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{{otheruses|Russian}}

{{Ethnic group|
|group='''Russians'''<br>(Русские)
|image=]<!--Do not use unfree artwork here--><div style="background-color:#fee8ab"><small><small>] • ] • ] • ] <br>] • ] • ] • ] <br> ] • ] • ] • ]</small></small>
|poptime= 135–140 million (est.)|popplace={{flag|Russia}}: 115,889,000<ref>(2002 census)</ref>
|region1 = {{flag|Ukraine}}
|pop1 = 8,334,000<ref>(2001 census) </ref>
|region2 = {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
|pop2 = 4,480,000<ref>(1999 census)</ref>
|region3 = {{flag|United States}}<ref>The numbers collected by the National Census are based on the country of origin and include among ethnic Russians significant amount of Jews, Ukrainians, Tatars and other people who stated Russia as the country of their ancestory</ref>
|pop3 = 2,652,214<ref>(2000)</ref>
|region4 = {{flag|Belarus}}
|pop4 = 1,142,000<ref>(1999)</ref>
|region5 = {{flag|Latvia}}
|pop5 = 646,567<ref>(2007)</ref>
|region6 = {{flag|Uzbekistan}}
|pop6 = 620,000<ref>(2005) </ref>
|region7 = {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
|pop7 = 604,000<ref>(1999) </ref>
|region9 = {{flag|Estonia}}
|pop9 = 352,000<ref>(2000) </ref>
|region10 = {{flag|Lithuania}}
|pop10 = 220,000<ref>(2001)</ref>
|region11 = {{flag|Moldova}}
|pop11 = 202,000<ref>(2004)</ref>
|region12 = {{flag|Germany}}
|pop12 = 178,600<ref>(2003)</ref>
|region13 = {{flag|Canada}}
|pop13 = 158,850<ref></ref>
|region14 = {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
|pop14 = 144,000<ref></ref>
|region15 = {{flag|Turkmenistan}}
|pop15 = 142,000<ref></ref>
|region16 = {{flag|France}}
|pop16 = 115,000 {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
|region17 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|pop17 = 150,000 {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
|region18 = {{flag|Argentina}}
|pop18 = 200,000{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
|region19 = {{flag|Brazil}}
|pop19 = 470,000<ref>(2005)</ref>|region20 = {{flag|Tajikistan}}
|pop20 = 68,200<ref>(2000)</ref>
|region21 = {{flag|Georgia}}
|pop21 = 67,671<ref>(2002 census)</ref>
|region22 = {{flag|Australia}}
|pop22 = 60,200<ref></ref>
|region23 = {{flag|Paraguay}}
|pop23 = 55,000<ref>(2005)</ref>
|region24 = {{flag|Finland}}
|pop24 = 33,401<ref>(2002 census)</ref>
|region25 = {{flag|Romania}}
|pop25 = 30,000<ref></ref>
|region26 = {{flag|China}}
|pop26 = 15,600<ref>(2000 census)</ref>
|region27 = {{flag|Bulgaria}}
|pop27 = 15,595<ref>(2002 census) </ref>
|region28 = {{flag|Armenia}}
|pop28 = 14,660<ref>(2002 census) </ref>
|langs=]
|rels= Predominantly ]. Some Russians are ] (a relatively small group of Orthodox Christians). Small minority of Russians are ]. Many consider themselves ] or ].
|related=Other ], especially ] (], ], ]).
}}

'''Russians''' ({{lang-ru|Русские—''Russkie''}} ) are an ] ], primarily living in ] and neighboring countries.

The ] term ''Russians'' is also used to refer to ] of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity (see '']'' for information on other nationalities inhabiting Russia); in ], this meaning is covered by the recently revived{{Fact|date=August 2007}} term ''Rossiyanin'' (Россиянин, plural ''Rossiyane''). According to 2002 ], ethnic Russians make up about 80% of the population of Russia .

==Origins==
*''See the article about the old legend ]''.
*''See the article about the ]''.

Russians predecessors were the medieval ] ], who were also the predecessors of ] and ].

Very little is known about the Russians and ] in general prior to approximately 859 AD, the date from which the account in the ] (a history of the Ancient Rus from around 850 to 1110 originally compiled in Kiev about 1113) starts.

By 600 AD, the ] had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. The East Slavs flooded Eastern Europe in two streams. One group of tribes settled along the Dnieper river in what is now Ukraine; they then spread northward to the northern Volga valley, east of modern-day Moscow and westward to the basins of the northern Dniester and the Southern Buh rivers in present-day Moldova and southern Ukraine.

