and cultural characteristics among the indigenous and small peoples of Russia, a number of legal norms were enshrined, proclaiming the principle of identity and preservation traditional culture among indigenous ethnic groups.

The first and most important source is, of course, Russian Constitution. Here it is worth highlighting Article 72, which talks about the joint regulation of the rights and freedoms of national minorities by regions and the federation. Articles 20 and 28 provide for the possibility of indicating one's nationality. In many federal laws and others regulations the principle of equality of different ethnic groups is enshrined. It is worth highlighting the Federal Law “On Fundamental Electoral Rights of Citizens”, the Federal Law “On Languages ​​in the Russian Federation” and many other laws.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is the main government body in the country, whose responsibilities include the legal protection of small peoples. The same authority establishes special guarantees and rights for ethnic groups, which will be discussed below.

On benefits and guarantees for small peoples of Russia

What do Russian federal laws guarantee to ethnic minorities? If we're talking about about the political sphere, then it is worth highlighting certain legal prerequisites for the broad participation of indigenous peoples in the work government agencies Russian Federation and local government authorities. How does it work? According to the Federal Law "On the Electoral Rights of Citizens", special quotas for representation in government bodies should be established. This should happen through the formation of electoral districts, which would include a smaller number of people than established by law. Electoral districts may concern individual national settlements, ethnic associations, tribes, etc.

The next area in which preferential rights for indigenous peoples of Russia are possible is the economy. In this area, methods for the qualitative development of traditional economic activities should be applied. Measures should be taken to create special areas in which it would be possible to use traditional methods of environmental management. We should not forget about budgetary allocations aimed at supporting folk crafts. May be subject to privatization with strict regard to the interests of indigenous peoples manufacturing enterprises. At the same time, taxation of such enterprises will be carried out taking into account possible benefits and subsidies.

Finally, the preferential rights of the small peoples of Russia can also be exercised in the socio-cultural field. Here it is worth talking about the acceptance of conditions for preserving the spiritual and cultural foundations of a particular indigenous people. Ethnic means mass media, relevant language and literature must be supported in every possible way by government authorities. It is necessary to carry out periodically Scientific research cultural spheres small peoples.

International law on indigenous peoples

The national legal framework, which contains rules on the protection of the legal status of indigenous peoples of Russia, is based on the principles established by international law. In other words, Russian law should not contradict international legal norms. This rule is also enshrined in the Russian Constitution of 1993.

All normative acts of an international nature that address the problems of small peoples of the earth can be divided into three main groups. The first group includes documents of an advisory nature. What does this mean? In short, the Declaration on Linguistic Minorities, the Vienna Declaration (1989), the Paris Declaration (1990), the Geneva Declaration (1991) and many other declarative documents are aimed at stimulating favorable attitudes towards ethnic minorities.

The second group includes documentation, the purpose of which is to exert ideological and cultural influence on the legal system of a particular state. For example, Convention No. 169 talks about tribal peoples, the CIS Convention of 1994 on the implementation of high-quality protection of the rights of minorities, etc. A feature of the presented group is that Russia ignores the documentation contained in it. Does this constitute a group of problems of the indigenous peoples of Russia? Most likely no. After all, there is a third group, which includes documents legally binding for any state.

The latter consists of international documents designed to protect national minorities from various kinds of discriminatory and degrading aspects. Thus, there is the Covenant on Political and Civil Rights of 1965, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms of 1950 and many other documents that are binding on the Russian state.

Rights and freedoms of Russian small peoples

Today, Federal Law No. 256-FZ “On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Russia” of 1999 is in force in Russia. Article 8 of the presented normative act talks about the rights of ethnic minorities. What exactly is worth highlighting here?

Small peoples, as well as their associations, must be supported in every possible way by the state authorities. This is necessary to protect their original habitat, traditional way of life, various types of crafts and management. That is why such peoples have the right to use minerals, soils, animals and plant organisms in their habitats.

