View source for Russians

{{About|the East Slavic ethnic group, regardless of country of citizenship|all citizens of Russia, regardless of ethnicity|Citizenship of Russia|and|Demographics of Russia|other uses|Russian (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-pc1|expiry=indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group= Russians <br> ''Русские''
| image=
| caption=
|population  = {{Circa|130|150 million}}<ref>Estimates range between 130 and 150 million. 111 million in the [[Russian Federation]]  ([[Russian Census (2010)|2010 census]]), about 16 million [[ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states]] (8 M in Ukraine, 4.5 M in Kazakhstan, 1 M in Belarus, 0.6 M Latvia, 0.6 M in Uzbekistan, 0.6 M in Kyrgyzstan. Up to 10 million [[Russian diaspora]] elsewhere (mostly Americas and Western Europe).</ref>
|popplace={{flag|Russian Federation}}: 111,016,896<ref name=gks>[http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/population/demo/per-itog/tab5.xls Ethnic groups in Russia], 2010 census, Rosstat. Retrieved 15 February 2012 {{ru icon}}</ref><br /><small>(census, 2010)</small>
|region1  = {{flag|Ukraine}}
|pop1     = 8,334,141 (census, 2001)
|ref1     =<ref name="Національний склад населення">[http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/general/nationality/ Про кількість та склад населення України за підсумками Всеукраїнського перепису населення 2001 року] {{uk icon}}</ref>
|region2  = {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
|pop2     = 3,793,764 (census, 2009)
|ref2     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Documents/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C_%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8.rar|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723084412/http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Documents/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C_%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8.rar|archivedate=23 July 2011|title=(2009 census)|date=|accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region3  = {{flag|Germany}}<br /><small>(including Russian Jews and Russian Germans)</small>
|pop3     = 3,500,000 (estimate, 2013)
|ref3     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.mid.ru//bdomp/brp_4.nsf/e78a48070f128a7b43256999005bcbb3/55cec39404735aadc32572ea005b9953!OpenDocument|title=Regarding Upcoming Conference on Status of Russian Language Abroad|publisher=Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date= |accessdate=24 June 2014}}</ref>
|region4  = {{flag|United States}}<br /><small>(including Russian Jews and Russian Germans)</small>
|pop4     = 3,072,756 (census, 2009)
|ref4     =<ref name=census1>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_5YR_B04003&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder - Results|work=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)}}</ref>
|region5  = {{flag|Israel}}<br /><small>(including Russian Jews)</small>
|pop5     = 1,240,122 (census, 2015)
|ref5     ={{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
|region6  = {{flag|Uzbekistan}}
|pop6     = 1,199,015 (estimate, 2000)
|ref6     =<ref>[http://www.library.cjes.ru/online/?a=con&b_id=416 Хостинг VPS аренда сервера | Интернет Хостинг Центр<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
|region7  = {{flag|Belarus}}
|pop7     = 785,084 (census, 2009)
|ref7     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/homep/en/census/2009/main.php|title=Population Census 2009|work=Republic of Belarus Official Statistics|deadurl=y|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111042053/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/en/census/2009/main.php |archivedate=11 January 2010}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2016}}
|region8 = {{flag|Canada}}<br /><small>(Russian ancestry)</small>
|pop8    = 550,520 (census, 2011)<ref>
|ref8     ={{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF|title=2011 National Household Survey: Data tables|publisher=}}</ref>
|region9  = {{flag|Latvia}}
|pop9     = 520,136 (census, 2014)
|ref9     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.csb.gov.lv/Table.aspx?layout=tableViewLayout1&px_tableid=IS0070.px&px_path=Sociala__Ikgad%C4%93jie%20statistikas%20dati__Iedz%C4%ABvot%C4%81ji__Iedz%C4%ABvot%C4%81ji%20skaits%20un%20t%C4%81%20izmai%C5%86as&px_language=lv&px_db=Sociala&rxid=992a0682-2c7d-4148-b242-7b48ff9fe0c2|title=Latvijas statistikas datubāzes|publisher=}}</ref>
|region10  = {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
|pop10     = 419,600 (census, 2009)
|ref10     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.kg/stat.files/tematika/%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84/%D0%9A%D1%8B%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%8B%D0%B7%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%20%D0%B2%20%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%85/%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE6.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920053210/http://www.stat.kg/stat.files/tematika/%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84/%D0%9A%D1%8B%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%8B%D0%B7%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%20%D0%B2%20%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%85/%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE6.pdf|archivedate=20 September 2011|title=Ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan (2009 census)|work=Kyrgyz Statistical Agency|year=2009|accessdate=31 March 2011}}</ref>
|region11  = {{flag|Moldova}}
|pop11     = 369,488 (census, 2004)
|ref11     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistica.md/pageview.php?l=en&idc=295&id=2234|title=Moldovan Population Census from 2004|work=Moldovan National Bureau of Statistics|date=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114023835/http://www.statistica.md/pageview.php?l=en&id=2234&idc=295|archivedate=14 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pridnestrovie.net/2004census.html|title=2004 Census data for Transnistria: PMR urban, multilingual, multicultural|publisher=pridnestrovie.net|date=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217072904/http://www.pridnestrovie.net/2004census.html|archivedate=17 February 2007}}</ref>
|region12 = {{flag| Estonia}}
|pop12    = 324,431 (2013)
|ref12     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.ee/34278|title=Population by ethnic nationality, 1 January, years|publisher=[[Statistics Estonia]]|year=2013|accessdate=11 October 2013}}</ref>
|region13 = {{flag|Turkmenistan}}
|pop13    = 297,319 (census, 2000)
|ref13     =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tx.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=Cia.gov|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region14= {{flag|France}}<br /><small>(Russian citizens)</small>
|pop14    = 200,000 to 500,000
|ref14     =<ref name="russieinfo.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.russieinfo.com/la-communaute-russe-en-france-est-eclectique-2014-10-30|title=La communauté russe en France est "éclectique"|publisher=}}</ref>
|region15 = {{flag|Brazil}}<br /><small>(Russian ancestry)</small>
|pop15    = 200,000
|ref15     =<ref name="Câmara de Comércio Brasil-Rússia">{{cite web|url=http://www.brasil-russia.com.br/comunidade.htm|title=Câmara de Comércio Brasil-Rússia|publisher=Brasil-russia.com.br|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region16 = {{flag|Lithuania}}
|pop16     = 174,900 (census, 2009)
|ref16     =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://db1.stat.gov.lt/statbank/selectvarval/saveselections.asp?MainTable=M3010215&PLanguage=0&TableStyle=&Buttons=&PXSId=3236&IQY=&TC=&ST=ST&rvar0=&rvar1=&rvar2=&rvar3=&rvar4=&rvar5=&rvar6=&rvar7=&rvar8=&rvar9=&rvar10=&rvar11=&rvar12=&rvar13=&rvar14=|title=Gyventojų skaičius metų pradžioje. Požymiai: tautybė – Rodiklių duomenų bazėje|publisher=Db1.stat.gov.lt|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region17 = {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