Another group of East Slavs moved from Pomerania to the northeast, where they encountered the Varangians of the Rus' Khaganate and established an important regional centre of Novgorod. The same Slavic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. Having reached the lands of the Merya near Rostov, they linked up with the Dnieper group of Slavic migrants.

==Emergence of Russian ethnicity==
].]]
<!-- FAIR USE of RussianChildrenOnAHillside.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/Image:RussianChildrenOnAHillside.jpg for rationale -->

Early ancestors of the Russians were ] tribes who migrated to the ] in the early Middle Ages. Most prominent Slavic tribes in the area of modern European Russia included ], ]s, ], ] and ]. By the 11th century East Slavs assimilited ] tribes ] and ] and ] tribe ] who also used to populate the same area (modern ]).
Ethnic Russians known as ]ns (as oppose to ]ns and ]ns) began to be recognized as a distinct ethnic group in the 15th century, when they were referred to as ], during the consolidation of Muscovy Tsardom as a regional power. Between 12th and 16th century Russians known as ] migrated to Northern Russia and settled ] coasts. As a result of the migrations and Russian conquests (following liberation from the ] ] domination) during 15th-16th centuries Russians settled the ], ] and ] regions. Between 17th and 19th centuries Russian migrants settled the vast sparsely inhabited areas in ] and ]. A major role in these territorial expansions and migrations was played by the Russian ].

According to most ethnologists ethnic Russians originated from the earlier ] (East Slavs of ]), and gradually evolved into a different ethnicity from the western Rus people who became the modern-day ] and ]. Between 15th and 18th centuries modern Russian language gradually developed from the ] and ] languages.
Some ethnologists maintain that Russians were a distinct Slavic group even before the time of Kievan Rus. Others believe that the distinguishing feature of the Russians is not primarily their separation from Western Rus, but that ethnic Russians are a mix of East Slavic and non-Slavic (for example Finno-Ugric, ], and Baltic) tribes. However, the origin of the ] is itself a matter on which there is no consensus.

They were classified as a ''Narodnost'' in the ] in 1926.

==Population==
Russians are the most numerous ethnic group in Europe and one of the largest in the world with a population of about 140 million people worldwide. Roughly 116 million ethnic Russians live in ] and about 20 million more live in the neighboring countries. A relatively significant number of Russians, around 3 million, live elsewhere in the world, mostly in the ] and ], but also in other places of ], ] and elsewhere.
]

==Culture==
{{main|Russian culture}}

Russian culture is one that is rich and colorful. Russians have a rich ]. ] is very important and considered by many to be very unique and some of the most importent painters in the world are Russian. Russians are also known for their sense of ]. ] was greatly influential to world literature. Russians also gave the ] world some very famous composers.

==Language==
{{main|Russian language}}

'''Russian''' (<span class="unicode audiolink">]</span>&nbsp;<span class="metadata audiolinkinfo"><small>(]·])</small></span>, ]: ''{{transl|ru|ALA|Russkiy yazyk}}'', {{IPA|}}) is the most geographically widespread language of ] and the most widely spoken of the ]. Russian belongs to the family of ] and is one of three (or, according to some authorities, four) living members of the ], the others being ] and ] (and possibly ], often considered a dialect of Ukrainian).

Written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century onwards, and while Russian preserves much of East Slavonic grammar and a ] word base, modern Russian exhibits a large stock of borrowed international vocabulary for politics, science, and technology. Due to the status of the ] as a ], Russian had great political importance in the 20th century, and is still one of the ] of the ].

Russian has ] ] of ]s, the so-called ''soft'' and ''hard'' sounds. This distinction is found in almost all consonant ]s and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language. Another important aspect is the ], or drawling, of ] ]s, not entirely unlike a similar process present in most forms of ]. Stress in Russian is generally quite unpredictable and can be placed on almost any syllable, one of the most difficult aspects for foreign language learners.

==Religion==
{{main|Religion in Russia}}

] is a dominant faith among the Russian people. More specifically, the vast majority of Russian believers belong to the ], which 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 ], ] under the ]) or historical origin (like ] or a ]) with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Even non-religious Russian people mostly associate themselves with Orthodox faith for cultural reasons. Some Russian people are ]: a relatively small ] group of the Russian Orthodoxy that rejected the liturgical reforms introduced in the 17th century.

Despite continuing growth in religious observance since Soviet times, church attendance rates in Russia are relatively low.

