Nenets

The Nenets (; ), in the past also called 'Samoyeds' or 'Yuraks', are a Samoyedic ethnic group native to the Russian Arctic, in the Russian Far North. According to the latest census in 2021, there were 49,646 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District stretching along the coastline of the Arctic Ocean near the Arctic Circle between Kola and Taymyr peninsulas. The Nenets people speak either the Tundra or Forest Nenets languages. In the Russian Federation they have a status of Indigenous small-numbered peoples. Today, the Nenets people face numerous challenges from the state and oil and gas companies that threaten the environment and their way of life. As a result, many cite a rise in locally based activism.

== Etymology == The old Russian name 'Samoyedy' most probably came from the ancient name of the territory where the Sami and the Nenets lived together Saame edna (the land of Sami). The name 'Samoyed' went out of usage at the beginning of the 20th century. The people are known as the nentsy/nenej nenetsj, which means "real humans".