Turkic peoples
Demographics
Table:
People

Primary homeland

Population

Modern language

Predominant religion and sect

Turks

Turkey

60

70 M

Turkish

Sunni Islam

Azerbaijanis

Iranian Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan

42

30–35 M

Azerbaijani

Shia Islam (65%), Sunni Islam (35%)[162][163] (Hanafi).

Uzbeks

Uzbekistan

32

28.3 M

Uzbek

Sunni Islam

Kazakhs

Kazakhstan

15

13.8 M

Kazakh

Sunni Islam

Uyghurs

Altishahr (China)

15

9 M

Uyghur

Sunni Islam

Turkmens

Turkmenistan

03

8 M

Turkmen

Sunni Islam

Tatars

Tatarstan (Russia)

07

7 M

Tatar

Sunni Islam

Kyrgyzs

Kyrgyzstan

026

4.5 M

Kyrgyz

Sunni Islam

Bashkirs

Bashkortostan (Russia)

009

2 M

Bashkir

Sunni Islam

Crimean Tatars

Crimea (Russia/Ukraine)

009

0.5 to 2 M

Crimean Tatar

Sunni Islam

Qashqai

Southern Iran (Iran)

009

0.9 M

Qashqai

Shia Islam

Chuvashes

Chuvashia (Russia)

010

1.7 M

Chuvash

Orthodox Christianity

Karakalpaks

Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan)

007

0.6 M

Karakalpak

Sunni Islam

Yakuts

Yakutia (Russia)

007

0.5 M

Sakha

Orthodox Christianity

Kumyks

Dagestan (Russia)

007

0.4 M

Kumyk

Sunni Islam

Karachays and Balkars

Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia)

007

0.4 M

Karachay-Balkar

Sunni Islam

Tuvans

Tuva (Russia)

009

0.3 M

Tuvan

Tibetan Buddhism

Gagauzs

Gagauzia (Moldova)

009

0.2 M

Gagauz

Orthodox Christianity

Turkic Karaites and Krymchaks

Ukraine

007

0.2 M

Karaim and Krymchak

Judaism

Considering the provided table and the passages listed below.

Answer the following question: What is the population of the people whose modern language was established as a written language in 1957 , and was not used in curriculum until 1959 ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