|pop17    = 119,300 (census, 2009)
|ref17    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/AP_/AP_1.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107000309/http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/AP_/AP_1.shtml|title=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan|archivedate=7 January 2012|publisher=azstat.org}}</ref>
|region18 = {{flag|Georgia}}
|pop18    = 91,091 (census, 2002)
|ref18    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.ge/main.php?pform=14&plang=1|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006125019/http://www.statistics.ge/main.php?pform=14&plang=1|title=Statistics Georgia|archivedate=6 October 2007|publisher=statistics.ge}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/abhazia.html|title=The ethnic composition of the population of Abkhazia|work=2003 Census|publisher=Управление Государственной Статистики Республики Абхазия «Абхазия в цифрах», г. Сухум, 2005|date=|accessdate=| language=Russian}}</ref>
|region19 = {{flag|Finland}}<br /><small>(Russian speakers)</small>
|pop19    = 78,436 (estimate, 2015)
|ref19    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html|title=Population structure|work=[[Statistics Finland]]|date=1 April 2016|accessdate=13 October 2016}}</ref>
|region20 = {{flag|Tajikistan}}
|pop20    = 68,200 (census, 2000)
|ref20    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2005/0191/analit05.php|title=(2000 census)|publisher=Demoscope.ru|date=20 January 2000|accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region21 = {{flag|Australia}}
|pop21    = 67,055 (census, 2006)
|ref21    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/|title=Australian Bureau of Statistics|publisher=Abs.gov.au|date=|accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region22 = {{flag|Spain}}<br /><small>(Russian citizens)</small>
|pop22    = 64,653 (census, 2013)
|ref22    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://es.rbth.com/internacional/2014/06/04/el_antes_y_el_despues_de_los_residentes_rusos_en_espana_40585|title=2013 census|format=PDF|date= |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref>
|region23 = {{flag|Cuba}}
|pop23    = 50,200 (census, 2002)
|ref23    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/censo/index.htm|title=Официальная статистика Кубы за 2002 г.|publisher=}}</ref>
|region24 = {{flag|Turkey}}<br /><small>(Russian ancestry)</small>
|pop24    = 50,000
|ref24    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.mid.ru//ns_publ.nsf/cb8e241d18a8904ec3256fc7002ddc0e/a26c797ba51042d2c32576800031670a?OpenDocument|title=МИД России &#124; 12/02/2009 &#124; Интервью Посла России в Турции В.Е.Ивановского, опубликованное в журнале "Консул" № 4 /19/, декабрь 2009 года|publisher=Mid.ru|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region25 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}<br /><small>(Russian citizens)</small>
|pop25   = 35,172 (2011)
|ref25    =<ref>{{cite web|title=Nationality and country of birth by age, sex and qualifications Jan - Dec 2013|format=XLS|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedom-of-information/what-can-i-request/published-ad-hoc-data/labour/april-2014/nationality-and-country-of-birth-by-age--sex-and-qualifications-jan---dec-2013.xls|website=www.ons.gov.uk|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|accessdate=11 June 2014}}</ref>
|region26 = {{flag|Venezuela}}
|pop26    = 34,600
|ref26    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://joshuaproject.net/countries/VE|title=Country - Venezuela :: Joshua Project Joshua Project|work=Joshua Project}}</ref>
|region27 = {{flag|Romania}}<br /><small> ([[Lipovans]])</small>
|pop27    = 36,397 (census, 2002)
|ref27    =<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070513211550/http://mimmc.ro/info_util/formulare_1294/ Informatii utile | Agentia Nationala pentru Intreprinderi Mici si Mijlocii] (2002 census) {{ro icon}}</ref>
|region28 = {{flag|Czech Republic}}
|pop28   = 33,415 (statistical data, 2013)
|ref28    =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27914491/1312_c01t14.pdf/17c97f0e-03e1-4a81-84e0-02695b9a637b?version=1.0|title=(number of foreigners in the Czech Republic)|format=PDF|language=cs|date= |accessdate=December 2013}}{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
|region29 = {{flag|Italy}}<br /><small>(Russian citizens)</small>
|pop29    = 39,314 (2014)
|ref29    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/129854|title=ISTAT|work=ISTAT}}</ref>
|region30 = {{flag|Greece}}<br /><small>(Russian citizens)</small>
|pop30    = 18,219 (census, 2001)
|ref30    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1604/Other/A1604_SAP03_TB_DC_00_2001_09_F_GR.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114090629/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1604/Other/A1604_SAP03_TB_DC_00_2001_09_F_GR.pdf|archivedate=14 November 2010|title=(2001 census)|format=PDF|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region31 = {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
|pop31    = 18,000
|ref31    ={{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
|region32 = {{flag|Norway}}
|pop32    = 16,833
|ref32    ={{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
|region33 = {{flag|China}}
|pop33    = 15,609 (census, 2000)
|ref33    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/renkoupucha/2000pucha/html/t0106.htm|title=(2000 census)|publisher=Stats.gov.cn|date= |accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region34 = {{flag|Bulgaria}}
|pop34    = 15,595 (census, 2002)
|ref34    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsi.bg/Census/Ethnos.htm|title=(2002 census)|publisher=Nsi.bg|date=|accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region35 = {{flag|Armenia}}
|pop35   = 14,660 (census, 2002)
|ref35    =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docs.armstat.am/census/pdfs/51.pdf|title=(2002 census)|format=PDF|date=|accessdate=22 July 2012}}</ref>
|region36 = {{flag|New Zealand}}
|pop36 = 5,979
|ref36 =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/ethnic-profiles.aspx?request_value=24692&parent_id=24650&tabname=#24692 2013 Census ethnic group profiles: Russian]}}</ref> (census, 2013)
|region37 =  {{flag|Montenegro}}
|pop37    = 946
|ref37    =<ref>{{cite web|format=PDF|url=http://www.monstat.org/userfiles/file/popis2011/saopstenje/saopstenje(1).pdf|title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro 2011|work=Statistical Office of Montenegro|date=12 July 2011|accessdate=13 October 2016}}</ref>
|langs=[[Russian language|Russian]]
|rels= Predominantly [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] <br>{{small|([[Russian Orthodox Church]])}}
|related=Other [[East Slavs]] ([[Belarusians]] and [[Ukrainians]])<ref name="2008ydna">{{cite journal|pmc=2253976 | pmid=18179905 | doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.09.019 | volume=82 | issue=1 | title=Two sources of the Russian patrilineal heritage in their Eurasian context |date=January 2008 | journal=American Journal of Human Genetics | pages=236–50}}</ref>
}}
'''Russians''' ({{lang-ru|русские}}, ''russkiye'') are an [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] [[ethnic group]] native to [[Eastern Europe]]. The majority of Russians inhabit the [[nation state]] of [[Russia]], while notable minorities exist in [[Ukraine]], [[Kazakhstan]], and other former [[Soviet]] states such as [[Belarus]]. A large [[Russian diaspora]] exists all over the world, with notable numbers in the United States, Germany, Israel, and Canada. Russians are the most numerous ethnic group in Europe.

