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.
Lezgins are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan, and speak the Lezgin language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality. Lezgin society is structured around djamaat and has traditionally been egalitarian and organised around many autonomous local clans, called syhils (сихилар).
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 Laks are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to an inland region known as Lakia within Dagestan in the North Caucasus. They speak the Lak language. Laks historically live in the Lakskiy and Kulinskiy districts of Dagestan. This ethnocultural area is known as Lakia. There are about 200,000 ethnic Laks in the world.
The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus.
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.
Tabasarans are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern part of the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. Their population in Russia is about 150,000. They speak the Tabasaran language. They are mainly Sunni Muslims.
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 Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991), abbreviated as Dagestan ASSR or DASSR and also unofficially known as Soviet Dagestan or just simply Dagestan, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union. This "Land of Mountains" was known also for having a "mountain of peoples," with more than thirty ethnic groups indigenous to the territory. This region was absorbed in to the Russian Empire in 1813 after the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, and subsequently became a breeding ground for early revolutionary fervor in the Russian Revolution due its people's discontent with being part of the empire.
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 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 Bagvalal are an Avar–Andi–Dido people of Dagestan, speaking the Bagvalal language. Since the 1930s they have been largely classed as and assimilated by the Avars. However there were still some people reported separately in the 2002 census. The tradition and culture of the Bagvalal people is very similar to that of the Avar people, due to their common history within the Avar Khanate.
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.
Khunzakh is a rural locality and the administrative center of Khunzakhsky District in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located in the North Caucasus mountains 1,600 meters (5,200 ft) above sea level. Population: 4,245 (2010 Census); 3,694 (2002 Census); 2,901 (1989 Soviet census).
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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