Turkish people or the Turks ( Turkish : Türkler ) , also known as Anatolian Turks ( Turkish : Anadolu Türkleri ) , are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish , the most widely spoken Turkic language . They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey , as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages . Ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire . In addition , a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration , particularly in Western Europe . Turks arrived from Central Asia and Western China and settled in the Anatolian basin in around the 11th century through the conquest of Seljuk Turks , mixing with the peoples of Anatolia . The region then began to transform from a predominately Greek Christian one to a Turkish Muslim society . Thereafter , the Ottoman Empire came to rule much of the Balkans , the Caucasus , the Middle East ( excluding Iran ) , and North Africa over the course of several centuries , with an advanced army and navy . The Empire lasted until the end of the First World War , when it was defeated by the Allies and partitioned . Following the successful Turkish War of Independence that ended with the Turkish national movement retaking most of the land lost to the Allies , the movement abolished the Ottoman sultanate on 1 November 1922 and proclaimed the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923 . Not all Ottomans were Muslims and not all Ottoman Muslims were Turks , but by 1923 , the majority of people living within the borders of the new Turkish republic identified as Turks . Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship ; therefore , the legal use of the term Turkish as a citizen of Turkey is different from the ethnic definition . However , the majority of the Turkish population are of Turkish ethnicity and are estimated at 70-75 percent .
Turkey ( Turkish : Türkiye [ ˈtyɾcije ] ) , officially the Republic of Turkey ( Turkish : Türkiye Cumhuriyeti [ ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti ] ( listen ) ) , is a transcontinental country located mostly on the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia , with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe . East Thrace , the part of Turkey in Europe , is separated from Anatolia by the Sea of Marmara , the Bosporus and the Dardanelles ( collectively called the Turkish Straits ) . Istanbul , mostly located on the European side , is the largest city in the country while Ankara is the capital . Turkey is bordered by Greece and Bulgaria to its northwest , the Black Sea to its north , Georgia to its northeast , Armenia , the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to its east , Iraq and Syria to its southeast , the Mediterranean Sea to its south , and the Aegean Sea to its west . Approximately 70 to 80 percent of the country 's citizens identify as Turkish , while Kurds are the largest minority at anywhere from 15 to 20 percent of the population . At various points in its history , the region has been inhabited by diverse civilisations including the Assyrians , Greeks , Thracians , Phrygians , Urartians , and Armenians . Hellenization started during the era of Alexander the Great and continued into the Byzantine era . The Seljuk Turks began migrating into the area in the 11th century , and their victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 symbolises the start and foundation of Turkey . The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243 , when it disintegrated into small principalities called beyliks . Beginning in the late 13th century , the Ottomans started uniting beyliks and conquering the Balkans . After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453 , Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I . During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent the Ottoman Empire encompassed much of Southeast Europe , West Asia and North Africa and became a world power .
Turkish ( Türkçe ( help·info ) ) , also referred to as Istanbul Turkish ( İstanbul Türkçesi ) , and sometimes known as Turkey Turkish ( Türkiye Türkçesi ) , is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages , with around ten to fifteen million native speakers in Southeast Europe ( mostly in East and Western Thrace ) and sixty to sixty-five million native speakers in Western Asia ( mostly in Anatolia ) . Outside Turkey , significant smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany , Austria , Bulgaria , North Macedonia , Northern Cyprus , Greece , the Caucasus , and other parts of Europe and Central Asia . Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official language , even though Turkey is not a member state . To the west , the influence of Ottoman Turkish - the variety of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire - spread as the Ottoman Empire expanded . In 1928 , as one of Atatürk 's Reforms in the early years of the Republic of Turkey , the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was replaced with a Latin alphabet . The distinctive characteristics of the Turkish language are vowel harmony and extensive agglutination . The basic word order of Turkish is subject-object-verb . Turkish has no noun classes or grammatical gender . The language makes usage of honorifics and has a strong T-V distinction which distinguishes varying levels of politeness , social distance , age , courtesy or familiarity toward the addressee . The plural second-person pronoun and verb forms are used referring to a single person out of respect .
Azerbaijanis ( /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːni/ ) or Azeris ( Azerbaijani : Azərbaycanlılar آذربایجانلیلار , Azərilər آذریلر ) are a Turkic people living mainly in the Iranian region of Azerbaijan and the sovereign ( former Soviet ) Republic of Azerbaijan . They are the second-most numerous ethnic group among the Turkic peoples after Turkish people and predominantly Shia Muslims . They comprise the largest ethnic group in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the second-largest ethnic group in neighboring Iran and Georgia . The world 's largest number of ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran , followed by the Republic of Azerbaijan . They speak the Azerbaijani language , belonging to the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages . The Azerbaijanis of Iran are believed to be descended from various groups , including Mannaeans , an ancient people who lived in the territory of present-day northwestern Iran to the south of Lake Urmia at around the 10th to 7th centuries BC , and spoke a dialect related to Hurrian ( a non-Semitic and non-Indo-European language related to Urartian ) , and the Medes , an ancient Iranian ethnic group which , under the rule of King Cyaxares , established the Median Empire and came to dominate the region . The Median Empire is believed to have conquered and assimilated the Mannaeans by the 6th century BC . Historical research suggests that the Old Azeri language , belonging to the Northwestern branch of the Iranian languages and believed to have descended from the language of the Medes , gradually gained currency and was widely spoken in the said region for many centuries . The Azerbaijanis of the Republic of Azerbaijan are believed to be descended from the inhabitants of Caucasian Albania , an ancient country located in the eastern Caucasus region , and various Iranian peoples which settled the region . There is evidence that , despite repeated invasions and migrations , the aboriginal Caucasian population may have gradually been culturally and linguistically assimilated , first by Iranian peoples , such as the Persians , and later by the Oghuz Turks . Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians , including their language , history , early conversion to Christianity , and relations with the Armenians and Georgians , under whose strong religious and cultural influence the Caucasian Albanians came in the coming centuries . Many academics believe that the Udi language , belonging to the Northeast Caucasian languages and still spoken in Azerbaijan , is a remnant of the Caucasian Albanians ' language .