The Russians share many cultural traits with their fellow [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] counterparts, specifically [[Belarusians]] and [[Ukrainians]] as well as with certain [[South Slavs]] such as [[Bulgarians]], [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[Montenegrins (ethnic group)|Montenegrins]] and [[Serbs]]. They are predominantly [[Orthodox Christians]] by religion. The [[Russian language]] is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, [[List of territorial entities where Russian is an official language|and also spoken]] as a secondary language in many former Soviet states.

==Ethnonym==
There are two Russian words which are commonly translated into English as "Russians". One is "русские" (''russkiye''), which most often means "ethnic Russians". Another is "россияне" (''rossiyane''), which means "[[citizens of Russia]]". The former word refers to ethnic Russians, regardless of what country they live in and irrespective of whether or not they hold [[Russian nationality law|Russian citizenship]]. Under certain circumstances this term may or may not extend to denote members of other Russian-speaking ethnic groups from Russia, or from the former Soviet Union. The latter word refers to all people holding citizenship of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity, and does not include ethnic Russians living outside of Russia. Translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups.<ref>[http://www.pravoslavie.ru/63991.html Pravoslavie.ru]. Retrieved 10 February 2016.</ref>

The name of the Russians derives from the [[Rus' people]] (supposedly [[Varangians]]). According to the most prevalent theory, the name ''Rus{{'}}'', like the Finnish name for [[Sweden]] (''Ruotsi''), is derived from an [[Old Norse]] term for "the men who row" (''rods-'') as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of [[Roslagen]] (''Rus-law'') or ''[[Roden, Sweden|Roden]]'', as it was known in earlier times.<ref name="Blöndal2007">{{cite book|last=Blöndal|first=Sigfús|title=The Varangians of Byzantium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFRug14ui7gC&pg=PA1|accessdate=2 February 2014|date=2007-04-16|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521035521|page=1}}</ref><ref name="RPC">The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text Translated by O. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor ISBN 0-910956-34-0</ref> The name ''Rus{{'}}'' would then have the same origin as the [[Finland|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]] names for Sweden: ''Ruotsi''  and ''Rootsi''.<ref name="etymonline.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Russia|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|work=etymonline.com}}</ref>  According to other theories the name ''Rus{{'}}'' is derived from [[Proto-Slavic]] *roud-s-ь ( from *rъd-/*roud-/*rуd- root), connected with red color (of hair)<ref>{{cite journal|author= Максимович К.А.|title= Происхождение этнонима Русь в свете исторической лингвистики и древнейших письменных источников.|work= КАNIEKION. Юбилейный сборник в честь 60-летия профессора Игоря Сергеевича Чичурова.|тип = |year= 2006|номер = |pages= сс.14–56.|issn = |location= М.|publisher= ПЕТГУ}}</ref> or from [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] (ruxs/roxs — «light-colored», «bright»).<ref name=sedov>Седов В.В.  Древнерусская народность.  Русы</ref>

