Altai’s Indigenous peoples – what’s in a name?

Chaga-Bayram Altaian winter new year ceremony (Photo by M. Erlenbaeva)

Russia officially recognizes 47 small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia, and Far East. Roughly 23% of the almost 147 million people living in Russia (as of 2021) are not ethnically Russian.  The government classifies Indigenous peoples living in the country in three ways: “Small-numbered peoples” (less than 50,000 individuals), “Indigenous peoples” living in the North,…

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Happy 150th birthday to Grigory Choros-Gurkin!

For every Picasso and Rembrandt, there are many more lesser-known artists; this is the case with Grigoriy Choros-Gurkin (1870-1937). He is one of Altai’s greatest artists and most important cultural figures.  The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of Choros-Gurkin’s birth and an ideal time to draw attention to the man and his work. Regarded…

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Altaian Language

Parts of the horse diagram in Altaian language

Altaian, divided into North Altaian and South Altaian is a closely-related group of Turkic languages. This article focuses on the language as spoken in Russia’s Altai Republic.

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