It is provided, of course, free of charge. However, this is far from the only right of peoples of the type under consideration. It is also worth highlighting here:

• the right to participate in exercising control over the use of one’s own lands;
• the ability to carry out control and supervisory activities over the implementation federal laws and regulations of the Russian Federation;
• the right to construct and reconstruct economic, domestic and production facilities;
• the opportunity to timely receive from the Russian Federation funds or material allowances necessary for the cultural or socio-economic development of peoples;
• the right to participate in the exercise of state power or local government - directly or through authorized representatives;
• the opportunity to delegate their representatives to government authorities;
• the right to compensation for losses that were caused as a result of damage natural environment a habitat;
• the right to receive assistance from the state in the form of reforming a particular social sphere.

This, of course, is not all the possibilities that the law enshrines. It is also worth highlighting the replacement here military service alternative civil, the ability to create special self-government authorities, the right to exercise judicial protection, etc. It must be said that all the rights presented constitute the legal status of the small peoples of Russia.

Problems of small Russian peoples

Before we begin the story about the peculiarities of life of the most famous indigenous ethnic groups of our state, it is worth identifying the main problems that these ethnic groups often have to face.

The first and probably the most important problem is the identification of national minorities. The identification process can be group or individual. Difficulties arise in finding appropriate criteria and procedures. The second issue concerns minority rights. As is known, indigenous peoples require special rights. To do this, it is necessary to qualitatively determine the conditions under which the implementation of special rights would be possible. Difficulties may arise in ensuring that rights are targeted and correctly applied in private or public legal spheres.

The third problem of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North can be called the difficulty of self-determination of such ethnic groups. The fact is that in this area there are problems of the feasibility of forming territorial entities, granting rights or building guarantees of these rights. This leads to another problem, closely related to the system legal regulation and security. Here, the issues of the relationship between the principles of the regional and federal levels, the conclusion of agreements between ethnic groups, the application of customary law, etc. are extremely relevant. By the way, the problem government controlled The issue of the affairs of small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation is also quite acute. If we are talking about the levels of relevant government authorities, about the delegation of powers to local government authorities, then some difficulties of an organizational nature may arise here.

It is also worth highlighting the problem of status public organizations national minorities. The fact is that such organizations could be given quite large and voluminous rights relating to the electoral process, protection of interests, control over the implementation of powers, etc. Difficulties here may arise, again, when questioning the advisability of such actions.

Influence on the culture of small peoples

Various international treaties and national regulations establish rules that must never be violated. They also concern centuries-old cultural traditions of this or that people. Still, Soviet times did not have the best impact on certain small nations. Thus, it is worth paying attention to the Izhorians, whose number decreased several times between 1930 and 1950. But this is just an isolated example. State paternalism, chosen as a priority vector of cultural development in Soviet times, had a very bad impact on almost all the original peoples of Russia. It must be said that a certain form of paternalism is still present today, despite everything established laws and rules. And this is another problem of the small peoples of Russia, which would be worth paying close attention to.

The whole point is that in many peoples of the North there is an irreconcilable struggle against shamanism. Moreover, it is shamanism that has the greatest influence on the traditions and culture of national minorities. All-Russian clericalization also contributes to the struggle to some extent. Thus, in the Republic of Sakha, the local Orthodox diocese set the task of completely eradicating paganism in the surrounding territories. Of course, you can refer to history, because a similar struggle was waged back in the days Tsarist Russia. But is it really that good today? In the context of maintaining secularism and the priority of cultural customs, such actions of the church should be regarded as forceful pressure on the traditions of certain peoples.

List of small peoples of Russia

From the Kola Peninsula, located in the Murmansk region, all the way to the Far Eastern regions, there are many different national minorities. The list of small peoples of Russia, although established quite a long time ago, is, nevertheless, supplemented from time to time. It is worth mentioning the most famous national minorities in Russia:

• Republic of Karelia and Leningrad region: Vepsians, Izhorians, Vodians and Kumadins;
• Kamchatka: Aleuts, Alyutors, Itelmens, Kamchadals, Koryaks, Chukchi, Evenks, Evens and Eskimos;
• Krasnoyarsk region and Yakutia: Dolgans, Nganasans, Nenets, Selkups, Teleuts, Enets;
• Sakha and Magadan region: Yukagirs, Chuvans, Lamuts, Orochs, Koryaks.

