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Russians

Also known as Russkiye, Russkije, Russian (ethnicity), Russians (ethnic group), Russians (ethnicity), Russian people, Russian, ethnic Russians

Russians ( ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian, the most spoken Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Orthodox Christianity, ever since the Middle Ages. By total numbers, they compose the largest Slavic and European nation.

AI overview

Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group from Eastern Europe who speak Russian, the most widely spoken Slavic language, and most follow Orthodox Christianity since medieval times. They represent the largest Slavic and European nation by population.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Ethnic group.group: Russians
Ethnic group.native_name_lang: ru
Ethnic group.popplace: center|frameless|260x260px Russia 105,620,179 (2025)
Ethnic group.region1: Germany
Ethnic group.pop1: approx. 7,500,000 (including Russian Jews and Russian Germans)
Ethnic group.region2: Ukraine
Ethnic group.pop2: 7,170,000 (2018) (including Crimea)
Ethnic group.region3: United States
Ethnic group.pop3: 3,072,756 (2009)(including Russian Jews and Russian Germans)
Ethnic group.region4: Kazakhstan
Ethnic group.pop4: 2,983,317 (2024 government est.)
Ethnic group.region7: Uzbekistan
Ethnic group.pop7: 720,324 (2019)
Ethnic group.region8: Belarus
Ethnic group.pop8: 706,992 (2019)
Ethnic group.region9: Canada
Ethnic group.pop9: 622,445 (2016)(Russian ancestry, excluding Russian Germans)
Ethnic group.region10: Latvia

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Demonym: расейцы
Population: 133000000
Image: Russian peasant girls in front of a traditional wooden house in Kirillov.jpg

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Commons category: Russians

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~32 min read

Article

25 sections

Contents

Ethnonym
History
Ancient history
Medieval history
Modern history
Geographic distribution
Ethnographic groups
Genetics
Assimilation and immigration
Language
Culture
Literature
Philosophy
Science
Painting
Music
Cinema
Architecture
Religion
Sports
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links

Genetic studies show that Russians are closely related to Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, as well as Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, and Finns. They were formed from East Slavic tribes, and their cultural ancestry is based in Kievan Rus'. The Russian word for the Russians is derived from the people of Rus' and the territory of Rus'. Russians share many historical and cultural traits with other European peoples, and especially with other East Slavic ethnic groups, specifically Belarusians and Ukrainians.