Chuvash people
чӑвашсем çăvaşsem | |
|---|---|
Old Chuvash men, the beginning of 20th century | |
| Total population | |
| c. 1.1 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Russia ( Chuvashia) | 1,067,139 684,930 |
| Kazakhstan | 22,305 |
| Ukraine | 10,593 |
| Uzbekistan | 10,074 |
| Tajikistan | 3,904 |
| Turkmenistan | 2,281 |
| Belarus | 2,242 |
| Moldova | 1,204 |
| Languages | |
| Chuvash Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Orthodox Christianity Minority: Vattisen Yaly (ethnic religion) Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Volga Tatars, Mari | |
The Chuvash people (Chuvash: чӑвашсем, romanized: çăvaşsem, pronounced [tɕəˈʋaʃsem]; Russian: чуваши, romanized: čuvaši, pronounced [tɕʊˈvaʂɨ]) also called Chuvash Tatars, are a Turkic ethnic group, a branch of the Oğurs, inhabiting an area stretching from the Idel-Ural region to Siberia.
Most of them live in the Russian republic of Chuvashia and the surrounding area, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout Russia as well as in Central Asia. They speak Chuvash, a Turkic language that diverged from other languages in the family more than a millennium ago. Among the Chuvash believers, the majority are Eastern Orthodox Christians although a minority follow Vattisen Yaly or Sunni Islam.