While many people often assume that a country must have a uniform appearance, a reality that may leave them “disappointed” is that among the 142 million residents across Russia, there are over 190 ethnic groups. This ethnic diversity leads to some Russians, despite being European citizens, being classified as part of the Asian ethnic group.
Many Russian citizens exhibit Asian features. (Photo: Getty Images)
Egor Kitov, a researcher at the Physical Anthropology Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, provides three definitions for Asian citizens of Russia.
- First, they reside in areas of the territory that are located in the Asian part of Russia.
- Second, these citizens are influenced by languages and cultures, for instance, Turkic and Tungusic peoples can be considered Asian.
- Lastly, according to Egor Kitov, Asian citizens of Russia can simply be described as Mongoloid (the Mongoloid race), including Kalmyks, Evenks, Yukagirs, Buryats, Tuvans, Khakass, Chukchis, Koryaks, Eskimos, and Aleuts.
This researcher also asserts that there are many other ethnic groups of the Mongoloid race in Russia. However, identifying them is particularly challenging because “the territory of modern Russia includes at least two Caucasian races (the Caucasian race) and Mongoloid,” and after many years of coexistence, they have “mixed” with each other in various proportions.
Meanwhile, Professor Ilya Perevozchikov argues that the term “Asian” is quite vague and notes that race and ethnicity have no correlation with each other. “Race is a biological concept, while ethnicity is merely a social concept,” the professor states.
According to the 2010 Russian Census, there are 193 ethnic groups in Russia, with 10 of them being the most populous Asian groups in the country. Traditionally defined, Russia has 9.5 million people of Asian descent, accounting for 6.5% of the national population. The majority of Asian citizens in Russia live in rural areas. The only urbanized Asian communities in Russia are predominantly Koreans, Tatars, Uzbeks, and Kyrgyz.