==History==
{{see also|History of Russia}} {{summarize|from|History of Russia|section=y|date=July 2016}}

===Origin===
 {{further information|Rus' people}}
The modern Russians formed from two groups of [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] tribes: Northern and Southern. The tribes involved included the [[Krivichs]], [[Ilmen Slavs]], [[Radimichs]], [[Vyatich]]es and [[Severians]]. [[Genetic studies on Russians|Genetic studies show]] that modern Russians do not differ significantly from [[Belarusians]] and [[Ukrainians]]. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians and to Ukrainians than southern Russians are to northern Russians. Russians in northern European Russia share moderate genetic similarities with [[Uralic peoples]],<ref name="2008ydna" /><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsru.com/russia/28sep2005/russians.html |title=Новости NEWSru.com :: Ученые завершили масштабное исследование генофонда русского народа (Фотороботы) |publisher=Newsru.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-22}}</ref> who lived in modern north-central European Russia and were partly assimilated by the [[Slavs]] as the Slavs migrated northeastwards. Such Uralic peoples included the [[Merya]]<ref>[[Aleksey Uvarov]], "Étude sur les peuples primitifs de la Russie. Les mériens" (1875)</ref> and the [[Muromian]]s.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emc.komi.com/01/12/115.htm|script-title=ru:Мурома, мещера|trans-title=Murom, Meschera|language=ru|work=emc.komi.com|deadurl=y|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523200115/http://www.emc.komi.com/01/12/115.htm |archivedate=23 May 2008}}</ref>

Outside archaeological remains, little is known about the predecessors to Russians in general prior to 859 AD when the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'' starts its records.<ref>The ''Primary Chronicle'' is a history of the Ancient Rus' from around 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113</ref> It is thought{{by whom|date=July 2014}} that by 600 AD, the [[Slavs]] had split linguistically into [[South Slavs|southern]], [[West Slavs|western]], and eastern branches. The eastern branch settled between the [[Southern Bug]] and the [[Dnieper]] Rivers in present-day [[Ukraine]]; from the 1st century AD through almost the turn of the millennium, they spread peacefully northward to the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] region, forming the [[Dregovichs|Dregovich]], [[Radimichs|Radimich]] and [[Vyatichs|Vyatich]] Slavic tribes on the Baltic substratum, and therefore experiencing changed language features such as [[Vowel reduction in Russian|vowel reduction]]. Later, both [[Belarusians]] and South Russians formed on this ethnic linguistic ground.<ref name="pivtorak">Pivtorak. Formation and dialectal differenciaton of the Old Rus language. 1988</ref>

From the 6th century onwards, another group of Slavs moved from [[Pomerania]] to the northeast of the [[Baltic Sea]], where they encountered the [[Varangians]] of the [[Rus' Khaganate]] and established the important regional center of [[Novgorod]]. The same Slavic ethnic population also settled the present-day [[Tver Oblast]] and the region of [[Beloozero]]. With the Uralic substratum, they formed the tribes of the [[Krivichs]] and of the [[Ilmen Slavs]].

===Kievan Rus'===
{{main article|Kievan Rus'}} 
{{Expand section|date=July 2016}}

<gallery>
File:East Slavic tribes peoples 8th 9th century.jpg|[[East Slavs|East Slavic]] tribes and peoples, 8th-9th century
File:Kyivan Rus' 1220-1240.png|Principalities of [[Kievan Rus']], 1220-1240. These principalities included [[Vladimir-Suzdal]], [[Principality of Smolensk|Smolensk]], [[Principality of Chernigov|Chernigov]] or [[Principality of Ryazan|Ryazan]], annexed by the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Duchy of Moscow]] in 1521
File:Pomor man.jpg|Russia's Arctic coastline from the [[White Sea]] to the [[Bering Strait]] had been explored and settled by [[Pomors]], Russian settlers from [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]]
File:Gagarin Greben.jpg|[[Terek Cossacks]] of the north [[Caucasus]] guarded the southern frontier
File:Prokudin-Gorskii-05.jpg|Three generations of a Russian family Kaganovs from Urals, ca. 1910. Ptoto taken by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]]
</gallery>

==Population==
[[File:EthnicRussiansInTheFormerUSSR.png|thumb|200px|The percentage of ethnic Russians throughout the former Soviet Union according to last censuses.]]
In 2010, the world's Russian population was 129 million people of which 86% were in Russia, 11.5% in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] and Baltic countries, with a further 2.5% living in other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2013/0571/tema02.php|title=журнал "Демоскоп Weekly" № 571 - 572 14 - 31 октября 2013. А. Арефьев. Тема номера: сжимающееся русскоязычие. Демографические изменения - не на пользу русскому языку|publisher=}}</ref>

===Russia===
{{see also|Demographics of Russia}}
Roughly 111 million ethnic Russians live in [[Russia]], 80% of whom live in the European part of Russia, and 20% in the Asian part of the country.

