The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or Vainakh-Daghestani, or sometimes Caspian languages, is a family of languages spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia and in Northern Azerbaijan as well as in Georgia and diaspora populations in Western Europe and the Middle East. According to Glottolog, there are currently 36 Nakh-Dagestanian languages.
The Avars, also known as Maharuls, are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group. The Avars are the largest of several ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of Dagestan. The Avars reside in the North Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Alongside other ethnic groups in the North Caucasus region, the Avars live in ancient villages located approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The Avar language spoken by the Caucasian Avars belongs to the family of Northeast Caucasian languages. Sunni Islam has been the prevailing religion of the Avars since the 14th century
Dagestan, officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Federal District. The republic is the southernmost tip of Russia, sharing land borders with the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia to the south and southwest, the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia to the west and north, and with Stavropol Krai to the northwest. Makhachkala is the republic's capital and largest city; other major cities are Derbent, Kizlyar, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, and Buynaksk.
The Chulyms, also Chulym Tatars, are a Turkic people in the Tomsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. According to the 2020 census, there were 382 Chulyms in Russia.
The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus.
The Bezhta language, also known as Kapucha, belongs to the Tsezic group of the North Caucasian language family. It is spoken by about 6,200 people in southern Dagestan, Russia
Tsez, also known as Dido, is a Northeast Caucasian language with about 15,000 speakers spoken by the Tsez, a Muslim people in the mountainous Tsunta District of southwestern Dagestan in Russia. The name is said to derive from the Tsez word for "eagle", but this is most likely a folk etymology. The name Dido is derived from the Georgian word დიდი, meaning "big".
The Karapapakhs, or Terekeme, are a Turkic people, who originally spoke the Karapapakh language, a western Oghuz language closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkish. Nowadays, the Karapapakh language has been largely supplanted by Azerbaijani and Turkish.
The Archi people are an ethnic group who live in eight villages in Southern Dagestan, Russia. Archib is the 'parent village' of these, because three months a year the whole community used to reassemble in Archi to engage in communal work. Their culture is one of the most distinct and best-preserved of all the cultures of Dagestan.
The Andis are one of the indigenous Dagestan peoples of North Caucasia. Their territory is included in the Botlikhsky District (raion) of Dagestan. The Andis are Sunni muslims.
The Hinuq language is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Tsezic subgroup. It is spoken by about 200 to 500 people, the Hinukhs, in the Tsuntinsky District of southwestern Dagestan, mainly in the village of Genukh. Hinukh is very closely related to Tsez, but they are not entirely mutually intelligible.
The Akhvakhs are one of the Andi–Dido peoples of Dagestan and have their own language. They call themselves Atluatii or Ashvado. Prior to 1930 Soviet ethnologists considered them to be a distinct ethnic group. Since that time they have often been classified as Avars.
The Botlikh people are an Andi–Dido people of Dagestan. Until the 1930s they were considered a distinct people. Since that time they have been classified as Caucasian Avars and have faced a campaign to have them assimilate into that population. The Botlikh are primarily Sunni Muslims. They adopted the religion by the 16th century due to the influence of Sufi missionaries.
The Hinukh are a people of Dagestan living in 2 villages: Genukh, Tsuntinsky District - their 'parent village' and Novomonastyrskoe, Kizlyarsky District - where they settled later and live together with Avars and Dargins and also in the cities of Dagestan. They are being assimilated by the Caucasian Avars.
The Bezhta are an Andi–Dido people living in the Tsuntinsky region in southwestern Dagestan. In the 1930s along with the rest of the Andi-Dido peoples they were classified as Avars. However, some people identified themselves as Bezhta in the 2002 census of Russia. They speak the Bezhta language, but many of them also speak Avar, Russian or other Tsezic languages of their region. They numbered 1,448 in 1926. According to the Russian census in 2002, there were 6184 self-identified "Bezhtins", though the real number is probably higher.
The Godoberi are one of the Andi-Dido peoples of Dagestan. They numbered 1,425 in 1926 and about 4,500 in 2007. They live mainly in the three villages of Godoberi, Ziberkhali and Beledi in the Botlikhsky District. About 1800 Godoberis live on the plains of Dagestan in Terechnoye.
The Tsezic languages form one of the seven main branches of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It branches into Tsez–Hinukh and Bezhta–Hunzib–Khwarshi, according to research published in 2009. They were formerly classified geographically into East Tsezic and West Tsezic . The Avar language serves as the literary language for speakers of Tsezic languages.
Shahdagh people is a generic term for several small ethnic groups living in the vicinity of Mount Shahdagh in northern Azerbaijan, particularly in three major villages of the district of Konakhkent (Quba) near the Daghestani border. The Shahdagh ethnic groups generally speak Samur languages of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family.
The Tindi are an indigenous people of Dagestan, North Caucasus living in five villages in the center area around the Andi-Koysu river and the surrounding mountains in the northwestern part of southern Dagestan. They have their own language, Tindi, and primarily follow Sunni Islam, which reached the Tindi people around the 8th or 9th century. The only time that the Tindis were counted as a distinct ethnic group in the Russian Census was in 1926, when 3,812 reported to be ethnic Tindis. In 1967, there were about 5,000 ethnic Tindis. They are culturally similar to the Avars.
The Hunzibs are an indigenous people of Dagestan, North Caucasus living in three villages in the Tsuntinsky District in the upper regions of the Avar-Koysu river area. They have their own language, Hunzib, and primarily follow Sunni Islam, which spread among the Hunzib people around the 8th or 9th century. Islam became consolidated among the Hunzib around the 16th and 17th centuries. The land where the Hunzibs inhabit was part of the Avar Khanate. The only time that the Hunzibs were counted as a distinct ethnic group in the Russian Census was in 1926, when 105 people reported to be ethnic Hunzibs. Subsequently, they were listed as Avars in the Russian Censuses. In 1967, it was estimated that there were about 600 ethnic Hunzibs.
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