The name Azerbaijan itself is derived from Atropates , the Persian Satrap ( governor ) of Medea in the Achaemenid empire , who ruled a region found in modern Iranian Azerbaijan called Atropatene . Atropates name is believed to be derived from the Old Persian roots meaning protected by fire . The name is also mentioned in the Avestan Frawardin Yasht : âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide which translates literally to : We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-pata . According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam : In Middle Persian the name of the province was called Āturpātākān , older new-Persian Ādharbādhagān ( آذربادگان/آذرآبادگان ) , Ādharbāyagān , at present Āzerbāydjān/Āzarbāydjān , Greek Atropatíni ( ᾿Ατροπατήνη ) , Byzantine Greek Adravigánon ( ᾿Αδραβιγάνων ) , Armenian Atrpatakan , Syriac Adhorbāyghān . The name Atropat in Middle Persian was transformed to Adharbad and is connected with Zoroastrianism . A famous Zoroastrian priest by the name Adarbad Mahraspandan is well known for his counsels . Azerbaijan , due to its numerous fire-temples has also been quoted in a variety of historic sources as being the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster although modern scholars have not yet reached an agreement on the location of his birth . With Qajar Iran being forced to cede to Imperial Russia its Caucasian territories north of the Aras River ( that is , modern-day Georgia , Dagestan , Armenia , and the Republic of Azerbaijan ) during the course of the 19th century , through the treaties of Gulistan ( 1813 ) and Turkmenchay ( 1828 ) , vast amounts of soil were irrevocably lost . Following the disintegration of the Russian Empire in 1917 , as well as the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic , in 1918 , the leading Musavat government adopted the name Azerbaijan for the newly established Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , which was proclaimed on May 27 , 1918 , for political reasons , even though the name of Azerbaijan had always been used to refer to the adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran . Thus , until 1918 , when the Musavat regime decided to name the newly independent state Azerbaijan , this designation had been used exclusively to identify the Iranian province of Azerbaijan .
Azerbaijan ( UK : /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn , -ˈʒɑːn/ ( listen ) , US : /ˌɑːzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn , ˌæz-/ ; Azerbaijani : Azərbaycan [ ɑːzæɾbɑjˈd͡ʒɑn ] ) , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan ( Azerbaijani : Azərbaycan Respublikası [ ɑːzæɾbɑjˈd͡ʒɑn ɾespublikɑˈsɯ ] ) , is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia . It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east , Russia to the north , Georgia to the northwest , Armenia to the west and Iran to the south . The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east , Iran to the south and west , and has an 11 km ( 6.8 mi ) long border with Turkey in the northwest . The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first secular democratic Muslim-majority state . In 1920 the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic . The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991 , shortly before the dissolution of the USSR in the same year . In September 1991 , the Armenian majority of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region seceded to form the Republic of Artsakh . The region and seven adjacent districts outside it became de facto independent with the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994 . These regions are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan pending a solution to the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE . Azerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic . It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community . Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations , including the United Nations ( since 1992 ) , the Council of Europe , the Non-Aligned Movement , the OSCE , and the NATO Partnership for Peace ( PfP ) program .
Azerbaijani ( /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːni , ˌɑː- , -ˈʒɑːni/ ) or Azeri ( /æˈzɛəri , ɑː- , ə-/ ) , sometimes also Azeri Turkic , or Azeri Turkish , is a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis , who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan where the North Azerbaijani variety is spoken , and in Iranian Azerbaijan where the South Azerbaijani variety is spoken . Although there is a very high degree of mutual intelligibility between both forms of Azerbaijani , there are some significant differences in phonology , lexicon , morphology , syntax , and sources of loanwords . North Azerbaijani has official status in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Dagestan ( a federal subject of Russia ) but South Azerbaijani does not have official status in Iran , where the majority of Azerbaijanis live . It is also spoken to lesser varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia and Turkey and by diaspora communities , primarily in Europe and North America . Both Azerbaijani varieties are members of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages . The standardized form of North Azerbaijani ( spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia ) is based on the Shirvani dialect , while Iranian Azerbaijani uses the Tabrizi dialect as its prestige variety . Azerbaijani is closely related to Gagauz , Qashqai , Crimean Tatar , Turkish and Turkmen , sharing varying degrees of mutual intelligibility with each of those languages . According to linguistic comparative studies , the closest relative of Azerbaijani is the Turkmen language .
The Hanafi ( Arabic : حنفي Ḥanafī ) school is one of the four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence ( fiqh ) . It is named after the scholar Abū Ḥanīfa an-Numan ibn Thābit ( d. 767 ) , a tabii whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples , Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani . The other major schools of Sharia in Sunni Islam are Maliki , Shafi ` i and Hanbali . The Hanafi school is the maddhab with the largest number of followers among Sunni Muslims . It is predominant in the countries that were once part of the historic Ottoman Empire , Mughal Empire and Sultanates of Turkic rulers in the Indian subcontinent , northwest China and Central Asia . In the modern era , Hanafi is prevalent in the following regions : Turkey , the Balkans , Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , Palestine , Egypt , Afghanistan , parts of Iraq , parts of Iran , parts of Russia , Turkmenistan , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Uzbekistan , Pakistan , parts of India and China , and Bangladesh .
The Uzbeks ( Uzbek : Oʻzbek , Ўзбек , اوزبک , plural : Oʻzbeklar , Ўзбеклар , اوزبکلر ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Uzbekistan and wider Central Asia , being the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area . They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan but are also found as a minority group in Afghanistan , Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan , Kazakhstan , Turkmenistan , Russia and China . Uzbek diaspora communities also exist in Turkey , Saudi Arabia , and Pakistan .
Uzbekistan ( UK : /ʊzˌbɛkɪˈstɑːn , ʌz- , -ˈstæn/ , US : /ʊzˈbɛkɪstæn , -stɑːn/ ; Uzbek : O'zbekiston , Ўзбекистон pronounced [ ozbekiˈstɒn ] ) , officially Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek : O'zbekiston Respublikasi ) , is a country in Central Asia . It is bordered by five landlocked countries : Kazakhstan to the north ; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast ; Tajikistan to the southeast ; Afghanistan to the south ; and Turkmenistan to the southwest . Along with Liechtenstein , it is one of the world 's only two doubly landlocked countries . As a sovereign state , Uzbekistan is a secular , unitary constitutional republic . It comprises 12 provinces and one autonomous republic . The capital and largest city of Uzbekistan is Tashkent . What is now Uzbekistan was in ancient times part of the Iranian-speaking region of Transoxiana and Turan . The first recorded settlers were Eastern Iranian nomads , known as Scythians , who founded kingdoms in Khwarezm ( 8th-6th centuries BC ) , Bactria ( 8th-6th centuries BC ) , Sogdia ( 8th-6th centuries BC ) , Fergana ( 3rd century BC - 6th century AD ) , and Margiana ( 3rd century BC - 6th century AD ) . The area was incorporated into the Iranian Achaemenid Empire and , after a period of Macedonian Greek rule , was ruled by the Iranian Parthian Empire and later by the Sasanian Empire , until the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century . The Muslim conquest in the 7th century converted the majority of the population , including the local ruling classes , into adherents of Islam . During this period , cities such as Samarkand , Khiva and Bukhara began to grow rich from the Silk Road . The local Khwarezmian dynasty , and Central Asia as a whole , were decimated by the Mongol invasion in the 13th century .
The Kazakhs ( also spelled Kazaks , Qazaqs ; Kazakh : singular : Kazakh : Қазақ , Qazaq , [ qɑˈzɑq ] ( listen ) , plural : Қазақтар , Qazaqtar , [ qɑzɑqˈtɑr ] ( listen ) ; the English name is transliterated from Russian ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly inhabit the Ural Mountains and northern parts of Central Asia ( largely Kazakhstan , but also parts of Russia , Uzbekistan , Mongolia and China ) , the region also known as the Eurasian sub-continent . Kazakh identity is of medieval origin and was strongly shaped by the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate between 1456 and 1465 , when several tribes under the rule of the sultans Zhanibek and Kerey departed from the Khanate of Abu ' l-Khayr Khan . The Kazakhs are descendants of the Turkic and medieval Mongol tribes - Argyns , Dughlats , Naimans , Jalairs , Keraits , Qarluqs and of the Kipchaks .
