Kurds in Russia explained

Group:	Kurds in Russia
Population:	50,701 (2021)
Popplace:	Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Kursk^[1] 10,000 in Moscow (1995)^[2]
Languages:	Kurdish (Kurmanji), Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian^[3]
Religions:	Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Yazidism, Irreligion^[4] ^[5]
Related:	Iranian peoples

Kurds in Russia (Russian: Курды в России|Kurdy v Rossii; Kurdish: Kurdên Rusyayê) form a major part of the historically significant Kurdish population in the post-Soviet space, with close ties to the Kurdish communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

History

During the early 19th century, the main goal of the Russian Empire was to ensure the neutrality of the Kurds in the wars against Persia and the Ottoman Empire.^[6] In the beginning of the 19th century, Kurds settled in Transcaucasia, at a time when Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, Kurds were persecuted and exterminated by the Turks and Persians, a situation that led Kurds to move to Russian Transcaucasia.^[3] From 1804–1813 and again in 1826–1828, when the Russian Empire and the Persian Empire were at war, the Russian authorities let Kurds settle in Russia and Armenia.^[3] During the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Kurds moved to Russia and Armenia.^[3] According to the Russian Census of 1897, 99,900 Kurds lived in the Russian Empire.^[7]

In 1937 and 1944 Soviet Kurds experienced forced deportations from Azerbaijan (mostly), Armenia and Georgia.

During World War II, one of the most renowned Soviet Kurds was Samand Siabandov, a war hero.

Abdullah Öcalan sought asylum in Russia in 1998.^[1]

Population (1897 - 2021)

Kurdish population in Russia according to census statistics from 1897 to 2021:

!Year!Population!Notes

1897^[8]	113
1926^[9]	178	In the Russian SFSR
1939^[10]	387
1959^[11]	855
1979^[12]	1,631
1989^[13]	4,724
2002^[14]	50,880	In the Russian Federation
2010	63,818
2021^[15]	50,701

Notable Kurds in Russia

• Qanate Kurdo, Kurdish philologist
• Zara, Musical Artist
• Mikhail Aloyan, Boxer
• Guram Adzhoyev, Footballer
• Guram Adzhoyev (1995), Footballer
• Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian bodybuilder and internet celebrity

See also

• Kurdistan Uyezd
• Republic of Mahabad
• Kurdistan Region–Russia relations

Further reading

• Hasratian . Manuel . THE KURDS IN THE USSR AND IN THE CIS (A Brief Account) . Iran and the Caucasus . 1998 . 2 . 1 . 39–47 . 10.1163/157338498X00039.

External links

• A History of Russia's Relations with the Kurds from Ohio State University

Notes and References

1. Web site: Relations With Russia Deteriorate As Kurds Protest. The Russia Journal. The Russia Journal. 23 June 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160126125838/http://www.russiajournal.com/node/1503. 26 January 2016.
2. News: The Kurds remain caught in the "Transcaucasian Triangle". 25 June 2012. jamestown.org. 19 May 1995. https://web.archive.org/web/20160129234657/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6139&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=217. 29 January 2016. dead.
3. "The Kurds of Caucasia and Central Asia have been cut off for a considerable period of time and their development in Russia and then in the Soviet Union has been somewhat different. In this light the Soviet Kurds may be considered to be an ethnic group in their own right." The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire Web site: Kurds. Institute of Estonia (EKI). Institute of Estonia (EKI). 22 June 2012.
4. Web site: Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 г. Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120521170119/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_10.php . 2012-05-21 .
5. Web site: Kurdistan: between U.S. and Iraq. Georgiatimes. Georgiatimes. 22 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160127103807/http://www.georgiatimes.info/en/analysis/70146.html. 27 January 2016. dead.
6. Web site: ru:РОССИЯ И ПРОБЛЕМА КУРДОВ. http://www.rau.su/observer/N21_93/21_09.HTM. rau.su. rau.su. 25 June 2012. ru. https://web.archive.org/web/20120212203207/http://www.rau.su/observer/N21_93/21_09.HTM. 12 February 2012. dead.
7. Web site: Chapter 10: The Kurds in the Soviet Union. Ismet Chériff Vanly. scribd. 25 June 2012. 27 November 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101127180145/http://www.scribd.com/doc/43013397/The-Kurds-in-the-Soviet-Union. dead.
8. News: Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку, губерниям и областям . ru . Demoscope . 28 August 2017.
9. Web site: ru:Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_26.php?reg=2 . 6 July 2012 . ru.
10. Web site: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . 4 July 2012 . Demoscope.ru . ru.
11. Web site: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . 4 July 2012 . Demoscope.ru . ru.
12. Web site: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . 4 July 2012 . Demoscope.ru . ru.
13. Web site: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . 4 July 2012 . Demoscope.ru . ru.
14. Web site: 4. National composition of population and citizenship: 4.3. Population by nationalities and knowledge of Russian . 4 July 2012.
15. Web site: Ethnic composition: 2021 census (data for regions) . 7 July 2023.