Votians, also referred to as Votes, Vots and Vods (ва́ддялайзыд, vađđalaizõd; водь; vadjalased; vatjalaiset) are a Finnic ethnic group native to historical Ingria, the part of modern-day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east of the Estonian border-town of Narva. The Finnic Votic language spoken by Votians is close to extinction. The language is still spoken in three villages of historical Votia and by an unknown number of speakers in the countryside. The villages are Jõgõperä (Krakolye), Liivcülä (Peski), and Luuditsa (Luzhitsy). In the Russian 2020 census, 99 people identified as Votian.
Votians were one of the founding people of Veliky Novgorod.
Votians are the oldest known ethnic group in Ingria. They are probably descended from an Iron-age population of north-eastern Estonia and western Ingria. Some scholars claim they were a tribe of Estonians, who developed a separate identity during isolation from other Estonians. It is speculated the ancient Estonian county of Vaiga got its name from Votians. The Kylfings, a people active in Northern Europe during the Viking Age, may have been Votes.
The earliest literary references to the Votes by their traditional name are from medieval Russian sources, where Votes are referred to as Voď. Older Russian sources grouped them (under the name Chudes) with Estonians. Lake Peipus near the Votian homelands is called Chudsko ozero, meaning "Lake of Chudes" in Russian.
In 1069 Votes were mentioned taking part in an attack on the Novgorod Republic by the Principality of Polotsk. Eventually Votes became part of the Novgorod Republic and in 1149 they were mentioned taking part in an attack by Novgorod against Jems who are speculated to be peoples of Tavastia. One of the administrative divisions of Novgorod, Voch'skaa, was named after Votes. After the collapse of Novgorod, the Grand Duchy of Moscow deported many Votes from their homelands and began more aggressive conversion of them.
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Leningrad Oblast (Leningradskaya oblast’, ljɪnjɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsjtj; Leningradan agj; Leningradin alue) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,716,868 (2010 Census); up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina. The oblast was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position.
The Izhorians (Ижо́ра; ижо́рцы; inkerikot; isurid; sg. ižoralain, inkeroin, ižora, ingermans, ingers, ingrians, pl. ižoralaizet), along with the Votes, are a Finnic 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. Although in English oftentimes sharing a common name with the Finns of Ingria, these two groups are distinct from one another. The history of the Izhorians is bound to the history of Ingria.
The Baltic Finnic or Balto-Finnic peoples, also referred to as the Baltic Sea Finns, Baltic Finns, sometimes Western Finnic and often simply as the Finnic peoples, are the peoples inhabiting the Baltic Sea region in Northern and Eastern Europe who speak Finnic languages. They include the Finns, Estonians (including Võros and Setos), Karelians (including Ludes and Livvi), Veps, Izhorians, Votes, and Livonians. In some cases the Kvens, Ingrians, Tornedalians and speakers of Meänkieli are considered separate from the Finns.