Kazakhstan , [ b ] officially the Republic of Kazakhstan , [ c ] is a transcontinental country largely located in Central Asia with the most western parts of it being located in Eastern Europe . It is the world 's largest landlocked country , and the ninth largest country in the world , with an area of 2,724,900 square kilometres ( 1,052,100 sq mi ) . Kazakhstan is the most dominant nation of Central Asia economically , generating 60% of the region 's GDP , primarily through its oil and gas industry . It also has vast mineral resources . Kazakhstan is officially a democratic , secular , unitary , constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage . Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia , China , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan , and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea . The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands , steppe , taiga , rock canyons , hills , deltas , snow-capped mountains , and deserts . Kazakhstan has an estimated 18.3 million people as of 2018 [ update ] . Its population density is among the lowest , at less than 6 people per square kilometre ( 15 people per sq mi ) . Since 1997 and independence , the capital is Nur-Sultan , formerly known as Astana . It was moved from Almaty , the country 's largest city . The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic groups and empires .
Kazakh or Kazak ( Latin : qazaqsha or qazaq tili , Cyrillic : қазақша or қазақ тілі , Arabic : قازاقشا or قازاق تىلى , pronounced [ qɑzɑqˈɕɑ ] , [ qɑˈzɑq tɪˈlɪ ] ) , is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia . It is closely related to Nogai , Kyrgyz and Karakalpak . Kazakh is the official language of Kazakhstan and a significant minority language in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang , China and in the Bayan-Ölgii Province of Mongolia . Kazakh is also spoken by many ethnic Kazakhs through the former Soviet Union ( approximately 472,000 in Russia according to the 2010 Russian Census ) , Germany , Iran , Turkey and Afghanistan . Like other Turkic languages , Kazakh is an agglutinative language and it employs vowel harmony . In October 2017 , Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev decreed that the government would transition from using Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet by 2025 . President Nazarbayev signed on February 19 , 2018 an amendment to the decree of October 26 , 2017 No . 569 On translating the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin script . The amended alphabet uses ⟨sh⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ for the Kazakh sounds /ɕ/ and /tɕ/ , respectively and eliminates the use of apostrophes .
The Uyghurs , alternately Uygurs , Uighurs or Uigurs , are a Turkic minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia . The Uyghurs are recognized as native [ note 1 ] to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People 's Republic of China . They are considered to be one of China 's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities . The Uyghurs are recognized by the Chinese government only as a regional minority within a multicultural nation . The Chinese government rejects the notion of the Uyghurs being an indigenous group . The Uyghurs have traditionally inhabited a series of oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert within the Tarim Basin , a territory that has historically been controlled by many civilizations including China , the Mongols , the Tibetans , and various Turkic polities . The Uyghurs gradually started to become Islamized in the 10th century and most Uyghurs identified as Muslims by the 16th century . Islam has since played an important role in Uyghur culture and identity . An estimated 80% of Xinjiang 's Uyghurs still live in the Tarim Basin . The rest of Xinjiang 's Uyghurs mostly live in Ürümqi , the capital city of Xinjiang UAR , which is located in the historical region of Dzungaria . The largest community of Uyghurs living in another region of China are the Uyghurs living in Taoyuan County , in North-Central Hunan . Significant diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan .
Altishahr ( Traditional spelling : آلتی شهر , Uyghur Cyrillic alphabet : Алтә-шәһәр , Uyghur Latin alphabet : Altä-şähär or Alti-şähär , Modern Uyghur alphabet : ئالتە شەھەر ) is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries . The term means the six cities in Turkic languages and refers to oasis towns along the rim of the Tarim , in what is now southern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China . Six cities ( Altishahr ) was synonymous with Kashgaria .
The Uyghur or Uighur language ( /ˈwiːɡər/ ; ئۇيغۇر تىلى , Уйғур тили , Uyghur tili , Uyƣur tili or ئۇيغۇرچە , Уйғурчә , Uyghurche , Uyƣurqə ; formerly known as Eastern Turki ) , is a Turkic language with 10 to 15 million speakers , spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China . Significant communities of Uyghur speakers are located in Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and various other countries have Uyghur-speaking expatriate communities . Uyghur is an official language of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is widely used in both social and official spheres , as well as in print , television and radio and is used as a common language by other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang . Uyghur belongs to the Karluk branch of the Turkic language family , which also includes languages such as Uzbek . Like many other Turkic languages , Uyghur displays vowel harmony and agglutination , lacks noun classes or grammatical gender and is a left-branching language with subject-object-verb word order . More distinctly Uyghur processes include , especially in northern dialects , vowel reduction and umlauting . In addition to influence of other Turkic languages , Uyghur has historically been influenced strongly by Arabic and Persian and more recently by Russian and Mandarin Chinese . The modified Arabic-derived writing system is the most common and the only standard in China , although other writing systems are used for auxiliary and historical purposes . Unlike most Arabic-derived scripts , the Uyghur Arabic alphabet has mandatory marking of all vowels due to modifications to the original Perso-Arabic script made in the 20th century . Two Latin and one Cyrillic alphabet are also used , though to a much lesser extent . The Arabic and Latin alphabets both have 32 characters .
Turkmens ( Turkmen : Türkmenler , Түркменлер , توركمنلر , [ tʏɾkmɛnˈlɛɾ ] ; historically also the Turkmen ) are a nation and Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia , primarily the Turkmen nation state of Turkmenistan . Smaller communities are also found in Iran , Afghanistan and North Caucasus ( Stavropol Krai ) . They speak the Turkmen language , which is classified as a part of the Eastern Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages . Examples of other Oghuz languages are Turkish , Azerbaijani , Qashqai , Gagauz , Khorasani , and Salar .
Turkmenistan ( /tɜːrkˈmɛnɪstæn/ ( listen ) or /tɜːrkmɛnɪˈstɑːn/ ( listen ) ; Turkmen : Türkmenistan , pronounced [ tʏɾkmɛnɪˈθtɑn ] ) is a sovereign country in Central Asia , bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest , Uzbekistan to the north and east , Afghanistan to the southeast , Iran to the south and southwest , and the Caspian Sea to the west . Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of the country . The population of the country is 5.6 million , the lowest of the Central Asian republics . Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia . Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries . In medieval times , Merv was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road , a caravan route used for trade with China until the mid-15th century . Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881 , Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia . In 1925 , Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union , Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ( Turkmen SSR ) ; it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 . Turkmenistan possesses the world 's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources . Most of the country is covered by the Karakum ( Black Sand ) Desert . From 1993 to 2017 , citizens received government-provided electricity , water and natural gas free of charge . The sovereign state of Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov ( also known as Turkmenbashi ) until his death in 2006 .
Turkmen ( Türkmençe , Түркменче , تۆرکمنچه , [ tʏɾkmɛntʃɛ ] or türkmen dili , түркмен дили , تۆرکمن ديلی , [ tʏɾkmɛn dɪlɪ ] ) is the official language of Turkmenistan and the language of the Turkmen peoples of Central Asia . It is a Turkic language spoken by 5.9 million people in Turkmenistan as well as by around 719,000 people in Northeastern Iran and 1.5 million people in Northwestern Afghanistan . However , many Iranian Turkmen are speakers of Khorasani Turkic . Moreover , Iraqi and Syrian Turkmen speak dialects that form a continuum between Turkish and Azerbaijani , in both cases heavily influenced by Arabic . These three varieties are not Turkmen in the sense of this article .