Naturally, the list is not complete. It can be constantly supplemented, because some peoples are still being discovered, while others are completely “dying out.” A description of the small peoples of the Russian North will be presented below.

About the largest and smallest peoples of the North of Russia

The list of small peoples of the Russian Federation is constantly updated. This is due to the discovery of new, hitherto unknown settlements. For example, not so long ago a group of Vods, consisting of only 82 people, acquired the status of an ethnic minority. By the way, the Vod are the smallest people in Russia. This ethnic group lives in the Leningrad region, and therefore is part of the Finno-Ugric group. Vod representatives speak Estonian. Until now, the main occupation of this people is agriculture, handicrafts and forestry. On this moment Vod is engaged in supplying products to the capital of the Leningrad region. It must be said that the spread of Orthodoxy and multiple mixed marriages significantly influenced the national group. This was expressed in the almost complete loss national language and centuries-old culture.

It is worth telling in a little more detail about the other small peoples of the North of Russia. Thus, in contrast to the smallest people of a small type, there is also the largest. At the moment this is a group of Karelians. On the territory of the Vyborg and Leningrad regions there are about 92 thousand people. The Karelian ethnic group was formed by the beginning of the 13th century. It seems surprising that mass baptism on Novgorod territory had virtually no effect on the culture of the Karelians. In this group, few people understood the Russian language, and therefore the propaganda of Orthodoxy did not affect such a distinctive group and could not influence the traditions of this people. The main occupation of Karelians is fishing and reindeer herding. Today, the woodworking industry is well developed in the Karelian Republic.

Peoples of Chukotka

Many people know that it is on the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug that greatest number national minorities. Chuvans, for example, number about one and a half thousand people. This is an Arctic race of the large Mongoloid group. Most Chuvans speak the Chukchi language with a small Russian dialect. Another such group is known to all Russians: the Chukchi. There are about 15 thousand people. The Chukchi live in Yakutia.

In total, about 90 thousand people live in Chukotka. Although 30 years ago this figure was much higher. What is the reason? Why has there been a noticeable decrease in the number of representatives of national minorities since the beginning of the 90s? Even the most prominent experts find it difficult to answer this question. After all, a similar situation is happening in Kamchatka, where from 472 thousand people as of 1991, only 200 thousand remain today. Perhaps it’s all about urbanization, although statistics do not give any high indicators in this area. To be fair, it should be noted that problems are solved through the implementation of a high-quality policy for the preservation of the small peoples of Russia.

Despite all the attempts of historians and ethnographers to create a clear picture of the development of some peoples, there are still many secrets and blind spots in the history of the origin of many nations and nationalities. Our review contains the most mysterious peoples of our planet - some of them have sunk into oblivion, while others live and develop today.

1. Russians

As everyone knows, Russians are the most mysterious people on the ground. Moreover, there is a scientific basis for this. Scientists still cannot come to a conclusion unanimous opinion about the origin of this people and answer the question of when the Russians became Russians. There is also debate about where this word comes from. Russian ancestors are sought among the Normans, Scythians, Sarmatians, Vends and even the South Siberian Usuns.

2. Maya

Nobody knows where these people came from or where they disappeared to. Some scientists believe that the Mayans are related to the legendary Atlanteans, others suggest that their ancestors were the Egyptians.

The Mayans created an efficient agricultural system and had deep knowledge of astronomy. Their calendar was used by other peoples of Central America. The Mayans used a hieroglyphic writing system that has only been partially deciphered. Their civilization was very advanced when the conquistadors arrived. Now it seems that the Mayans came from nowhere and disappeared into nowhere.

3. Laplanders or Sami

The people, which Russians also call Lapps, are at least 5,000 years old. Scientists are still arguing about their origin. Some believe that the Laplanders are Mongoloids, others insist on the version that the Sami are Paleo-Europeans. Their language is believed to belong to the Finno-Ugric group of languages, but there are ten dialects of the Sami language that are different enough to be called independent. Sometimes the Laplanders themselves have difficulty understanding each other.

