The Finno-Ugric Republics and the Russian State

This text provides a survey of the peoples who speak Finno-Ugric languages and have titular republics or autonomous regions within the post-Soviet Russian federation. Their languages have set them apart from their Turkic and Russian neighbours and helped to preserve their distinct identity, including their animist religious practices. Previous works on this subject were written before the demise of the USSR so that information on the subject was screened by Soviet censors.