Izhorians

Izhorians
Ижо́ра
Flag of Izhorians
Izhorian woman wearing a national costume
Regions with significant populations
 Russia 266 (2010)[1]
 Ukraine 812 (2001)[2]
 Estonia 56 (2011)[3]
 Belarus 8 (1999)[4]
Languages
Izhorian, Russian
Religion
Orthodox
Lutheran minority
Related ethnic groups
Other Baltic Finns

The Izhorians (Russian: Ижо́ра; ижо́рцы; sg. inkerikot, isurit, ižoralaine, inkeroine, ižora, ingermans, ingers, ingrian, pl. ižoralaizet), along with the Votes, are a Finnic ethnic group indigenous people native to Ingria. Small numbers can still be found in the western part of Ingria, between the Narva and Neva rivers in northwestern Russia.

History

Laiba, an Izhorian vessel, in the Gulf of Finland.

The history of the Izhorians is bound to the history of Ingria. It is supposed that shortly after 1000 AD the Izhorians moved from Karelia to the west and south-west. In 1478, the Novgorod Republic, where Ingrians had settled, was united with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and some of the Izhorians were transferred to the east. The establishment of St Petersburg in 1703 had a great influence on Izhorian culture. World War II had the biggest impact on Izhorians, as devastating battles (such as the Siege of Leningrad) took place on their territory. Large numbers of Izhorians perished during World War II, so in honour of them the "Izhorians's battalion" was named after them (created of volunteers for the defense of St Petersburg).

In 1848, P. von Köppen counted 17,800 Izhorians, and by 1926 there were 26,137 Izhorians in the Russian SFSR. In the 1959 census, however, only 1,100 Izhorians were counted in the USSR. In 1989, 820 self-designated Izhorians, 302 of whom were speakers of the Ingrian language were registered. 449 Izhorians lived in the territory of the USSR. According to the 2002 Russian Census, there were 327 Izhorians in Russia, of whom 177 lived in Leningrad oblast and 53 in St Petersburg. There were also 812 Ingrians in Ukraine according to Ukrainian Census (2001) (more than in Russian Federation and Estonia altogether) and a further 358 Ingrians in Estonia.

Language

Larin Paraske, ethnic Izhorian oral poet

Their language, close to Karelian, is used primarily by members of the older generation. Izhorian (also called Ingrian), along with Finnish, Estonian, Karelian and Vepsian, belongs to the Northern Finnic group of the Uralic languages.

In 1932–1937, a Latin-based orthography for the Izhorian language existed, taught in schools of the Soikinsky Peninsula and the area around the mouth of the Luga River.[5] Several textbooks were published including a grammar of the language in 1936. However, in 1937 the Izhorian written language was abolished.[5]

Religion

The Izhorians and the Votes are generally Orthodox, while the other Finnic inhabitants of Ingria, the Ingrian Finns, are generally Lutheran. Some pre-Christian traditions exist, also.

References

  1. ↑ Russian Census of 2002 Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Ukrainian Census of 2001
  3. ↑ RL0428: Rahvastik rahvuse, soo ja elukoha järgi, 31. detsember 2011
  4. ↑ Nationalities of Belarus Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. 1 2 Kurs, Ott (1994). Ingria: The broken landbridge between Estonia and Finland. GeoJournal 33.1, 107-113.
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