===Former Soviet states===
{{main article|Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states}} [[File:Russians ethnic 94.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Ethnic Russians in former Soviet Union states in 1994]] {{summarize|from|Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states|section=y|date=July 2016}}

===Diaspora===
{{Main article|Russian diaspora}}
Ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former [[Russian Empire]] and [[Soviet Union]], sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by the Tsarist and later Soviet government.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420922.stm Russians left behind in Central Asia]. BBC News. November 23, 2005.</ref> On some occasions ethnic Russian communities, such as [[Lipovans]] who settled in the [[Danube delta]] or [[Doukhobor]]s in [[Canada]], emigrated as religious dissidents fleeing the central authority.

After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]] and [[Russian Civil War]] starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the [[Bolshevik]] regime, and millions became refugees. Many [[white emigre|white émigrés]] were participants in the [[White movement]], although the term is broadly applied to anyone who may have left the country due to the change in regime.
[[File:Вилково, Дунайские плавни 1962 г.JPG|thumb|[[Lipovans]] in the [[Danube delta]]]]

Today the largest ethnic Russian diasporas outside of Russia live in former Soviet states such as [[Ukraine]] (about 8 million), [[Kazakhstan]] (about 3.8 million), [[Belarus]] (about 785,000), [[Latvia]] (about 520,000) with the most Russian settlement out of the [[Baltic States]] which includes [[Lithuania]] and [[Estonia]], [[Uzbekistan]] (about 650,000) and [[Kyrgyzstan]] (about 419,000).

Over a million [[Russian Jews]] emigrated to [[Israel]] during and after the [[Refusenik (Soviet Union)|Refusenik]] movements; some brought ethnic Russian relatives along with them. Over a million Russian-speaking immigrants live in Israel,<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619001321/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/QA.jhtml?qaNo=59 |date=19 June 2006 |title=Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli students }}. Haaretz.com. 10/02/2008.</ref> around two-thirds of them Jewish.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/QA.jhtml?qaNo=59 Q&A Lily Galili on 'The Russians in Israel']. Haaretz.com {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619001321/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/QA.jhtml?qaNo=59 |date=19 June 2006 }}</ref> There are also small Russian communities in the [[Balkans]], including [[Lipovans]] in the Danube delta,<ref>"[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7571310/Saving-the-souls-of-Russias-exiled-Lipovans.html Saving the souls of Russia's exiled Lipovans]". ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. April 9, 2013.</ref> Central European nations such as [[Germany]] and [[Poland]], as well Russians settled in [[China]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Mexico]], [[Brazil]], [[Argentina]] and [[Australia]]. These communities may identify themselves either as Russians or citizens of these countries, or both, to varying degrees.

[[File:Russian Orthodox Church, Old Shanghai.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Russian Orthodox Church in [[Shanghai]] (c. 1948), whose 25,000-strong [[Shanghai Russians|Russian community]] was one of China's largest]]
People who had arrived in [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]] during the Soviet era, including their descendants born in these countries, mostly Russians, became [[Statelessness|stateless]] after the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] and were provided only with an option to acquire naturalised citizenship. The language issue is still contentious, particularly in Latvia, where ethnic Russians have protested against plans to liquidate education in minority languages, including Russian. Since 1992, Estonia has naturalized some 137,000 residents of undefined citizenship, mainly ethnic Russians. 136,000, or 10 percent of the total population, remain without citizenship. Both the [[European Union]] and the [[Council of Europe]], as well as the [[Russian government]], expressed their concern during the 1990s about minority rights in several countries, most notably [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]]. In [[Moldova]], the [[Transnistria]] region (where 30.4% of population is Russian) broke away from government control amid fears the country would soon reunite with [[Romania]]. In June 2006, Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] announced the plan to introduce a national policy aiming at encouraging ethnic Russians to immigrate to Russia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bigg |first=Claire |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1070573.html |title=Latvia: Ethnic Russians Divided On Moscow's Repatriation Scheme |publisher=Rferl.org |date=2006-08-15 |accessdate=2012-07-22}}</ref>

[[File:Eglise notre dame de l assomption 7.jpg|thumb|[[Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery]] in Paris, the resting place of many eminent [[White émigré|Russian émigrés]] after 1917]]
Significant numbers of Russians emigrated to [[Canada]], [[Australia]] and the [[United States]]. [[Brighton Beach, Brooklyn]] and [[South Beach, Staten Island]] in [[New York City]] is an example of a large community of recent Russian and [[Russian Jews|Jewish Russian]] immigrants. Other examples are [[Sunny Isles Beach]], a northern suburb of [[Miami]], and in [[West Hollywood]] of the [[Los Angeles]] area.

At the same time, many ethnic Russians from former Soviet territories have emigrated to Russia itself since the 1990s. Many of them became refugees from a number of states of [[Central Asia]] and [[Caucasus]] (as well as from the separatist [[Chechen Republic]]), forced to flee during political unrest and hostilities towards Russians.

After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]] in 1917, many Russians who were identified with the [[White army]] moved to [[China]]&nbsp;— most of them settling in [[Harbin]] and [[Shanghai]].<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/21/style/21iht-shang.t.html The Ghosts of Russia That Haunt Shanghai]". ''[[The New York Times]]''. 21 September 1999.</ref> By the 1930s, Harbin had 100,000 Russians. Many of these Russians had to move back to the Soviet Union after [[World War II]]. Today, a large group of people in northern China can still speak Russian as a second language.

