Kurds in Russia

Kurds in Russia

Total population
50,701 (2021)
Regions with significant populations
Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Kursk[1] 10,000 in Moscow (1995)[2]
Languages
Kurdish (Kurmanji), Russian, Armenian, Georgian[3]
Religion
Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Yazidism, Irreligion[4][5]
Related ethnic groups
Iranian peoples

Kurds in Russia (Russian: Курды в России, romanized: Kurdy v Rossii; Kurdish: Kurdên Rusyayê کوردانی ڕوسیا) form a major part of the historically significant Kurdish population in the post-Soviet space, with close ties to the Kurdish communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

History

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.^[6] 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.^[3] 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.^[3] During the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Kurds moved to Russia and Armenia.^[3] According to the Russian Census of 1897, 99,900 Kurds lived in the Russian Empire.^[7]

In 1937 and 1944 Soviet Kurds experienced forced deportations from Azerbaijan (mostly), Armenia and Georgia.

During World War II, one of the most renowned Soviet Kurds was Samand Siabandov, a war hero.

Abdullah Öcalan sought asylum in Russia in 1998.^[1]

Population (1897–2021)

Kurdish population in Russia according to census statistics from 1897 to 2021:

Year	Population	Notes
1897[8]	113	In European Russia
1926[9]	178	In the Russian SFSR
1939[10]	387
1959[11]	855
1979[12]	1,631
1989[13]	4,724
2002[14]	50,880	In the Russian Federation
2010[14]	63,818
2021[15]	50,701

Notable Kurds in Russia

• Qanate Kurdo, Kurdish philologist
• Zara, Musical Artist
• Mikhail Aloyan, Boxer
• Guram Adzhoyev, Footballer
• Guram Adzhoyev (1995), Footballer
• Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian bodybuilder and internet celebrity

See also

• Kurdistan Uyezd
• Republic of Mahabad
• Kurdistan Region–Russia relations

References

1. "Relations With Russia Deteriorate As Kurds Protest". The Russia Journal. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
2. "The Kurds remain caught in the "Transcaucasian Triangle"". jamestown.org. 19 May 1995. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
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). Retrieved 22 June 2012.
4. "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 г. Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации". Archived from the original on 2012-05-21.
5. "Kurdistan: between U.S. and Iraq". Georgiatimes. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
6. РОССИЯ И ПРОБЛЕМА КУРДОВ. rau.su (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
7. "Chapter 10: The Kurds in the Soviet Union". Ismet Chériff Vanly. scribd. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
8. "Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку, губерниям и областям" (in Russian). Demoscope. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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" (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
11. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР" (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
12. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР" (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
13. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР" (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
14. "4. National composition of population and citizenship: 4.3. Population by nationalities and knowledge of Russian". Retrieved 4 July 2012.
15. "Ethnic composition: 2021 census (data for regions)". Retrieved 7 July 2023.

Further reading

• Hasratian, Manuel (1998). "THE KURDS IN THE USSR AND IN THE CIS (A Brief Account)". Iran and the Caucasus. 2 (1): 39–47. doi:10.1163/157338498X00039.

External links

• A History of Russia's Relations with the Kurds from Ohio State University