Some informations about Chuvashia:
The
Chuvash Republic (
Russian: Чува́шская Респу́блика — Чува́шия;
Chuvash: Чăваш Республики — Чăваш Ен), or
Chuvashia (Чува́шия) for short, is a
federal subject of
Russia (a
republic). It is the homeland of the
Chuvash people. Its
capital is the
city of
Cheboksary. Population: 1,251,619 (
2010 Census).
[9]
The ancestors of the Chuvash were
Bulgars and
Suars -which were Turkic tribes- residing in the Northern
Caucasus in the 5th to 8th centuries. In the 7th and 8th centuries, a part of the Bulgars left for the
Balkans, where, together with local
Slavs, they established the state of modern
Bulgaria. Another part moved to the Middle Volga Region (see
Volga Bulgaria), where the Bulgar population that did not adopt
Islam formed the foundation of the Chuvash people.
[15]
During the
Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria, the steppe-dwelling Suar migrated north, where
Finnic tribes, such as the
Mordvins and
Mari lived. The Chuvash claim to be descendants of these Suars who assimilated with the Mari. They became vassals of the
Golden Horde in 1242. Later
Mongol and
Tatar rulers did not intervene in local internal affairs as long as the annual tribute was paid to
Sarai. When the power of the Golden Horde began to diminish, the local
Mişär Tatar Murzas from
Piana and
Temnikov tried to rule the Chuvash area.
During
Ivan the Terrible's war of conquest against the
Khanate of Kazan, in August 1552, the Chuvash Orsai and Mari Akpar Tokari princes swore their loyalty to the
Grand Duchy of Muscovy at
Alatyr on the Suvarley River. Between 1650 and 1850, the
Russian Orthodox Church sent
Chuvash-speaking missionaries to try to convert the Chuvash to the Orthodox faith. A group of these missionaries created a written Chuvash language. Most of the Chuvash who stayed in the area became Orthodox Christians, but some remained
pagan.
On May 15, 1917, the Chuvash joined the
Idel-Ural Movement and in December 1917 joined the short-lived
Idel-Ural State, when an agreement was reached with
Tatar representatives to draw the eastern border of Chuvashia at the
Sviyaga River. In 1918–1919, the
Russian Civil War encompassed the area. This ended with victory for the
Bolsheviks. To gain support from the local population, Lenin ordered the creation of a Chuvash state within the
Russian SFSR. On June 24, 1920, the
Chuvash Autonomous Oblast was formed, which was transformed into the
Chuvash ASSR in April 1925.
The largest city is the capital,
Cheboksary (population 464,000 in 2010). Cheboksary is situated mostly on the southern bank of the Volga in the northern part of the republic (one northern bank district was added in the second part of the 20th century), approximately 650 kilometers (400 mi) east of
Moscow. Nearby to the east is the next largest city,
Novocheboksarsk(population 124,000 in 2010). These two are the major industrialized cities. The next largest town is
Kanash.
Ethnic groups
According to the 2010 Census, ethnic
Chuvash make up 67.7% of the republic's population. Other groups include
Russians(26.9%),
Tatars (2.8%),
Mordvins (1.1%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.
[9]
Religion
Religion in Chuvashia (2012)
[20][21]
Russian Orthodox (54.7%)
Other
Orthodox (4%)
Muslim (3%)
Unaffiliated
Christian (3%)
Vattisen Yaly (1%)
Spiritual but not religious (24%)
Atheist and
non-religious (8%)
Other and undeclared (2.3%)
According to a 2012 official survey
[20] 54.7% of the population of Chuvashia adheres to the
Russian Orthodox Church, 4% to other
Orthodox Churches, 3% of the population (mostly
Tatars) follows
Islam, 3% are unaffiliated generic
Christians, 1% follow indigenous faiths (
Vattisen Yaly, Chuvash Traditional Religion). In addition, 24% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 8% is
atheist and 2.3% follows other religions or did not answer to the question.
[20]
Study of religion is compulsory for schoolchildren in Chuvashia. Of the students, 36.9% enrolled for Secular Studies, 36.0% for Orthodox studies, 25.7% for World Religions and 1.4% for Islamic studies.
[22]
Chuvashia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia