The Altai people (; Kyrgyz: Алтайлар), also the Altaians (), are a Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Altaians also live in Mongolia (Altai Mountains) and China (Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang) but are not officially recognized as a distinct group and listed under the name "Oirats" as a part of the Mongols, as well as in Kazakhstan where they number around 200. For alternative ethnonyms see also Tele, Black Tatar, and Oirats. During the Northern Yuan dynasty, they were ruled in the administrative area known as Telengid Province.
Ethnic groups and subgroups
The Altaians are represented by two ethnographic groups:
The Southern Altaians, who speak the Southern Altai language with its dialects, include the Altai-Kizhi, Teleuts, and Telengits. The Telesy were previously included but are now assimilated into the Telengits. The Northern Altaians, who speak the Northern Altai language and dialects, include the Chelkans, Kumandins, and Tubalars (Tuba-Kizhi).
The Northern and Southern Altaians formed in the Altai area on the basis of tribes of Kimek-Kipchaks.
In the Soviet years and until 2000, the authorities considered the northern Altaians and the Teleuts to be part of the Altai people. Currently, according to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 255 dated March 24, 2000, the Chelkans, Kumandins, Telengits, Teleuts, and Tubalars were recognized as separate ethnic groups as well as the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East. However, in the 2010 Russian Census, the only recognized distinct ethnic groups are the Kumandins and Teleuts.
History
The Altai region came within the sphere of influence of the Scythians, Xiongnu, the Rouran Khaganate, the Turkic Khanganate, the Uyghur Empire, and the Yenisei Kyrgyz.
According to one study in 2016, the Altaians, precisely some southern Altaians, assimilated local Yeniseian people which were closely related to the Paleo-Eskimo groups.
From the thirteenth to eighteenth century the Altai people were dominated politically and culturally by the Mongols. The origin of the southern Altaians can be traced during this period from the result of the mixing of Kipchak and Mongol tribes. Meanwhile, the Northern Altaians were a result of the fusion of Turkic tribes with Samoyeds, Kets and other Siberian groups.
The Altaians were annexed by the Four Oirat of Western Mongols in the 16th century. The Mongols called them "Telengid" or "Telengid aimag" in the period of the Northern Yuan dynasty, with the region known as Telengid Province. After the fall of the Zunghar Khanate in the 18th century, the Altaians were subjugated by the Qing Dynasty, which referred to them as Altan Nuur Uriyangkhai. Altaians are genetically related to the Uriyangkhai, which is a common neighbouring Oirat Mongol ethnic group in Mongolia.
The Altai came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. In the tsarist period, the Altai were known as oirot or oyrot (this name means oirat and would later be carried on for the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast). The Altai report that many of them became addicted to the Russians' vodka, which they called "fire water".
With regard to religion, some of the Altai remained shamanists and others (in a trend beginning in the mid-19th century) have converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Altai mission was developed under Saint Makarii Glukharev († 1847), known as the 'Apostle to the Altai'. In 1904, a millenarian indigenist religious movement called Ak Jang or Burkhanism arose among these people.
Prior to 1917 the Altai were considered to be made up of many different ethnic groups.
With the rise of the 1917 revolution, the Altai attempted to make in 1918 their region a separate Burkhanist republic called the Confederated Republic of Altai (Karakorum-Altai Region).. Their support for the Mensheviks during the Civil War led to the venture's collapse after the Bolshevik victory and the later rise of Joseph Stalin. In the 1940s, during World War II and when he was directing numerous purges, his government accused the Altai of being pro-Japanese. The word "oyrot" was declared to be counterrevolutionary. By 1950, Soviet industrialization policies and development in this area resulted in considerable migration of Russians to this republic, reducing the proportion of Altai in the total population from 50% to 20%. In the early 21st century, ethnic Altaians make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population.
Today, the special interests of the Altaians are articulated and defended by the Association of Northern Ethnoses of Altai.