The Tatars ( /ˈtɑːtərz/ ; Tatar : татарлар , tatarlar ; Russian : татары ) are a Turkic ethnic group living mainly in Tatarstan and the wider Volga-Ural region . They speak Tatar , a Kipchak Turkic language . The vast majority of Tatars today reside in post-Soviet countries , primarily in Russia , Ukraine and Uzbekistan . The vast majority of Tatars are Muslims . The name Tatar first appears in written form on the Kul Tigin monument as 𐱃𐱃𐰺 , Ta-tar and likely was referring to the Tatar confederation . That confederation was eventually incorporated into the Mongol Empire when Genghis Khan unified the various steppe tribes . Historically , the term Tatars ( or Tartars ) was applied to anyone originating from the vast Northern and Central Asian landmass then known as Tartary , which was dominated by various mostly Turco-Mongol semi-nomadic empires and kingdoms . More recently , however , the term has come to refer more narrowly to related ethnic groups who refer to themselves as Tatars or who speak languages that are commonly referred to as Tatar , namely Tatar by Volga Tatars ( Tatars proper ) , Crimean Tatar by Crimean Tatars and Siberian Tatar by Siberian Tatars . The largest group amongst the Tatars by far and the one called Tatars in Russian , are the Volga Tatars , native to the Volga-Ural region ( Tatarstan and Bashkortostan ) , who for this reason are often also simply known as Tatars . They compose 53% of the population in Tatarstan . Their language is known as the Tatar language . As of 2002 [ update ] , there were an estimated 5 million ethnic Tatars in Russia .
The Republic of Tatarstan ( Russian : Респу́блика Татарста́н , romanized : Respúblika Tatarstán ; Tatar : Татарстан Республикасы ) , or simply Tatarstan ( Russian : Татарста́н , romanized : Tatarstán ; Tatar : Татарстан ) , is a federal subject ( a republic ) of the Russian Federation , located in the Volga Federal District . Its capital is the city of Kazan . The republic borders Kirov , Ulyanovsk , Samara , and Orenburg Oblasts , the Mari El , Udmurt , and Chuvash Republics , and the Republic of Bashkortostan . The area of the republic is 68,000 square kilometres ( 26,000 sq mi ) . The unofficial Tatarstan motto is Bez Buldırabız ! ( We can ! ) . As of the 2010 Census , the population of Tatarstan was 3,786,488 . The state has strong cultural ties with its eastern neighbor , the Republic of Bashkortostan . The state languages of the Republic of Tatarstan are Tatar and Russian .
The Tatar language ( татар теле , tatar tele or татарча , tatarça ) is a Turkic language spoken by Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan ( European Russia ) , as well as Siberia . It should not be confused with the Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tatar which are closely related but belong to different subgroups of the Kipchak languages .
The Kyrgyz people ( also spelled Kyrghyz and Kirghiz ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia , primarily Kyrgyzstan .
Kyrgyzstan ( /ˌkɜːrɡɪˈstɑːn/ KUR-gih-STAHN ; Kyrgyz : Кыргызстан Kırğızstan Kyrgyz pronunciation : [ qɯrʁɯsˈstɑn ] ) , officially the Kyrgyz Republic ( Kyrgyz : Кыргыз Республикасы , romanized : Kırğız Respublikası ; Russian : Кыргызская Республика , tr . Kyrgyzskaya Respublika ) , and also known as Kirghizia ( Russian : Киргизия [ kʲɪrˈɡʲizʲɪjə ] ) , is a country in Central Asia . Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain . It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north , Uzbekistan to the west and southwest , Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east . Its capital and largest city is Bishkek . Kyrgyzstan 's recorded history spans over 2,000 years , encompassing a variety of cultures and empires . Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain , which has helped preserve its ancient culture , Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes . Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans , Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 . Since independence , the sovereign state has officially been a unitary parliamentary republic , although it continues to endure ethnic conflicts , revolts , economic troubles , transitional governments and political conflict . Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States , the Eurasian Economic Union , the Collective Security Treaty Organization , the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Turkic Council , the Türksoy community and the United Nations . Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country 's six million people , followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians . Kyrgyz is closely related to other Turkic languages , although Russian remains widely spoken and is an official language , a legacy of a century of Russification .
Kyrgyz language ( /kɪərˈɡiːz/ ; кыргыз тили , قىرعىزتئلى , qırğız tili , [ qɯrʁɯz tili ] or кыргызча , قىرعىزچا , qırğızça , [ qɯrʁɯzt͡ʃɑ ] ) is a Turkic language spoken by about four million people in Kyrgyzstan as well as Afghanistan , Kazakhstan , Tajikistan , Turkey , Uzbekistan , Pakistan , Russia and China . Kyrgyz is a member of the Kyrgyz-Kipchak subgroup of the Kypchak languages and modern-day language convergence has resulted in an increasing degree of mutual intelligibility between Kazakh and Kyrgyz . Kyrgyz was originally written in the Turkic runes , gradually replaced by a Perso-Arabic alphabet ( in use until 1928 in USSR , still in use in China ) . Between 1928 and 1940 a Latin-script alphabet , the Uniform Turkic Alphabet , was used . In 1940 due to general Soviet policy , a Cyrillic alphabet eventually became common and has remained so to this day , though some Kyrgyz still use the Arabic alphabet . When Kyrgyzstan became independent following the Soviet Union 's collapse in 1991 , there was a popular idea among some Kyrgyzstanis to switch to the Latin script , which is still common in some small pockets of the countryside and make the Latin script the countrys official national script ( taking in mind a version closer to the Turkish alphabet rather than the original alphabet of 1928-40 ) . Although the plan has not yet been implemented , it remains in occasional discussion .
The Bashkirs ( /ˈbɑːʃkɪərz/ ; Bashkir : Башҡорттар , IPA : [ bɑʂqʊrtˈtɑr ] ; Russian : Башкиры , pronounced [ bɐʂˈkʲirɨ ] ) are a Turkic ethnic group , indigenous to Bashkortostan and the historical region of Badzhgard . This area extends both sides of the Ural Mountains where Eastern Europe meets North Asia . Smaller communities of Bashkirs also live in the Republic of Tatarstan , Perm Krai , Chelyabinsk , Orenburg , Tyumen , Sverdlovsk , Kurgan Oblasts and other regions of Russia . Bashkirs also reside in Kazakhstan and other countries . Most Bashkirs speak the Bashkir language , closely related to the Tatar and Kazakh languages which belong to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages . Cultural affinities are shared with the broader Turkic peoples . Religiously the Bashkirs are mainly Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi madhhab faith .
The Republic of Bashkortostan ( /bɑːʃˈkɔːrtoʊstæn/ ; Russian : Респу́блика Башкортоста́н , tr . Respublika Bashkortostan , IPA : [ rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bəʂkərtɐˈstan ] ; Bashkir : Башҡортостан Республикаһы ) , also historically known as Bashkiria ( Russian : Башки́рия , tr . Bashkiriya , IPA : [ bɐʂˈkʲirʲɪjə ] ) , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains . Its capital is the city of Ufa . With a population of 4,072,292 as of the 2010 Census , Bashkortostan is the most populous republic in Russia . Bashkortostan , the first ethnic autonomy in Russia , was established on 28 November [ O.S . 15 November ] 1917 . On 20 March 1919 , it was transformed into the Bashkir ASSR , the first Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in RSFSR . In accordance with the Constitution of Bashkortostan and Russian Federation Constitution , Bashkortostan is a state , but has no sovereignty . On 11 October 1990 Bashkortostan adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty , but subsequently abandoned it . 11 October is Republic Day in Bashkortostan .
Bashkir ( /ˈbɑːʃkɪər , ˈbæʃ-/ ; Bashkir : Башҡортса , Башҡорт теле , [ bɑʃˈqort tɘˈlɘ ] ( listen ) ) is a Turkic language belonging to the Kipchak branch . It is co-official with Russian in Bashkortostan . It is spoken by approximately 1.2 million native speakers in Russia . It has three dialect groups : Southern , Eastern and Northwestern .
Crimean Tatars ( Crimean Tatar : qırımtatarlar , къырымтатарлар ) , or Crimeans ( Crimean Tatar : qırımlar , къырымлар ) , are a Turkic ethnic group and nation , who are indigenous people of Crimea and formed in the Crimean Peninsula during the 13th-17th centuries , primarily from Cumans that appeared in Crimea in the 10th century , with strong contributions from all the peoples who ever inhabited Crimea . Since 2014 Crimean Tatars have been officially recognized as an indigenous people of Ukraine . Crimean Tatars are considered as a national minority , not an indigenous people , by the Russian Federation . Crimean Tatars constituted the majority of Crimea 's population from the time of ethnogenesis until the mid-19th century , and the relative largest ethnic population until the end of the 19th century . Almost immediately after the retaking of Crimea from Axis forces , in May 1944 , the USSR State Defense Committee ordered the deportation of all of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea , including the families of Crimean Tatars serving in the Soviet Army - in trains and boxcars to Central Asia , primarily to Uzbekistan . Starting in 1967 , some were allowed to return to Crimea , and in 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union condemned the removal of Crimean Tatars from their motherland as inhumane and lawless . Today , Crimean Tatars constitute approximately 12% of the population of Crimea . There remains a large diaspora of Crimean Tatars in Turkey and Uzbekistan . The Crimean Tatars have been members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization ( UNPO ) since 1991 .