4. Prussians

The very origin of the Prussians is a mystery. They were first mentioned in the 9th century in the records of an anonymous trader, and then in Polish and German chronicles. Linguists have found analogues in various Indo-European languages ​​and believe that the word “Prussians” can be traced back to the Sanskrit word “purusha” (man). Not much is known about the Prussian language, since the last native speaker died in 1677. The history of Prussianism and the Kingdom of Prussia began in the 17th century, but these people had little in common with the original Baltic Prussians.

5. Cossacks

Scientists do not know where the Cossacks originally came from. Their homeland may be in the North Caucasus or on the Sea of ​​Azov or in the west of Turkestan... Their ancestry may go back to the Scythians, Alans, Circassians, Khazars or Goths. Each version has its supporters and its own arguments. Cossacks today represent a multi-ethnic community, but they constantly emphasize that they are a separate nation.

6. Parsis

Parsis are an ethno-religious group of followers of Zoroastrianism of Iranian origin in South Asia. Today their number is less than 130 thousand people. The Parsis have their own temples and so-called “towers of silence” for burying the dead (the corpses that are laid out on the roofs of these towers are pecked by vultures). They are often compared to the Jews, who were also forced to leave their homeland, and who still carefully preserve the traditions of their cults.

7. Hutsuls

The question of what the word “Hutsul” means is still unclear. Some scientists believe that the etymology of the word is related to the Moldovan “gots” or “gutz” (“bandit”), others believe that the name comes from the word “kochul” (“shepherd”). Hutsuls are most often called Ukrainian highlanders, who still practice the traditions of molfarism (witchcraft) and who greatly honor their sorcerers.

8. Hittites

The Hittite state was very influential on the geopolitical map of the ancient world. These people were the first to create a constitution and use chariots. However, not much is known about them. The chronology of the Hittites is known only from the sources of their neighbors, but there is not a single mention of why or where they disappeared. The German scientist Johann Lehmann wrote in his book that the Hittites went north and assimilated with Germanic tribes. But this is only one version.

9. Sumerians

This is one of the most mysterious peoples in the ancient world. Nothing is known about their origins or the origin of their language. The large number of homonyms suggests that it was a polytonic language (like modern Chinese), that is, the meaning of what was said often depended on tone. The Sumerians were very advanced - they were the first in the Middle East to use the wheel, to create an irrigation system and a unique writing system. The Sumerians also developed mathematics and astronomy at an impressive level.

10. Etruscans

They entered history quite unexpectedly and that is how they disappeared. Archaeologists believe that the Etruscans lived in the north-west of the Apennine Peninsula, where they created a fairly developed civilization. The Etruscans founded the first Italian cities. Theoretically, they could move to the east and become the founders of the Slavic ethnic group (their language has much in common with the Slavic ones).

11. Armenians

The origin of the Armenians is also a mystery. There are many versions. Some scientists believe that Armenians descended from the people ancient state Urartu, but in the genetic code of the Armenians there is a component not only of the Urartians, but also of the Hurrians and Libyans, not to mention the proto-Armenians. There are also Greek versions of their origin. Most scientists, however, adhere to the mixed-migration hypothesis of Armenian ethnogenesis.

12. Gypsies

According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Roma left Indian territory in numbers that did not exceed 1,000 people. Today there are about 10 million Roma people worldwide. In the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that Gypsies were Egyptians. They were called the "tribe of the pharaoh" for a very specific reason: the Europeans were amazed by the gypsy tradition of embalming their dead and burying with them in crypts everything that might be needed in another life. This gypsy tradition is still alive.

13. Jews

This is one of the most mysterious peoples and many secrets are connected with Jews. At the end of the 8th century BC. five sixths (10 out of 12 of all ethnic groups that form the race) of Jews disappeared. Where they went is a mystery to this day.

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14. Guanches

The Guanches are the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is unknown how they appeared on the island of Tenerife - they did not have ships and the Guanches knew nothing about navigation. Their anthropological type does not correspond to the latitude where they lived. Also, many disputes are caused by the presence of rectangular pyramids in Tenerife - they are similar to the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico. Nobody knows when or why they were erected.

