Present-day country
Russian Federation
18 nations list Russian Federation among their present-day countries.
Present-day countries are listed by ISO 3166 names. Many nations live across more than one.
18 nations
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Dolgan
Also known as Долганы
Lands Taimyr Peninsula in Krasnoyarsk Krai (Taimyr Dolgan-Nenets District) and the Anabar District and city of Yakutsk in Sakha (Yakutia), Russia
During an August 2026 folk culture expedition to Khatanga, the Dolgan dried-fish dish kerdiileek was added to the list of Taimyr's intangible cultural heritage.
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Even
Also known as Эвены
Lands Northeastern Siberia: Sakha (Yakutia), Magadan Oblast, Kamchatka, Chukotka and Khabarovsk Krai, Russia
The 2002 census counted 11,657 Even living in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
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Evenki
Also known as Эвенки
Lands Siberian taiga from the Ob River to the Sea of Okhotsk, with the largest group in Sakha (Yakutia), also Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk krais, Buryatia, Amur, Irkutsk and Zabaykalsky regions of Russia, and in China and Mongolia
Evenki communities live across Russia, with the largest in Sakha (Yakutia), and Evenki also live in China and Mongolia.
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Itelmen
Also known as Ительмены
Lands Tigilsky District on the west coast of Kamchatka Krai, with smaller groups in Chukotka and Magadan Oblast, Russia
The self-name Itelmen means an inhabitant of dry land, a human being.
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Ket
Also known as Кеты
Lands Yenisei River basin, mainly Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
A Cyrillic writing system that Ket speakers actually use came into being in the late 1980s.
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Khanty
Also known as Ханты
Lands River valleys of the Ob basin in western Siberia: Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Yugra), Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Tomsk Oblast, Russia
For many Khanty families, fishing and reindeer herding are closely intertwined, and family fishing hamlets on rivers like the Synia still carry clan surnames.
Source: Arctic Anthropology blog, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Koryak
Also known as Коряки
Lands Mainly the north of Kamchatka Krai, Russian Far East
In 2000, a Russian government decree gave the Koryak the status of an Indigenous small-numbered people.
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Luoravetlan
Also known as Chukchi
Lands Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, northern Kamchatka Krai and the Nizhnekolymsky District of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia
Researchers at Russia's Kunstkamera museum published a 2018 study on the mobile dwellings of Chukchi reindeer herders, covering both traditions and innovations.
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Mansi
Also known as Манси
Lands Ob and Irtysh basin in western Siberia, mainly Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Yugra), with small groups in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia
Mansi rapper Yevgeny Anyamov, known as Bizzo, records his songs in Mansi and opened his own studio in his hometown of Ivdel to share his people's culture with youth.
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Nanai
Also known as Нанайцы
Lands Lower Amur River valley in Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai, Russia, and the Sungari River area of northeast China
Nanai communities also live in China, where about 4,600 Nanai were counted in 2000.
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Nenets
Also known as Ненцы
Lands Tundra and forest-tundra from the Kola Peninsula to the Yenisei River, including the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets autonomous okrugs and Taimyr, Russia
In Yamal, a regional grant helps young Nenets, Khanty and other Indigenous nomadic families with three or more children equip a chum shelter. By 2024, 268 families had received it.
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Nganasan
Also known as Нганасаны
Lands Southern and central Taimyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, including the villages of Ust-Avam, Volochanka and Novaya and the towns of Dudinka and Norilsk, Russia
In August 2026, a state folk culture expedition in Taimyr met a knowledge keeper of Vadeyev Nganasan culture, who showed traditional dishes and how Nganasan cuisine differs from Dolgan.
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Nivkh
Also known as Нивхи
Lands Lower Amur River in Khabarovsk Krai and Sakhalin Island, Russia
Nivkh life was built on fishing and hunting, including sea mammals taken with spears or with nets woven from leather straps.
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Odul, Wadul
Also known as Yukaghir
Lands Kolyma River basin in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Magadan Oblast, Russia
A Cyrillic-based writing system for Yukaghir was developed in the 1970s.
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Sámi
Also known as Saami
Lands Sápmi, across northern Norway, Sweden and Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia
About 10,000 Sámi live in Finland, where three Sámi languages are spoken: Northern Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi.
Source: Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament of Finland) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Selkup
Also known as Селькупы
Lands Between the middle Ob and Yenisei rivers: the Taz River area of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Narym area of Tomsk Oblast, Russia
Since a 2000 government decree, Russia has listed the Selkup as an Indigenous small-numbered people.
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Udehe
Also known as Udege
Lands Villages on the Khor and Bikin rivers in Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai, and towns of both regions, Russia
Most Udehe today live in villages on the Khor and Bikin rivers in Russia's Far East.
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Yupik
Also known as Yupigyt
Lands Settlements on the eastern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, across the Bering Strait from Alaska
Inuit from Chukotka became part of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1992, a goal that was in ICC's vision from the very beginning.
Source: Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada (opens in a new tab) Checked