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea ( Ukrainian : Автономна Республіка Крим , Avtonomna Respublika Krym ; Russian : Автономная Республика Крым , Avtonomnaya Respublika Krym ; Crimean Tatar : Qırım Muhtar Cumhuriyeti , Къырым Мухтар Джумхуриети , Ҡырым Мухтар Җумхуриети ; ) is an autonomous republic of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014 . Crimea was historically under the control of the Russian Empire from 1783 to 1917 and Soviet Union from 1918 to 1991 . Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War ( 7 November 1917 - 25 October 1922 ) , it was established in 1921 as the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in the USSR . During World War II , Crimea was downgraded to the Crimean Oblast after its entire indigenous population , the Crimean Tatars were deported to Central Asia , an act recognized as a genocide . In 1954 , it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR from the Russian SFSR . Later , following a referendum on 20 January 1991 , it was upgraded to the status of an autonomous republic within the Ukrainian SSR . When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Ukraine became an independent country , Crimea remained part of the newly independent Ukraine . In February 2014 , following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that ousted the Ukrainian President , Viktor Yanukovych , pro-Russian separatists and Russian Armed Forces took over the territory . A controversial Crimea-wide referendum , unconstitutional under the Ukrainian and Crimean constitutions , was held on the issue of union with Russia which official results indicated was supported by a large majority of Crimeans . Russia formally annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014 , incorporating the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol as the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia . While Russia and 17 other UN member states - mostly undemocratic countries and countries highly supported by Russian Federation - recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation , Ukraine continues to claim Crimea as an integral part of its territory , supported by most foreign governments and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 .
Crimean Tatar ( qırımtatar tili , къырымтатар тили ) , sometimes called Crimean Turkic or Crimeatatar , or simply Crimean ( qırım tili , къырым тили ) , is a Kipchak Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan , Turkey , Romania and Bulgaria , as well as small communities in the United States and Canada . It should not be confused with Tatar proper , spoken in Tatarstan and adjacent regions in Russia ; the languages are related , but belong to two different subgroups of the Kipchak languages and thus are not mutually intelligible . It has been extensively influenced by nearby Oghuz Turkic languages such as Azerbaijani , Gagauz , Turkish and Turkmen .
Qashqai ( pronounced [ qaʃqaːjiː ] ; also spelled Qashqa ' i , 'Qashqay , ' Kashkai , Kashkay , Qashqayı , Gashgai , Gashgay , Ghashghaei , in Persian : قشقایی ) is a conglomeration of clans in Iran consisting of mostly Turkic peoples but also Lurs , Kurds and Arabs . Almost all of them speak a Western Oghuz Turkic dialect known as the Qashqai language , which they call Turki , as well as Persian ( the national language of Iran ) in formal use . The Qashqai mainly live in the provinces of Fars , Khuzestan , Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad , Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari , Bushehr , and southern Isfahan , especially around the cities of Shiraz and Firuzabad in Fars . The majority of Qashqai people were originally nomadic pastoralists and some remain so today . The traditional nomadic Qashqai travelled with their flocks twice yearly to and from the summer highland pastures north of Shiraz roughly 480 km or 300 miles south to the winter pastures on lower ( and warmer ) lands near the Persian Gulf , to the southwest of Shiraz . The majority , however , have now become partially or wholly sedentary . The trend towards settlement has been increasing markedly since the 1960s . The Qashqai are made up of five major tribes : the Amale ( Qashqai ) / Amaleh ( Persian ) , the Dere-Shorlu / Darreh-Shuri , the Kashkollu / Kashkuli , the Shishbeyli / Sheshboluki , and the Eymur / Farsimadan . Smaller tribes include the Qaracha / Qarache ' i , Rahimli / Rahimi , and Safi-Khanli / Safi-Khani .
Southern Iran consists of the southern mountain ranges of Zagros and Central Iranian Range , Khuzestan Plain and the northern coasts of Persian Gulf and Straight of Hormuz . It includes the provinces of Fars , Kohgiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad , Hormozgan and Bushehr . Sometimes Khuzestan and Kerman are also included in this region . The major cities are Shiraz , Bandarabbas , Bushehr , Marvdasht , Jahrom , Yasuj , Fasa and Borazjan . Southern Iran is ethnically diverse , including Persians , Lurs , Bakhtiaris , Qashqais , Larestanis , Basseries , Baloch , Arabs , Armenians , Afro-Iranians and Jews . Southern Iran is the homeland of the Persian people . Most people in southern Iran are ethnically Persian ( including Persian subgroups like Lurs and Bakhtiaris ) . Most people in Southern Iran are part of the Iranian ethno-linguistic group and speak an Iranian language .
Qashqai ( قاشقای ديلى , also spelled Qashqay , Kashkai , Kashkay , Qašqāʾī , and Qashqa ' i ) is an Oghuz Turkic language spoken by the Qashqai people , an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars Province of southern Iran . Encyclopædia Iranica regards Qashqai as an independent third group of dialects within the southwestern Turkic language group . It is known to speakers as Turki . Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary . Ethnologue gave a figure of 949,000 in 2015 . The Qashqai language is closely related to Azerbaijani , also known as Azeri . However , some Qashqai varieties namely the variety spoken in the Sheshbeyli tribe share features with Turkish . In a sociopolitical sense , though , Qashqai is considered a language in its own right . Like other Turkic languages spoken in Iran , such as the Azerbaijani language , Qashqai uses a modified version of the Perso-Arabic script .
The Chuvash people ( /tʃʊˈvɑːʃ/ ; Chuvash : чăваш , IPA : [ t͡ɕəˈʋaʂ ] ; Russian : чуваши , pronounced [ t͡ɕʊˈvaʂɨ ] ) are a Turkic ethnic group , native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia . Most of them live in the Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas , although Chuvash communities may be found throughout the Russian Federation .
The Chuvash Republic ( Russian : Чува́шская Респу́блика - Чува́шия , Chuváshskaya Respúblika - Chuváshiya ; Chuvash : Чӑваш Республики , Čăvaš Respubliki ) , or Chuvashia ( Russian : Чува́шия Chuváshiya ; Chuvash : Чӑваш Ен , Čăvaš Jen ) , is a federal subject of Russia ( a republic ) . It is the homeland of the Chuvash people , a Turkic ethnic group . Its capital is the city of Cheboksary . As of the 2010 Census , its population was 1,251,619 .
Chuvash ( /tʃʊˈvɑːʃ/ ; Chuvash : Чӑвашла , translit . Căvašla , Çovaşla ; IPA : [ tɕəʋaʂˈla ] ) is a Turkic language spoken in European Russia , primarily in the Chuvash Republic and adjacent areas . It is the only surviving member of the Oghur branch of Turkic languages . Because of this , Chuvash has diverged considerably from the other Turkic languages , which are mutually intelligible to a greater or lesser extent . The writing system for the Chuvash language is based on the Cyrillic script , employing all of the letters used in the Russian alphabet and adding four letters of its own : Ӑ , Ӗ , Ҫ and Ӳ .
The Karakalpaks or Qaraqalpaqs ( /ˈkærəlkəlpɑːks , -pæks/ ( listen ) ; Karakalpak : Qaraqalpaqlar , Қарақалпақлар , قاراقلپقلر ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Karakalpakstan in Northwestern Uzbekistan . During the 18th century , they settled in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and in the ( former ) delta of Amu Darya on the southern shore of the Aral Sea . The name Karakalpak comes from two words : qara meaning black and qalpaq meaning hat . The Karakalpaks number nearly 620,000 worldwide , out of which about 500,000 live in the Uzbek Republic of Karakalpakstan .
Karakalpakstan ( Karakalpak : Qaraqalpaqstan / Қарақалпақстан ; Uzbek : Qoraqalpogʻiston ) , officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan ( Karakalpak : Qaraqalpaqstan Respublikası / Қарақалпақстан Республикасы ; Uzbek : Qoraqalpogʻiston Respublikasi ) , is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan . It occupies the whole northwestern end of Uzbekistan . The capital is Nukus ( Noʻkis / Нөкис ) . The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of 160,000 square kilometres ( 62,000 sq mi ) . Its territory covers the classical land of Khwarezm , though in classical Persian literature the area was known as Kāt ( کات ) .