Other world religions have negligible representation among ethnic Russians. The most prominent are ]s with over 85 000 Russian adherents.<ref></ref> others are mostly ], ] and ].

For the last decades the Slavic paganism seems to gain certain popularity and there are many web-sites dedicated to the study of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://triglav.ru/|title= A web-site with information about current pagan activity in Russia. |language=Russian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://paganism.msk.ru/index.htm |title= A site with a lot of information on Slavic Paganism.|language=Russian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://slavn.org/ |title= A Slavic spiritualism site calling for returning to the roots. |language=Russian}}</ref>

==Russians outside of Russia==
{{main|Russian diaspora}}

Ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former ] and ], sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by Tsarist and later Soviet government. On some occasions ethnic Russian communities such as ] who settled in ] or ]s in ] immigrated as religious dissidents fleeing the central authority.

After the ] and ] starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the ] regime, and millions became refugees. Many ] were participants in the ], although the term is broadly applied to anyone who may have left the country due to the change in regime.

Today largest ethnic Russian diasporas outside of Russia live in former Soviet states such as ] (about 8 million), ] (about 4.5 million), ] (about 1.2 million), ] (about 700,000), ] (about 650,000) and ] (about 600,000). Over a million of ] emigrated to ] during and after the ] movements, some brought ethnic Russian relatives along with them. There are also small Russian communities in the ], Eastern and Central European nations such as ], as well as in ], ] and ]. These communities may identify themselves either as Russians or citizens of these countries, or both, to varying degrees.

The governments and the majority public opinion in ] and ], which has the largest share of ethnic Russians among the ], hold the view that many of the ethnic Russians arrived in these countries as part of a Soviet-era ] and deliberate ] by changing the countries' ethnic balance. Among the many Russians who arrived during the Soviet era most came there for economic reasons, or in some cases, because they were ordered to move.

People who had arrived to ] and ] during the Soviet era, mostly Russians, were only provided with an option to acquire naturalised citizenship which required passing a test demonstrating knowledge of the national language as well as knowledge of the country's history and customs. The language issue is still contentious, particularly in Latvia, where ethnic Russians have protested against plans to educate them in the national language instead of 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.

]
Although not among the largest immigrant groups, significant numbers of Russians emigrated to ], ], the ] and ]. ], in the ] borough of ], is an example of a large community of recent Russian immigrants. Another one is in ], a northern suburb of ]. 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 ] and ] (as well as from the separatist ]), forced to flee during political unrest and hostilities towards Russians.

Both the ] and the ], as well as the ], expressed their concern during the 1990s about minority rights in several countries, most notably ]. In ], the Russian-dominated ] region broke away from government control amid fears the country would soon reunite with ]. In June of 2006 Russian President ] announced the plan to introduce national policy aiming at encouraging ethnic Russian to immigrate to Russia.

===Russian Chinese===
After the ] in 1917, many Russians who were identified with the ] moved to ] — most of them settling in ]. Many of these Russians had to move back to the Soviet Union after ]. Today, a big group of people in northern China can still speak Russian.

] are one of the ] officially recognized by the ] (as ''the Russ''), and there are approximately 15,600 Russian Chinese living mostly in northern ], and also in ] and ]. See also ] and ].

==Contribution to humanity==
Russian people have greatly contributed to the world of ] and ]. Notable Russian ] include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].

Thanks to writers such as ], ], ], ], ], and many more, ] is considered to be among the most influential ] in the world. In the field of the novel, ] and ] in particular were titanic figures, and have remained internationally renowned, to the point that many 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/eb/article-29157>.</ref>

Great ] include ], ], ], ] and ].

A fact which the Russian people are proud of is the large part, larger than anybody elses part, that the Russian people had in the victory over ] at ]. During the war, the ] lost around 27 million citizens (most of them Russian), about half of all ] casualties and the vast majority of allied casualties. The Eastern Front contained more combat than all the other European fronts combined; the ] suffered 80% to 93% of all casualties there. It was on the Eastern Front that the war was won or lost, for if the ] had not succeeded against all the odds in halting the ] in 1941 and then inflicting the first major defeats at ] and ] in 1943, it is difficult to see how the western democracies, ] and the ], could have expelled Germany from its new empire.<ref>WWII historian ], .</ref>

==See also==
* ]
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==References and notes==
{{Reflist}}

===Online references===
*, by ], ], 23 November 2005.
*, by ], ], 15 August 2006.
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Revision as of 02:11, 28 September 2007

Are Gay !!!!!!