15. Khazars

Everything that people know about the Khazars today was taken from the records of their neighboring peoples. And practically nothing remained of the Khazars themselves. Their appearance was sudden and unexpected, just like their disappearance.

16. Basque

The age, origin and language of the Basques are a mystery modern history. The Basque language, Euskara, is believed to be the only remnant of a Proto-Indo-European language that does not belong to any language group existing today. According to a 2012 National Geographic study, all Basques have a set of genes that... to a large extent different from other peoples living around them.

17. Chaldeans

The Chaldeans lived at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st thousand years BC in the territory of Southern and Central Mesopotamia. In 626-538 BC. The Chaldean dynasty ruled Babylon, founding the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Chaldeans are still associated today with magic and astrology. In Ancient Greece and Rome, priests and Babylonian astrologers were called Chaldeans. They predicted the future of Alexander the Great and his successors.

18. Sarmatians

Herodotus once called the Sarmatians “lizards with human heads.” M. Lomonosov believed that they were the ancestors of the Slavs, and the Polish nobles considered themselves their direct descendants. The Sarmatians left behind many secrets. For example, this people had a tradition of artificial deformation of the skull, which allowed people to give themselves an ovoid head shape.

19. Kalash

Small people, living in the north of Pakistan, in the Hindu Kush mountains, are notable for the fact that their skin color is whiter than that of other Asian peoples. The debate about Kalash has been subsiding for centuries. The people themselves insist on their connection with Alexander the Great. Their language is phonologically atypical for the area and has the basic structure of Sanskrit. Despite attempts at Islamization, many adhere to polytheism.

20. Philistines

Modern concept"Philistines" comes from the name of the area "Philistia". The Philistines are the most mysterious people mentioned in the Bible. Only they and the Hittites knew the technology of steel production and it was they who laid the foundation iron age. According to the Bible, the Philistines came from the island of Caphtor (Crete). The Cretan origin of the Philistines is confirmed by Egyptian manuscripts and archaeological finds. It is unknown where they disappeared to, but it is most likely that the Philistines were assimilated into the Eastern Mediterranean peoples.

Despite the efforts of historians and ethnographers, the history of these peoples still keeps its mysteries.

1. Russians

Yes, Russians are one of the most mysterious peoples. Scientists still cannot come to a consensus either about when Russians became “Russians” or about where this word actually came from. The question of the origin of the people remains controversial. The ancestors of the Russians included the Normans, the Scythians, the Sarmatians, the Wends, and even the South Siberian Usun people.

We do not know the origins of the Maya people, nor where they disappeared to. Some scientists trace the roots of the Mayans to the legendary Atlanteans, others believe that their ancestors were the Egyptians. The Mayans created an effective farming system and had deep knowledge of astronomy. The calendar developed by the Mayans was also used by other peoples of Central America. They used a hieroglyphic writing system, partially deciphered. The Mayan civilization was very developed, but by the time the conquistadors arrived it was in deep decline, and the Mayans themselves seemed to have disappeared into history.

3. Laplanders

Laplanders are also called Sami and Lapps. The age of this ethnic group is at least 5000 years. Scientists are still arguing about who the Laplanders are and where they came from. Some consider this people to be Mongoloid, others argue that the Laplanders are Paleo-Europeans. The Sami language is classified as a Finno-Ugric language, but the Laplanders have 10 dialects of the Sami language, which are so different from each other that they can be called independent. This even makes it difficult for some Laplanders to communicate with others.

4. Prussians

The very origin of the Prussian name is shrouded in mystery. The first time it is found only in the 9th century in the form Brusi in a draft by an anonymous merchant, and later in Polish and German chronicles. Linguists find analogies for it in many Indo-European languages ​​and believe that it goes back to the Sanskrit purusa - “man”. There is also no sufficient information preserved about the language of the Prussians. Its last bearer died in 1677, and the plague of 1709-1711 exterminated the last Prussians in Prussia itself. Already in the 17th century, instead of Prussian history, the history of “Prussianism” and the kingdom of Prussia began, the local population of which had little in common with the Baltic name of the Prussians.