Karakalpak is a Turkic language spoken by Karakalpaks in Karakalpakstan . It is divided into two dialects , Northeastern Karakalpak and Southeastern Karakalpak . It developed alongside neighboring Kazakh and Uzbek languages , being markedly influenced by both . Typologically , Karakalpak belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages , thus being closely related to and partially mutually intelligible to Kazakh .
The Yakuts , or the Sakha ( Yakut : саха , sakha , plural : сахалар , sakhalar ) , are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation , with some extending to the Amur , Magadan , Sakhalin regions , and the Taymyr and Evenk Autonomous Districts . The Yakut language belongs to the Siberian branch of the Turkic languages . The Russian word yakut was taken from Tungus jeko . The Yakuts call themselves sakha or urangai sakha in some old chronicles .
Yakutia or Yakutiya ( Russian : Якутия , tr . Yakutiya , IPA : [ jɪˈkutʲɪjə ] ; Yakut : Саха Сирэ ) , officially known as Republic of Yakutia ( Sakha ) ( Russian : Республика Саха ( Якутия ) , tr . Respublika Sakha ( Yakutiya ) , IPA : [ rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə sɐˈxa jɪˈkutʲɪjə ] ; Yakut : Саха Өрөспүүбүлүкэтэ , romanized : Sakha Öröspüübülükete , lit . 'Sakha Republic ' , IPA : [ saˈxa øɾøsˈpyːbylykete ] , ) , is a federal Russian republic . It had a population of 958,528 at the 2010 Census , mainly ethnic Yakuts and Russians . Comprising half the Far Eastern Federal District , it is the largest subnational governing body by area in the world at 3,083,523 square kilometers ( 1,190,555 sq mi ) . Its capital is the city of Yakutsk . It is also known for its extreme and severe climate , with the lowest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere being recorded in Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon , and regular winter averages commonly being below −35 °C ( −31 °F ) in Yakutsk . The hypercontinental tendencies also result in very warm summers for much of the republic .
The Yakut language , also known as Yakutian , Sakha , Saqa or Saxa , is a Turkic language with around 450,000 native speakers spoken in Sakha ( Yakutia ) , a federal republic in the Russian Federation by the Yakuts . Like most Turkic languages and their ancestral Proto-Turkic , Yakut is an agglutinative language and employs vowel harmony .
Kumyks ( Kumyk : къумукълар , qumuqlar , Russian : кумыки ) are a Turkic people living in the Kumyk plateau ( northern Dagestan and Chechnya ) , the lands bordering the Caspian Sea , Northern Ossetia , Chechnya and the banks of the Terek river . They speak the Kumyk language , which until the 1930s had been the lingua-franca of the Northern Caucasus . The territories traditionally populated by Kumyks , and where their historical states used to exist , are called Kumykia . ( Kumyk : Къумукъ , Qumuq ) . All of the lands inhabited by Kumyks once used to be a part of a Kumyk statehood Tarki Shamkhalate .
Dagestan ( /ˌdæɡɪˈstæn , -ˈstɑːn/ ; Russian : Дагеста́н ) , officially the Republic of Dagestan ( Russian : Респу́блика Дагеста́н ) , is a federal subject ( a republic ) of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region . Its capital and largest city is Makhachkala , centrally located on the Caspian Sea coast . With a population of 2,910,249 , Dagestan is very ethnically diverse and Russia 's most heterogeneous republic , with the largest ethnicity constituting less than 30% of the population . Largest among the ethnicities are the Avar , Dargin , Kumyk , Lezgian , Laks , Azerbaijani , Tabasaran , and Chechen . Ethnic Russians comprise about 3.6% of Dagestan 's total population . Russian is the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnicities .
Kumyk ( къумукъ тил , qumuq til ) is a Turkic language , spoken by about 426,212 speakers - the Kumyks - in the Dagestan , North Ossetia , and Chechen republics of the Russian Federation .
The Karachays ( Karachay-Balkar : Къарачайлыла , таулула Qaraçaylıla , tawlula ) are a Turkic people of the North Caucasus , mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic .
The Balkars ( Karachay-Balkar : Малкъарлыла , таулула ; Malqarlıla , tawlula ) are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region , one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria . Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern ( Kipchak ) group of Turkic languages .
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic ( Russian : Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика , Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika ; Karachay-Balkar : Къарачай-Черкес Республика , Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika ; Kabardian : Къэрэшей-Шэрджэс Республикэ , Ķêrêšei-Šêrdžês Respublikê , Nogai : Қарашай-Шеркеш Республика , Karaşay-Şerkeş Respublika ) or Karachay-Cherkessia ( Russian : Карача́ево-Черке́сия , Karachayevo-Cherkesiya ) is a federal subject ( a republic ) of Russia . It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region of Southern Russia and is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District . Karachay-Cherkessia has a population of 477,859 ( 2010 Census ) . Cherkessk is the largest city and the capital of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic . Karachay-Cherkessia is one of Russia 's ethnic republics , primarily representing the indigenous Karachay people and Cherkess people . Karachays form the largest ethnic group at around 40% of the population , followed by ethnic Russians ( 30% ) and Cherkess ( 12% ) . The republic has five official languages : Russian , Abaza , Cherkess , Karachay-Balkar , and Nogai . The majority of the republic 's territory is within the Caucasus Mountains , except for a small strip at the northern edge of the Don Steppe . Karachay-Cherkessia is bordered by Krasnodar Krai to the west , Stavropol Krai to the north-east , Kabardino-Balkaria to the south-east , and an international border with Georgia to the south-west . Mount Elbrus , the highest mountain in Europe , is located on the border with Kabardino-Balkaria .
The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic ( Russian : Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика , Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika ; Kabardian : Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ , Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublikê ; Karachay-Balkar : Къабарты-Малкъар Республика , Qabartı-Malqar Respublika ) or Kabardino-Balkaria ( Russian : Кабарди́но-Балка́рия , Kabardino-Balkariya ) , is a federal subject of Russia ( a republic ) located in the North Caucasus . As of the 2010 Census , its population was 859,939 on 12,500 square km . Its capital is Nalchik . The area contains the highest mountain in Europe , Mount Elbrus , at 5,642 m. Mount Elbrus has 22 glaciers that feed three rivers - Baksan , Malka and Kuban . The mountain is covered with snow year-round . Kabardino-Balkaria includes two major ethnic communities , the Kabardins ( Circassians ) , who speak a North-West Caucasian language , and the Balkars who speak a Turkic language . Kabardins make up the bulk of the republic 's population , followed by Russians and Balkars . Other groups include Ossetians , Turks , Ukrainians , Armenians , Koreans , Chechens . According to a 2012 survey , 60% of the population adheres to Islam , 15.6% to the Russian Orthodox Church , 3% to Adyghe ( Kabardian ) folk religion and other indigenous faiths , and 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians . In addition , 12% of the population declares to be spiritual but not religious .
The Karachay-Balkar language ( Къарачай-Малкъар тил , Qaraçay-Malqar til or Таулу тил , Tawlu til , Kabardian : Къарачайбзэ ) is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia , European Russia , as well as by an immigrant population in Afyonkarahisar Province , Turkey . It is divided into two dialects : Karachay-Baksan-Chegem , which pronounces two phonemes as /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ , and Malkar , which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as /ts/ and /z/ . The modern Karachay-Balkar written language is based on the Karachay-Baksan-Chegem dialect . The language is closely related to Kumyk .
The Tuvans or Tuvinians ( Tuvan : Тывалар , Tıvalar ; Mongolian : Тува , Tuva ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Tuva . They speak Tuvan , a Siberian Turkic language . They are also regarded in Mongolia as one of the Uriankhai peoples . Tuvans have historically been cattle-herding nomads , tending to herds of goats , sheep , camels , reindeer , cattle and yaks for the past thousands of years . They have traditionally lived in yurts covered by felt or chums covered with birch bark or hide that they relocate seasonally as they move to newer pastures . Traditionally , the Tuvans were divided into nine regions called khoshuun , namely the Tozhu , Salchak , Oyunnar , Khemchik , Khaasuut , Shalyk , Nibazy , Daavan and Choodu , and Beezi . The first four were ruled by Uriankhai Mongol princes , while the rest were administered by Borjigin Mongol princes .
