One of the most remote regions of Russia is the Kamchatka Peninsula. The population of this part of the country is rather heterogeneous in ethnic composition, although with a clear predominance of Russians. This ethnic group began to settle in this region only from the beginning of the 18th century. But the indigenous population of Kamchatka, the peoples who have lived on this peninsula since ancient times, are gradually being dissolved in the total mass of the population. Let us learn more about these ethnic groups of the Kamchatka Territory.
General demographic profile
Before proceeding with the study of the indigenous people, you need to find out what the population of Kamchatka is today as a whole. This will allow us to understand the significance and role of indigenous peoples in the modern life of the region.
First of all, you need to find out the total population in Kamchatka. This is one of the most important demographic indicators. The population in Kamchatka today is 316.1 thousand people. This is only the 78th indicator from 85 regions of the Russian Federation.
But Kamchatka Territory occupies the tenth place in the country among the subjects of the Federation in terms of area. It is 464.3 thousand square meters. km Knowing the population of Kamchatka and its area, you can calculate the density. This indicator is also considered one of the most important components of demographic statistics. The population density in Kamchatka at the moment is only 0.68 people / sq. km This is one of the lowest rates in Russia. According to this criterion, the Kamchatka Territory takes 81th place among 85 regions of the country.
National composition
Now we have to take a look at what the population of Kamchatka is in ethnic context. This will help us identify the indigenous peoples of the region from the general population.
Ethnically, the population of Kamchatka has a nationality that numerically prevails over all the rest. These are Russians. Their number is 252.6 thousand people, or more than 83% of the total population of the region. But Russians are not the indigenous people of Kamchatka.
Ukrainians also form a significant role in the population of Kamchatka. There are significantly fewer of them than Russians, but this people takes the second place among the ethnic groups in the region, making up more than 3.5% of the total population of the region.
The third place belongs to the Koryaks. This people is already the indigenous population of Kamchatka. Its share in the total mass of the region’s inhabitants is just over 2%.
The remaining nationalities, both indigenous and non-indigenous, whose representatives live in Kamchatka, are significantly inferior in numbers to the three indicated peoples. The total share of each of them does not even reach 0.75% of the total population. Among these small peoples in Kamchatka, itelmens, Tatars, Belarusians, Evens, Kamchadals, Chukchi, Koreans should be distinguished.
Indigenous peoples
So what nationalities are indigenous to Kamchatka? In addition to the Koryak, about whom we spoke above, Itelmens belong to the peoples who are aborigines of this peninsula.
The Kamchadals, who are the subethnos of the Russian people, who formed their national identity in Kamchatka, stand apart.
Each of these nationalities will be discussed in more detail below.
Koryaki: general information
As mentioned above, the Koryaks are the third largest nationality of Kamchatka, and, thus, the first most indigenous people in this northern region.
The total number of this nationality is 7.9 thousand people. Of these, 6.6 thousand people live in Kamchatka, which is slightly more than 2% of the total population of the region. Mostly representatives of this nationality live in the north of the Kamchatka Territory, where the Koryak district is located. Also common in the Magadan region and in the Chukotka Autonomous Region .
Most Koryak people currently speak Russian, but their historical language is Koryak. It is part of the Chukchi-Koryak branch of the Chukchi-Kamchatka language family. The most closely related languages are Chukchi and Alutor. The latter is considered by some linguists as a subspecies of Koryak.
This people is divided into two ethnic groups: tundra and coastal Koryak.
The tundra Koryaks have the self-name Chavchuven, which translates as “reindeer herders,” and lead a predominantly nomadic way of life on the expanses of the tundra, engaged in breeding deer. Their original language is Koryak in the narrow sense of the term. Chavchuvens are divided into the following sub-ethnic groups: Parents, Kamenets, Apukins, Itkans.
Coastal Koryak have a self-name nymylany. They, unlike Chavchuvens, lead a sedentary lifestyle. Their main occupation is fishing. The primordial language of this ethnos is Alutor, about which we spoke above. The main sub-ethnic groups of Nymylans are: Alutoryans, Karagins, Palanians.
The majority of Koryak believers at present are Orthodox Christians, although the remnants of shamanism that came from the traditional beliefs of this people remain rather strong.
The dwelling of Koryak is yaranga, which is a special type of portable plague.
History of Koryak
Now let's trace the history of Koryak. It is believed that their ancestors inhabited the territory of Kamchatka as early as the first millennium AD. They went down in history as representatives of the so-called Okhotsk culture.
For the first time, the name of Koryak began to appear on the pages of Russian documents from the 17th century. This was due to the advancement of Russia to Siberia and the Far East. The first Russian visit to this region dates back to 1651. Since the end of the 17th century, the conquest of Kamchatka by Russia began. It was begun by Vladimir Atlasov, who, along with his detachment, captured several Koryak villages. However, the Koryak more than once raised a riot. But in the end, all the uprisings were crushed. Thus, the population of Kamchatka, including Koryak, became Russian citizens.
In 1803, the Kamchatka region was founded in the Russian Empire. The Koryaks lived mainly in the Gizhiginsky and Peter and Paul districts of this administrative unit.
After the October Revolution in 1930, the Koryaks were granted national autonomy. So the Koryak Autonomous Okrug was formed. In 1934, it became part of the Kamchatka region, retaining its isolation. The administrative center was the urban village of Palana.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, while remaining part of the Kamchatka Oblast, received the rights of a federation subject. In 2005, a referendum was held, according to the results of which in 2007 there was a complete unification of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug with the Kamchatka Region. So the Kamchatka Territory was formed. Koryak Autonomous Okrug was liquidated as a constituent entity of the federation, and the Koryak okrug was formed in its place - a territorial unit that is part of the Kamchatka Territory and has a special status, but lacking its former independence. The official languages of this territorial entity are Koryak and Russian.
At the moment, Russians make up 46.2% of the population of the Koryak region, and Koryak - 30.3%, which is significantly higher than in the Kamchatka Territory as a whole.
Itelmens: general description
Itelmens are another indigenous people of Kamchatka.
Their total number is about 3.2 thousand people. Of these, 2.4 thousand live in the Kamchatka Territory, accounting for 0.74% of the total population, thus being the fourth largest ethnic group in the region. The remaining representatives of this nation live in the Magadan region.
The majority of Itelmens are concentrated in the Milkovsky and Tigilsky districts of the Kamchatka Territory, as well as in its administrative center - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Most Itelmen speak Russian, but their traditional dialect is Itelmen, which refers to the Itelmen branch of the Chukchi-Kamchatka language family. Now this language is classified as dying.
Itelmens profess Orthodox Christianity, but, like among the Koryaks, they have quite developed remnants of ancient cults.
The main occupation of Itelmens, who did not move to cities and live in a traditional system, is fishing.
History of Itelmens
Itelmens are an ancient population of Kamchatka. Most of them lived in the southern half of the peninsula, giving the north to Koryak. By the time the Russians arrived, their number was more than 12.5 thousand people, thus exceeding the current number by 3.5 times.
After the beginning of the conquest of Kamchatka, the number of Itelmens began to decline rapidly. The first conquest of this people began all the same Vladimir Atlasov. He passed the peninsula from north to south. After his assassination by his own comrades-in-arms in 1711, Danila Antsiferov continued the conquest of the Itelmens. He defeated the Itelmen in several battles, but in 1712 he was burned by them along with his detachment.
Nevertheless, the Itelmens failed to stop the Russian Empire’s tread on Kamchatka, and it was finally conquered. In 1740, the expedition of Vitus Bering laid the center for the spread of Russian influence on the peninsula - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Initially, the Russians called Itelmen Kamchadals, but then this name was assigned to another ethnic group, which we will discuss below.
Who are Kamchadals?
One of the sub-ethnic groups of Kamchatka, which is considered to be indigenous, are Kamchadals. This ethnic unit is an offshoot of the Russian nation. Kamchadals are the descendants of the very first Russian settlers in Kamchatka, partially assimilating the local population, mainly Itelmens, whom the Russians themselves previously called this ethnonym.
Currently, the total number of Kamchadals is about 1.9 thousand people. Of these, 1.6 thousand live in Kamchatka, and about 300 more in the Magadan Region.
Kamchadals speak Russian, and the culture of the titular nation of Russia is the basis of their culture. True, local peoples, for the most part Itelmens, also had a certain influence on it.
Anthropological characteristics of the indigenous population
Now let's look at which group of peoples the indigenous inhabitants of Kamchatka belong to.
Koryakov and Itelmens can be safely attributed to the Arctic minor race. In another way, it is called the Eskimo and is the northern branch of the large Mongoloid race. This subrace is closer in anthropological characteristics not to the continental Mongoloids, but to the Pacific.
The situation with the Kamchadals is much more complicated, since this nationality belongs to the mixed race. Kamchadals have combined signs of the Caucasian and Mongoloid types, since, in fact, this ethnos is the result of a mixture of Russians with the ancient population of Kamchatka. This racial type is commonly called Uralic.
Population dynamics
Over the past hundreds of years, the indigenous population of Kamchatka has declined significantly. This situation was caused by several factors at once.
In the era of the colonization of the Russian Empire of Kamchatka, epidemics played a significant role in reducing the size of the local population, as well as the extermination of indigenous people as part of the colonization policy. At a later time, cultural assimilation took place. She was associated with the fact that being a representative of indigenous peoples was not prestigious. Therefore, children from mixed marriages preferred to call themselves Russian.
Prospects
The prospects for the further development of indigenous peoples in Kamchatka are very vague. The Russian government began to stimulate self-determination of the nationality of the population of the region in favor of confirming the Koryak, Kamchadal or Itelmen nationality by providing a number of benefits to representatives of these nationalities. But this is clearly not enough, since simply self-identification of a person with representatives of national minorities does not make the original culture of these peoples more widespread. For example, if the total number of Itelmens at the moment is 3.1 thousand people, which is more than twice the figure of 1980, then the number of speakers in the Itelmen language totals only 82 people, which confirms its extinction.
The region requires investments in the culture of small nations to the extent that the population of Kamchatka is ready to master.
General conclusions
We studied the indigenous population of Kamchatka, the peoples inhabiting this northeastern region of our country. Of course, at the moment, the development of the original culture of these ethnic groups leaves much to be desired, but state structures are trying to do everything so that these people, their languages and traditions do not disappear completely.
Let's hope that in the future the number of representatives of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka will only increase.