Islam in RussiaAlthough Islam is a minority religion in Russia, Russia has the largest Muslim population in Europe. According to the US Department of State in 2017, Muslims in Russia numbered 14 million or roughly 10% of the total population. The Grand Mufti of Russia, Sheikh Rawil Gaynetdin, estimated the Muslim population of Russia at 25 million in 2018. Recognized under the law and by Russian political leaders as one of Russia's traditional religions, Islam is a part of Russian historical heritage, and is subsidized by the Russian government.
UdmurtsThe Udmurts (Удмуртъёс, ) are a Permian (Finnic) ethnic group in Eastern Europe, who speak the Udmurt language. In the course of history, Russian-speakers have referred to them as (чудь отяцкая), Otyaks, Wotyaks or Votyaks. The name Udmurt comes from *odo-mort 'meadow people,' where the first part represents the Permic root *od(o) 'meadow, glade, turf, greenery', and the second part, murt means 'person' (cf. Komi mort, Mari mari), probably an early borrowing from an Iranian language (such as Scythian): *mertä or *martiya 'person, man' (cf.
RussificationRussification (rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian culture and the Russian language. In a historical sense, the term refers to both official and unofficial policies of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union with respect to their national constituents and to national minorities in Russia, aimed at Russian domination and hegemony.
Finnic peoplesThe Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly Finno-Permic) language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of the Volga River. The largest Finnic peoples by population are the Finns (or more precisely the Suomi, 6 million), the Estonians (1 million), the Mordvins (800,000), the Mari (570,000), the Udmurts (550,000), the Komis (330,000) and the Sami (100,000).
BashkortostanBashkortostan (Башҡортостан; Башкортостан), officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, also known as Bashkiria, is a republic of Russia located between the Volga and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It covers and has a population of 4 million. It is the seventh-most populous federal subject in Russia and the most populous republic. Its capital and largest city is Ufa. Bashkortostan was established on . On 20 March 1919 it was transformed into the Bashkir ASSR, the first autonomous republic in the Russian SFSR.
TatarstanTatarstan (Татарстан; Татарстан), officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a republic of the Russian Federation, located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital and largest city is Kazan, an important cultural centre in Russia. The region's main source of wealth is oil with a strong petrochemical industry. The republic borders the oblasts of Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg, as well as the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, and Bashkortostan.