Tuva ( /ˈtuːvə/ ; Russian : Тува́ ) or Tyva ( Tuvan : Тыва ) , officially the Tyva Republic ( Russian : Респу́блика Тыва́ , tr . Respublika Tyva , IPA : [ rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva ] ; Tuvan : Тыва Республика , Tyva Respublika [ tʰɯˈʋa resˈpʰuplika ] ) , is a federal subject of Russia ( a republic , also defined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation as a state ) . The Tuvan republic lies at the geographical center of Asia , in southern Siberia . The republic borders the Altai Republic , the Republic of Khakassia , Krasnoyarsk Krai , Irkutsk Oblast , and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and Mongolia to the south . Its capital is the city of Kyzyl . It has a population of 307,930 ( 2010 census ) . From 1921 to 1944 , Tuva constituted a sovereign , independent nation under the name of Tannu Tuva , officially , the Tuvan People 's Republic , or the People 's Republic of Tannu Tuva . The independence of Tannu Tuva , however , was recognized only by its neighbors : the Soviet Union and Communist Mongolia . A majority of the population are ethnic Tuvans who speak Tuvan as their native tongue , while Russian is spoken natively by the Russian minority ; both are official and widely understood in the republic . Tuva is governed by the Great Khural , which elects a chairman for a four-year term .
Tuvan ( Tuvan : тыва дыл , tıwa dıl ; [ tʰɯˈʋa tɯl ] ) , also known as Tuvinian , Tyvan or Tuvin , is a Turkic language spoken in the Republic of Tuva in south-central Siberia in Russia . The language has borrowed a great number of roots from the Mongolian language , Tibetan and the Russian language . There are small diaspora groups of Tuvan people that speak distinct dialects of Tuvan in the People 's Republic of China and in Mongolia .
The Gagauzes are a Turkic people living mostly in southern Moldova ( Gagauzia , Taraclia District , Basarabeasca District ) , southwestern Ukraine ( Budjak ) , northeastern Bulgaria , Greece , Brazil , the United States , and Canada . The Gagauz are Eastern Orthodox Christians .
Gagauzia or Gagauz Yeri ( Gagauz : Gagauz Yeri or Gagauziya ; Romanian : Găgăuzia ; Russian : Гагаузия , romanized : Gagauzija ) , officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia ( Gagauz : Avtonom Territorial Bölümlüü Gagauziya ; Romanian : Unitatea Teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia ; Russian : Автономное территориальное образование Гагаузия , romanized : Avtonomnoje territoriaľnoje obrazovanije Gagauzija ) , is an autonomous region of Moldova . Its autonomy is ethnically motivated by the predominance of the Gagauz people , who are primarily Orthodox Turkic-speaking people . Gagauz Yeri literally means place of the Gagauz .
The Gagauz language ( Gagauz dili , Gagauzça ) is a Turkic language spoken by the Gagauz people of Moldova , Ukraine , Russia , and Turkey , and it is the official language of the Autonomous Region of Gagauzia in Moldova . Gagauz belongs to the Oghuz branch of Turkic languages , alongside Azerbaijani , Turkmen , Crimean Tatar ( considered Kipchak in some cases ) , and Turkish . Gagauz has two dialects , Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi . Gagauz is a distinct language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish . Though it was established as a written language in 1957 , Gagauz was not used in curriculum until 1959 . Gagauz is a language coming from Balkan Gagauz Turkish ; Balkan linguistics was the first to view the consequences of language contact as normal rather than corrupt . The term Gagauz language and identification of one 's language as Gagauz were established concurrently with or even after the creation of national self-awareness . About 150,000 Gagauzes resided in Moldova in 1986 , where they lived in settlements within the Komratskii , Chadyr-Lungskii and Vulkaneshtskii Rayons . Along with the majority of Gagauzes living in Moldova , there are four other cities in Bulgaria in which the Gagauz reside .
The Crimean Karaites or Krymkaraylar , also known as Karaims and Qarays , are an ethnic group derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Karaite Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe , especially in the territory of the former Russian Empire . Karaim is a Russian , Ukrainian , Polish and Lithuanian name for the community . [ citation needed ]
The Krymchaks ( Krymchak : plural : кърымчахлар , qrımçahlar , singular : кърымчах , qrımçah ) are Jewish ethno-religious communities of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Orthodox Judaism . They have historically lived in close proximity to the Crimean Karaites , also Turkic but who follow Karaite Judaism . At first krymchak was a Russian descriptive used to differentiate them from their Ashkenazi Jewish coreligionists , as well as other Jewish communities in the former Russian Empire such as the Georgian Jews , but in the second half of the 19th century this name was adopted by the Krymchaks themselves . Before this their self-designation was Срель балалары ( Srel balalary ) - literally Children of Israel . The Crimean Tatars referred to them as zuluflı çufutlar ( Jews with pe'ot ) to distinguish them from the Karaites , who were called zulufsız çufutlar ( Jews without pe'ot ) .
Ukraine ( Ukrainian : Україна , romanized : Ukrayina , pronounced [ ʊkrɐˈjinɐ ] ( listen ) ) is a country in Eastern Europe . It is bordered by Russia to the north-east ; Belarus to the north ; Poland , Slovakia and Hungary to the west ; and Romania , Moldova , and the Black Sea to the south . Ukraine is currently in a territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula , which Russia annexed in 2014 . Including Crimea , Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2 ( 233,062 sq mi ) , making it both the largest country entirely within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world . Excluding Crimea , Ukraine has a population of about 42 million , making it the 32nd most populous country in the world . Its capital and largest city is Kiev . Ukrainian is the official language and its alphabet is Cyrillic . The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy . The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC . During the Middle Ages , the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture , with the powerful state of Kievan Rus ' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity . Following its fragmentation in the 13th century , the territory was contested , ruled and divided by a variety of powers , including the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire and Russia . A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries , but its territory was eventually split between Poland and the Russian Empire .
The Karaim language ( Crimean dialect : къарай тили , Trakai dialect : karaj tili , traditional Hebrew name lashon kedar לשון קדר language of the nomads ) is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences , in a similar manner to Yiddish or Judaeo-Spanish . It is spoken by only a few dozen Crimean Karaites ( Qrimqaraylar ) in Lithuania , Poland and Crimea and Galicia in Ukraine . The three main dialects are those of Crimea , Trakai-Vilnius and Lutsk-Halych all of which are critically endangered . The Lithuanian dialect of Karaim is spoken mainly in the town of Trakai ( also known as Troki ) by a small community living there since the 14th century . There is a chance the language will survive in Trakai as a result of official support and because of its appeal to tourists coming to the Trakai Island Castle , where Crimean Karaites are presented as the castle 's ancient defenders .
The Krymchak language ( кърымчах тыльы , Qrımçah tılyı ) ( also called Judeo-Crimean Tatar , Krimchak , Chagatai , Dzhagatay ) is a moribund Turkic language spoken in Crimea by the Krymchak people . The Krymchak community was composed of Jewish immigrants who arrived from all over Europe and Asia and who continuously added to the Krymchak population . The Krymchak language , as well as culture and daily life , was similar to Crimean Tatar , the peninsula 's majority population , with the addition of a significant Hebrew influence . Like most Jewish languages , it contains many Hebrew loanwords . Before the Soviet era , it was written using Hebrew characters . In the Soviet Union in the 1930s , it was written with the Uniform Turkic Alphabet ( a variant of the Latin script ) , like Crimean Tatar and Karaim . Now it is written in the Cyrillic script . Over the last century the language has disappeared and been replaced by Russian , with approximately 70% of the population perishing in the Holocaust . When in May 1944 almost all Crimean Tatars were deported to Soviet Uzbekistan , many speakers of Krymchak were among them , and some remained in Uzbekistan . Nowadays the language is almost extinct . According to the Ukrainian census of 2001 , less than 785 Krymchak people remain in Crimea . One estimate supposes that of the approximately 1500-2000 Krymchaks living worldwide , mostly in Israel , Crimea , Russia , and the United States , only 5-7 are native speakers .