5. Cossacks

The question of where the Cossacks came from still remains unresolved. Their homeland is found in the North Caucasus, the Azov region, and Western Turkestan. The ancestry of the Cossacks is traced back to the Scythians, Alans, Circassians, Khazars, Goths, and Brodniks. Supporters of all versions have their own arguments. Today the Cossacks are a multi-ethnic community, but they themselves like to insist that the Cossacks are a separate people.

6. Parsis

Parsis are an ethno-religious group of followers of Zoroastrianism in South Asia, of Iranian origin. Its number now amounts to less than 130 thousand people. Parsis have their own temples and so-called “towers of silence”, where, in order not to desecrate the sacred elements (earth, fire, water), they bury the dead (the corpses are pecked by vultures). Parsis are often compared to Jews; they were also forced to leave their homeland and are meticulous in matters of religious observance. The Iran League in India at the beginning of the 20th century promoted the return of Parsis to their homeland, reminiscent of the Zionism of the Jews.

7. Hutsuls

There is still debate about the meaning of the word “hutsul”. Some scientists believe that the etymology of the word goes back to the Moldavian “gots” or “guts”, which means “robber”, others - to the word “kochul”, which means “shepherd”. The Hutsuls are also called “Ukrainian highlanders.” Among them, the traditions of witchcraft are still strong. Hutsul sorcerers are called molfars. They can be white or black. Molfars enjoy unquestioned authority.

8. Hittites

The Hittite Power was one of the most influential forces on the geopolitical map Ancient world. The first constitution appeared here, the Hittites were the first to use war chariots and revered the double-headed eagle, but information about the Hittites is still fragmentary. In their “tables of the courageous deeds” of the kings there are many notes “for the next year,” but the year of the report is unknown. We know the chronology of the Hittite state from the sources of its neighbors. The question remains open: where did the Hittites disappear? Johann Lehmann in his book “Hittites. People of a Thousand Gods” gives a version that the Hittites went north, where they assimilated with the Germanic tribes. But this is just a version.

9. Sumerians

The Sumerians are the most interesting and still one of the most mysterious peoples of the Ancient World. We don't know where they came from or what language family their language belonged to. A large number of homonyms suggests that it was tonal (like, for example, modern Chinese), which means that the meaning of what was said often depended on intonation. The Sumerians were one of the most advanced peoples of their time, they were the first in the entire Middle East to use the wheel, create an irrigation system, invent a unique writing system, and the Sumerians’ knowledge of mathematics and astronomy is still amazing.

10. Etruscans

The ancient Etruscan people suddenly arose in human history, but also suddenly dissolved in it. According to archaeologists, the Etruscans inhabited the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula and created a fairly developed civilization there. It was the Etruscans who founded the first cities in Italy. Historians also believe that Roman numerals can also be called Etruscan. It is unknown where the Etruscans disappeared to. According to one version, they moved to the east and became the founders of the Slavic ethnic group. Some scientists argue that the Etruscan language is very close in structure to the Slavic ones.

11. Armenians

The origin of the Armenians remains a mystery. There are many versions. Some scientists correlate the Armenians with the people of the ancient state of Urartu, but the genetic component of the Urartians is present in the genetic code of the Armenians in the same way as the genetic component of the same Hurrians and Luwians, not to mention the proto-Armenians. There are Greek versions of the origin of the Armenians, as well as the so-called “Hayasian hypotheses”, in which Hayas, the territory east of the Hittite kingdom, becomes the original homeland of the Armenians. Scientists have never given a final answer to the question of the origin of the Armenians and most often adhere to the migration-mixed hypothesis of Armenian ethnogenesis.

