Kurds in Russia

Russian Kurds
Total population
63.818 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Kursk[2]
10.000 in Moscow (1995)[3]
Languages
Kurdish, Azeri, Russian[4]
Religion
Islam & Yazidi[5]

The Russian census of 2010 registered a total of 63,818 ethnic Kurds living in Russia. In 2002, 19,600 Muslim Kurds and 31,300 Yezidi Kurds lived in Russia.[6]

During the early 19th century, the main goal of the Russian Empire was to ensure the neutrality of the Kurds in the wars against Persia and the Ottoman Empire.[7] In the beginning of the 19th century, Kurds settled in Transcaucasia, at a time when Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, Kurds were persecuted and exterminated by the Turks and Persians, a situation that led Kurds to move to Russian Transcaucasia.[4] From 1804–1813 and again in 1826–1828, when the Russian Empire and the Persian Empire were at war, the Russian authorities let Kurds settle in Russia and Armenia.[4] During the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Kurds moved to Russia and Armenia.[4] According to the Russian Census of 1897, 99,900 Kurds lived in the Russian Empire.[8]

Abdullah Öcalan sought asylum in Russia in 1998.[2]

Kurdish Population in Russia

Year Population Note
1897 99.900[8] In the whole Russian Empire
1926 178 In the Russian SFSR[9]
1939 387 In the Russian SFSR[10]
1959 855 In the Russian SFSR[11]
1970 1.015 In the Russian SFSR[12]
1979 1.631 In the Russian SFSR[13]
1989 4.724 In the Russian SFSR[14]
2002 50.880[15]
2010 63.818[1]
Federal subjects Kurds (2002 census)[16]
 Krasnodar Krai 9.463
 Adygea 3.687
 Stavropol Krai 3.676
 Saratov Oblast 3.210
 Nizhny Novgorod Oblast 3.158
 Yaroslavl Oblast 2.754
 Moscow 2.338
 Rostov Oblast 2.193
 Novosibirsk Oblast 2.099
 Tambov Oblast 1.712
 Volgograd Oblast 1.544
 Sverdlovsk Oblast 1.152
 Oryol Oblast 953
 Moscow Oblast 788
 Tula Oblast 786
 Kursk Oblast 761
 Bashkortostan 755
 Lipetsk Oblast 717
 Samara Oblast 700
 Voronezh Oblast 645
 Kaliningrad Oblast 549
 Tyumen Oblast 414
 Saint Petersburg 384
 Chelyabinsk Oblast 362
 Belgorod Oblast 342
 Irkutsk Oblast 325
 Kabardino-Balkaria 306
 Tver Oblast 290
 Kurgan Oblast 271
 Krasnoyarsk Krai 268
 Omsk Oblast 257
 Ivanovo Oblast 239
 Kostroma Oblast 207
 Ulyanovsk Oblast 206
 Kalmykia 202
 Vladimir Oblast 195
 Primorsky Krai 188
 Orenburg Oblast 185
 Ryazan Oblast 167
 Kemerovo Oblast 162
 Bryansk Oblast 139
 Penza Oblast 139
 Tomsk Oblast 139
 Kaluga Oblast 138
 Astrakhan Oblast 120
 Tatarstan 104
 North Ossetia-Alania 103
 Karachay-Cherkessia 98
 Leningrad Oblast 97
 Udmurtia 86
 Mordovia 76
 Smolensk Oblast 71
 Kirov Oblast 70
 Perm Krai 61
 Vologda Oblast 56
 Dagestan 54
 Chuvashia 53
 Sakha Republic 53
 Altai Krai 51
 Murmansk Oblast 47
 Novgorod Oblast 44
 Kamchatka Krai 40
 Amur Oblast 38
 Arkhangelsk Oblast 35
 Pskov Oblast 24
 Buryatia 23
 Komi 18
 Khakassia 16
 Chechnya 12
 Karelia 11
 Ingushetia 9
 Jewish Autonomous Oblast 9
 Khabarovsk Krai 9
 Sakhalin Oblast 8
 Chita Oblast 6
 Tuva 3
 Mari El 2
 Altai Republic 1
 Magadan Oblast 1

Notable Russians of Kurdish descent

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 г. Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации". Demoscope. Demoscope. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Relations With Russia Deteriorate As Kurds Protest". The Russia Journal. The Russia Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "The Kurds remain caught in the "Transcaucasian Triangle"". jamestown.org. 19 May 1995. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "The Kurds of Caucasia and Central Asia have been cut off for a considerable period of time and their development in Russia and then in the Soviet Union has been somewhat different. In this light the Soviet Kurds may be considered to be an ethnic group in their own right." The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire "Kurds". Institute of Estonia (EKI). Institute of Estonia (EKI). Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Kurdistan: between U.S. and Iraq". Georgiatimes. Georgiatimes. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Том 4 - "Национальный состав и владение языками, гражданство".. perepis2002.ru (in Russian). perepis2002.ru. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  7. ↑ РОССИЯ И ПРОБЛЕМА КУРДОВ. rau.su (in Russian). rau.su. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Chapter 10: The Kurds in the Soviet Union". Ismet Chériff Vanly. scribd. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР (in Russian). Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "4. National composition of population and citizenship: 4.3. Population by nationalities and knowledge of Russian". Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "National Composition of Population for Regions of the Russian Federation" (in Russian). perepis2002.ru. Retrieved 12 February 2013.