[[Ethnic Russians in China|Russians (''eluosizu'')]] are one of the [[Nationalities of China|56 ethnic groups]] officially recognized by the [[People's Republic of China]] (as ''the Russ''); there are approximately 15,600 Russian Chinese living mostly in northern [[Xinjiang]], and also in [[Inner Mongolia]] and [[Heilongjiang]].

==Culture==
{{Main article|Russian culture|List of Russian people}} {{category see also|Russian folk culture}}
[[File:Ivan Bilibin 025.jpg|thumb|230px|''[[Vasilisa the Beautiful]]'', by [[Ivan Bilibin]]. Russian fairy tale collected by [[Alexander Afanasyev]] in ''[[Narodnye russkie skazki]]''.]]
Russian culture originated from that of the [[East Slavs]], who were largely [[polytheists]], and had a specific way of life in the wooded areas of [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Northern Europe]]. The [[Scandinavia]]n [[Vikings]], or ''[[Varangians]]'', also took part in forming the Russian identity and state in the early [[Kievan Rus']] period of the late 1st millennium AD. The [[Rus' people|Rus']] [[Christianization of the Kievan Rus'|accepted Christianity]] from the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 988, and this largely defined Russian culture for the [[Millennium of Russia|next millennium]], namely as a synthesis of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] and [[Byzantine]] cultures.<ref name=Curtis>{{cite web|last=excerpted from Glenn E. Curtis (ed.)|title=Russia: A Country Study: Kievan Rus' and Mongol Periods|publisher=Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress|year=1998|url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Kievan.html|accessdate=2007-07-20}}</ref> After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, Russia remained the largest [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] nation in the world and claimed succession to the Byzantine legacy in the form of the [[Third Rome]] idea.<ref>http://www.ksk.edu.ee/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/KVUOA_Toimetised_12-Laats.pdf</ref> At different points of its history, the country was strongly influenced by [[European culture]], and since the [[Reforms of Peter I of Russia|reforms of Peter the Great]] Russian culture largely developed in the context of [[Western culture]]. For most of the 20th century, [[Marxism|Marxist ideology]] shaped the [[Soviet culture|culture of the Soviet Union]], where Russia, i.e. the [[Russian SFSR]], was the largest and leading part.

[[Russian culture]] is varied and unique in many respects. It has a rich history and a long tradition in all of the arts,<ref name=britannica>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia|title=Russia|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=2008-01-31}}</ref> especially in fields of [[Russian literature|literature]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564269/Russian_Literature.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820090445/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564269/Russian_Literature.html|archivedate=2009-08-20|title=Russian Literature|last=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007|accessdate=2008-01-07}}</ref> and [[Russian philosophy|philosophy]], [[Music of Russia|classical music]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Russia::Music|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=2009-10-05|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia/38636/Music}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://petersburgcity.com/news/culture/2005/11/18/theatre/|title=A Tale of Two Operas|publisher=Petersburg City|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> and [[Russian ballet|ballet]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Garafola, L|title=Diaghilev's Ballets Russes|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=576|isbn=0-19-505701-5|year=1989}}</ref> [[Russian architecture|architecture]] and [[Russian visual arts|painting]], [[Russian cinema|cinema]]<ref name=film>{{cite web|title=Russia::Motion pictures|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2007|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia|accessdate=2007-12-27}}</ref> and [[Russian animation|animation]], all of which had considerable influence on world culture.

[[Russian literature]] is known for such notable writers as [[Aleksandr Pushkin]], [[Leo Tolstoy]], [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]], [[Anton Chekhov]], [[Vladimir Mayakovsky]], [[Boris Pasternak]], [[Anna Akhmatova]], [[Joseph Brodsky]], [[Maxim Gorky]], [[Vladimir Nabokov]], [[Mikhail Sholokhov]], [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], [[Andrei Platonov]], [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]], and [[Varlam Shalamov]]. Russians also gave the [[classical music]] world some very famous composers, including [[Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]] and his contemporaries, the [[Mighty Handful]], including [[Modest Mussorgsky]] and [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]. In the 20th-century Russian music was credited with such influential composers as [[Dmitri Shostakovich]], [[Sergei Prokofiev]], [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], [[Igor Stravinski]], [[Georgy Sviridov]], and [[Alfred Schnittke]].

===Language===
{{Main article|Russian language}} 
[[File:Russianlanguagemap.png|thumb|left|400px|
{{legend|#000080|Russian has official status.}}
{{legend|#008181|Russian is a regional or ''de facto'' working language}}
]]
'''Russian''' (<span class="unicode audiolink">{{lang|ru|[[:Media:Ru-russkiy jizyk.ogg|русский язык]]}}</span>&nbsp;<span class="metadata audiolinkinfo"><small>([[Wikipedia:Media help|help]]·[[:File:Ru-russkiy jizyk.ogg|info]])</small></span>, [[Romanization of Russian|transliteration]]: ''{{transl|ru|ALA|Russkiy yazyk}}'', {{IPA-ru|ˈruskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk|}}) is the most geographically widespread language of [[Eurasia]] and the most widely spoken of the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages. Russian belongs to the family of [[Indo-European languages]] and is one of three (or, according to some authorities{{who|date=September 2012}}, four) living members of the [[East Slavic languages]], the others being [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]].

Examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century onwards, and while Russian preserves much of East Slavonic grammar and a [[Proto-Slavic language|Common Slavonic]] word base, modern Russian exhibits a large stock of borrowed international vocabulary for politics, science, and technology.

[[File:Gorskii 04421u.jpg|thumb|A group of Russian children, 1909. [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky|Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii]].]]
Russian has [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatal]] [[secondary articulation]] of [[consonant]]s, the so-called ''soft'' and ''hard'' sounds. This distinction is found in most consonant [[phoneme]]s and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language. Another important aspect is the [[vowel reduction|reduction]] of [[stress (linguistics)|unstressed]] [[vowel]]s, not unlike a similar process in [[English language|English]]. Stress in Russian is often described as "unpredictable": it can fall on almost any syllable, and this is one of the difficult aspects for foreign language learners.

Due to the status of the [[Soviet Union]] as a [[super power]], Russian gained a great political importance in the second half of the 20th century. It is one of the [[United Nations#Languages|official languages]] of the [[United Nations]]. All astronauts working in the International Space Station are required to master Russian.

According to data published in the journal «Language Monthly» (№ 3, 1997), approximately 300 million people around the world at the time mastered the Russian language (making it the 5th most popular language in the world by total number of speakers), while 160 million considered Russian their native language (making it the 7th in the world by number of native speakers). The total number of Russian speakers in the world in the 1999 assessment was about 167 million, with about 110 million people speaking Russian as a second language.

Prior to 1991, Russian was the language of international communication of the USSR and the most common foreign language taught in schools in the countries of the Eastern Bloc in Central Europe. It continues to be used in the countries that were formerly parts of the Soviet Union, both as the mother tongue of a significant percentage of the population, and as a language of international communication. While for various reasons residents of these countries might be unwilling to openly identify with Russian language, a major sociological study on the Russian language in the post-Soviet states conducted by Gallup, Inc., revealed that 92% of the survey respondents in Belarus, 83% in Ukraine, 68% in Kazakhstan and 38% in Kyrgyzstan chose Russian-language forms to complete the questionnaire for the survey (most notably, over forms in corresponding national languages).

In the U.S. state of New York in 2009, an amendment to the electoral law was adopted, according to which in all cities in the state having over a million people, all documents related to the election process should be translated into Russian (thus gaining equal status with Spanish, Korean, Filipino, Creole languages and three [[varieties of Chinese]]).

In places of compact residence of immigrants from the countries of the former USSR (Israel, Germany, Canada, the United States, Australia, etc.) Russian-language periodicals, radio and television channels are available, as well as Russian-language schools.

===Religion===
{{Main article|Russian Orthodox Church|Religion in Russia}} [[File:RedSquare SaintBasile (pixinn.net).jpg|thumb|180px|[[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] on the [[Red Square]], [[Moscow]].]]
As of a 2012 sociological survey on religious adherence, 58,800,000 people or 41% of the total population of [[Russia]] adhere to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].<ref name="ArenaAtlas" /><ref name="Filina">Olga Filina (Ogonek Magazine). ''[http://in.rbth.com/articles/2012/09/01/mapping_russias_religious_landscape_17333 Mapping Russia's Religious Landscape]''. Russia and India Report. ''Retrieved 24-09-2012''.</ref><ref name="Ogonek">''[http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1997068 Верю — не верю]''. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. ''Retrieved 24-09-2012''.</ref> But other sources gave higher estimates between 63%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religare.ru/2_42432.html|script-title=ru:Опубликована подробная сравнительная статистика религиозности в России и Польше |language=Russian}}</ref> to over 80%<ref name=re>{{cite web|url=http://www.rusk.ru/st.php?idar=13228 |title=Русская линия / Библиотека периодической печати / Как пишутся страшные сказки о Церкви |publisher=Rusk.ru |date=31 August 2005 |accessdate=14 May 2011}}</ref> of ethnic Russians identify themselves as Orthodox. It has played a vital role in the development of Russian national identity. In other countries Russian faithful usually belong to the local Orthodox congregations which either have a direct connection (like the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchy|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]], [[Autonomy (Eastern Christianity)|autonomous]] from the [[Patriarch of Moscow|Moscow Patriarchate]]) or historical origin (like [[the Orthodox Church in America]] or a [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]) with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Non-religious Russians may associate themselves with the Orthodox faith for cultural reasons. Some Russian people are [[Old Believers]]: a relatively small [[Schism (religion)|schismatic]] group of the Russian Orthodoxy that rejected the liturgical reforms introduced in the 17th century. Other schisms from Orthodoxy include [[Doukhobor]]s which in the 18th century rejected secular government, the Russian Orthodox priests, icons, all church ritual, the Bible as the supreme source of divine revelation and the divinity of Jesus, and later emigrated into Canada. An even earlier sect were [[Molokan]]s which formed in 1550 and rejected Czar's [[Divine right of kings|divine right to rule]], icons, the [[Trinity]] as outlined by the [[Nicene Creed]], Orthodox [[Fasting#Eastern Orthodoxy and Greek-Catholicism|fasts]], military service, and practices including [[Baptism|water baptism]].

Other world religions have negligible representation among ethnic Russians. The largest of these groups are [[Islam]] with over 100,000 followers from national minorities,<ref name="ArenaAtlas">{{cite web|url=http://sreda.org/arena/arena-v-pdf|title=Арена|publisher=}}</ref> and [[Baptists]] with over 85,000 Russian adherents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_639.html |title=statistics |publisher=Adherents.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-22}}</ref> Others are mostly [[Pentecostals]], [[Evangelicals]], [[Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Lutherans]] and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].

Since the fall of the [[Soviet Union]] various new religious movements have sprung up and gathered a following among ethnic Russians. The most prominent of these are [[Slavic Neopaganism|Rodnovery]], the revival of the Slavic native religion also common to other [[Slavs|Slavic nations]],<ref>Victor Shnirelman. ''[http://legacy.wlu.ca/documents/6483/Christians_Go_home.pdf "Christians! Go home": A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia]''. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002.</ref> Another movement, very small in comparison to other new religions, is [[Vissarion (Russian mystic)|Vissarionism]], a [[syncretism|syncretic]] group with an Orthodox Christian background.

==Notable achievements==
{{Main article|Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records|List of Russian inventors}}

[[File:Gagarin in Sweden.jpg|thumb|Right|150px|Yuri Gagarin, first human in space (1961)]]
Russians have greatly contributed to the fields of [[Sports in Russia|sports]], [[Science and technology in Russia|science and technology]], [[Politics of Russia|politics]], business, and the arts.

In science and technology, notable Russian [[List of Russian scientists|scientists]] include [[Mikhail Kalashnikov]] (inventor and designer of the [[AK-47 assault rifle]] and [[PK machine gun]]), [[Dmitri Mendeleev]], [[Nikolay Bogolyubov]], [[Konstantin Tsiolkovsky]] (a founding father of rocketry and astronautics), [[Andrei Kolmogorov]], [[Ivan Pavlov]], [[Nikolai Semyonov]], [[Dmitri Ivanenko]], [[Alexander Lodygin]], [[Alexander Stepanovich Popov|Alexander Popov]] (one of inventors of [[radio]]), [[Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky|Nikolai Zhukovsky]], [[Alexander Prokhorov]] and [[Nikolay Basov]] (co-inventors of [[laser]]), [[Vladimir Zworykin]], [[Lev Pontryagin]], [[Sergei Sobolev]], [[Pavel Yablochkov]], [[Aleksandr Butlerov]], [[Andrei Sakharov]], [[Dmitry Ivanovsky]], [[Sergey Korolyov]] and [[Mstislav Keldysh]] (creators of the [[Soviet space program]]), [[Aleksandr Lyapunov]], [[Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky]], [[Andrei Tupolev]], [[Yuri Denisyuk]] (the first practicable method of [[holography]]), [[Mikhail Lomonosov]], [[Vladimir Vernadsky]], [[Pyotr Kapitsa]], [[Igor Sikorsky]], [[Ludvig Faddeev]], [[Konstantin Novoselov]], [[Fyodor Shcherbatskoy]], [[Nikolai Trubetzkoy]] etc.

The first man in space, [[Yuri Gagarin]], was a Russian, and the first [[artificial satellite]] to be put into [[outer space]], [[Sputnik 1]], was launched by the [[Soviet Union]] and was developed mainly by Russian aerospace engineer [[Sergey Korolyov]].

[[File:Stamp behterev.jpg|left|thumb|[[Vladimir Bekhterev]], Russian neurologist and the father of objective psychology]]
[[Russian Literature]] representatives like [[Leo Tolstoy]], [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]], [[Ivan Turgenev]], [[Anton Chekhov]], [[Alexander Pushkin]], and many more, reached a high status in world [[literature]]. Prominent Russian novelists such as Tolstoy in particular, were important figures and have remained internationally renowned. Some scholars have described one or the other as the greatest novelist ever.<ref>"Russian literature." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 July 2007 <[http://www.britannica.com/art/Russian-literature]>.</ref>

[[Russian composers]] who reached a high status in the world of [[music]] include [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], [[Dmitri Shostakovich]], [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Sergei Prokofiev]], [[Modest Mussorgsky]], and [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]].

Russian people played a crucial role in the victory over [[Nazi Germany]] in [[World War II]]. Russia's casualties in this war were the highest of all nations, and numbered more than 20 million dead (Russians composed 80% of the 26.6 million people lost by the [[USSR]]), which is about half of all World War II casualties and the vast majority of Allied casualties.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4530565.stm Leaders mourn Soviet wartime dead], BBC News</ref> According to the [[United Kingdom|British]] historian [[Richard Overy]], the Eastern Front included more combat than all the other European fronts combined. The [[Wehrmacht]] suffered 80% to 93% of all of its total World War II combat casualties on the Eastern Front.

==See also==
{{stack begin}}
{{Portal|Russia}}
{{stack end}}
* [[All-Russian nation]]
* [[European ethnic groups]]
* [[List of Russian artists]]
{{clear}}

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikimedia|collapsible=true|wikt=Russian|d=Q49542|c=Category:Russians|voy=Russia|species=no}}

* {{Commons category-inline|Russians}}
* [http://www.pomogaem.net/ Russian Workforce Social Network "Pomogaem.NET"]
* [http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/ Prominent Russians: faces of Russia]&nbsp;– Russia Today
* {{ru icon}} [http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/html/TOM_14_24.htm 4.1. Population by nationality]
* {{ru icon}} [http://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/rus/sian/index.htm "People and Cultures: Russians"] book published by [[Russian Academy of Sciences]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310164354/http://service.china.org.cn/link/wcm/Show_Text?info_id=139526&p_qry=russians/ China Internet Information Center – The Russian Ethnic Group]
* [http://folkportal.3dn.ru/forum/17-186-1 Pre-Revolutionary photos of women in Russian folk dress]

{{Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians}}
{{Ethnic groups of Russia}}
{{Lists of Russians|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Russia topics}}
{{Russian diaspora}}
{{Slavic ethnic groups}}
{{Authority control}}

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