12. Gypsies

According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Roma left Indian territory in numbers not exceeding 1,000 people. Today there are about 10 million Roma in the world. In the Middle Ages, Gypsies in Europe were considered Egyptians. The word Gitanes itself is a derivative of the Egyptian. Tarot cards, considered the last surviving remnant of the cult of the Egyptian god Thoth, were brought to Europe by the gypsies. It was not for nothing that they were called “Pharaoh’s tribe.” It was also amazing for Europeans that the gypsies embalmed their dead and buried them in crypts, where they placed everything necessary for life after death. These funeral traditions are still alive among the Roma today.

13. Jews

Jews are one of the most mysterious living peoples. For a long time it was believed that the very concept of “Jews” was cultural rather than ethnic. That is, that “Jews” were created by Judaism, and not vice versa. There are still fierce discussions in science about what the Jews originally were - a people, a social class or a religious denomination.

There are many mysteries in the history of the Jewish people. At the end of the 8th century BC, five-sixths of Jews disappeared completely - 10 out of 12 ethnic groups. Where did they disappear to? big question. There is a version that from the Scythians and Cimmerians, as descendants of 10 tribes, come the Finns, Swiss, Swedes, Norwegians, Irish, Welsh, French, Belgians, Dutch, Danes, Irish and Welsh, that is, almost everyone European peoples. The question of the origin of the Ashkenazim and their closeness to Middle Eastern Jews also remains debatable.

14. Guanches

Guanches are the natives of Tenerife. The mystery of how they ended up in the Canary Islands has not yet been solved, since they did not have a fleet and did not have seafaring skills. Their anthropological type did not correspond to the latitudes where they lived. The rectangular pyramids on the island of Tenerife, similar to the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico, are also controversial. Neither the time of their construction nor the purpose for which they were erected is known.

15. Khazars

Neighboring peoples wrote a lot about the Khazars, but they themselves left virtually no information about themselves. Just as suddenly the Khazars appeared on the historical stage, just as suddenly they left it. Historians still do not have sufficient archaeological data about what Khazaria was like, nor an understanding of what language the Khazars spoke. It is also unknown where they eventually disappeared. There are many versions. There is no clarity.

16. Basque

The age, origin and language of the Basques is one of the main mysteries of modern history. The Basque language, Euskara, is considered the only relict pre-Indo-European language that does not belong to any currently existing language family. When it comes to genetics, according to a 2012 study by the National Geographic Society, all Basques contain a set of genes that significantly distinguishes them from other peoples around them.

17. Chaldeans

The Chaldeans are a Semitic-Aramaic people who lived at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. in the territory of Southern and Central Mesopotamia. In 626-538 BC. Babylon was ruled by the Chaldean dynasty, which founded the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. The Chaldeans were a people who are still associated with magic and astrology. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, priests and fortune-tellers of Babylonian origin were called Chaldeans. The Chaldeans made predictions to Alexander the Great and his successors Antigonus and Seleucus.

18. Sarmatians

Sarmatians are one of the most mysterious peoples in world history. Herodotus called them “lizard-headed,” Lomonosov believed that the Slavs descended from the Sarmatians, and the Polish gentry called themselves their direct descendants. The Sarmatians left a lot of mysteries. They probably had a matriarchy. Some scientists trace the roots of the Russian kokoshnik to the Sarmatians. Among them, the custom of artificially deforming the skull was widespread, thanks to which a person’s head took on the shape of an elongated egg.

19. Kalash

The Kalash are a small people living in the north of Pakistan in the Hindu Kush mountains. They are probably the most famous "white" people in Asia. Disputes about the origins of the Kalash continue today. The Kalash themselves are sure that they are the descendants of Macedonian himself. The Kalash language is called phonologically atypical; it has retained the basic composition of Sanskrit. Despite attempts at Islamization, many Kalash retain polytheism.

20. Philistines

The modern name "Palestine" comes from "Philistia". The Philistines are the most mysterious people mentioned in the Bible. In the Middle East, only they and the Hittites mastered the technology of steel smelting, marking the beginning of the Iron Age. The Bible says that these people originate from the island of Caphtor (Crete), although some historians correlate the Philistines with the Pelasgians. Egyptian manuscripts and archaeological finds. It is still not clear where the Philistines disappeared to. Most likely, they were assimilated by the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean.