Talk:Erzya Oblasts

Ersa Oblasts
This is a difficult task to provide actual reliable information which classified Mordvin settlements outside Republic of Mordovia are inhabited by Ersas and Mokhsas. There lives also a number of Mordvins in Murmansk Oblast wandered to Kuola Peninsula either after jobs or service in Russian army. Their number are greater than Lovozero (Luujaur) Kuola Saames (Kola Lapps). They infact presents the most numerous Finno Ugrian population today in Murmansk Oblast. The original "Muurmannin Suomalaiset" (Murmansk Finns) about 5.000 people were deported from their homes by Stalin´s order to Lavrenti Berija as potential threat for Soviet society in 1936 - 1937. Most of them were forced in 1940 to resettle to Karelia in areas which were ceded by Finland to Soviet Union in Moscow Peace Treaty signed in Moscow in March 1940 which ended the "Winter war" ie according to Soviet history the Conflict between bourgerous Finland and the Soviet Union. Many of these Finns were arrested again in June 1941 (even those young men which had been called into service of the Red Army) and were deported to NKVD camps (lagers) near Tsheljabinsk where they had to stay until September 1944. Only after the Armistice in September 1944 between Soviet Union and Finland they were allowed to leave the camps. In most cases they were not allowed to return to Mirmansk area and Karelia. They had to stay in Tsheljabinsk area and they were resettled in the Mordvin villages in the Oblast, located west of Ural River. One such village was near Verkhne Uralsk (Upper Ural). They were told by the Mordvins who lived there that there had been a large Mordvin settlement called Aljoshkino at the site which become in 1929 - 1933 Magnitogorsk named after Aljoshkin. This settlement had also Ersa name Djombra (Dzhombra) which was later used for new town of Magnitogorsk as well.

The Estonians researchers were able in Soviet era in 1980´s found two little Mordvin villages, both with population of less than 100 inhabitants on the wooded steppe area west of River Belaja (in Tatar language Agidel) in present Republic of Boshkortostan. Sarsaz and Makarjovka. West of Krasnoholmskij is a village named Mordvinskij Bikshik. If there are four known villages with Mordvin population, there must be several more villages with Russian names but with Mordvin population in Boshkortostan. According to the latest Soviet data in 1989 there lived in Bashkiria 31.932 persons who have registered under ethnic title Mordvins. Now the question is were they Ersas or Mokshas living in separate villages or are the Mordvin population, mixture of boths in certain villages.

The same matter is actual for mining town Zyryan located in Noth Eastern Kazahstan. According to the latest Imperial Russia published figures there lived in town´s European quarters Mordvins and Maris together with Asian inhabited quarters inhabited by the Tatars, not Kirgiz or Kazahs. The number of Mordvins was over 10.000 (figures for Maris were not published). Ones again where the Mordvins Ersas or Maris? The town itself was named after a Mordvin Gerasimov Zyryan in 1794. These mines were owned at first by Demidoff family, descendants of a famous Tula blacksmith. Please note name Tula, not of Russian origin.

What about Azerbaidzhan (1.150 Mordvins), Kazahstan (34.371 Mordvins), Kirgistan (5.390 Mordvins), Turkmenistan (3.488 Mordvins), Uzbekistan (14.176 Mordvins).

Urals Oblasts (Perm, Sverdlovsk and Tsheljabinsk) housing 42.548 Mordvins, Siberia 65.850 Mordvins, Far East / Sahalin 29.265 Mordvins (in 1926 80.000 Mordvins).

Siberian areas are recorded:
 * At the confluence of Obi and Keti (Ketti) Rivers living together with Udmurts.
 * South East from Novosibirsk, west side of Obi River.
 * East from Novosibirsk.
 * Between Novosibirsk and Barnaul.
 * Area along Chulum River together with Estonians, Hakassis, Tatars, Latvians, and Udmurts.
 * Along Urjup River, at least Tisul, Hat, and Bogotal with mainly Mordvin population.
 * South East of Abakan along Oja River together with Estonians.
 * Along Amyl River.
 * South of Bratsk water reservoir along Ija River.
 * In the areas of Tobol, Tura, Iska, and Tap Rivers together with Komis and Tatars.


 * In Russian Far East at Ussuri valley and Sahalin Island in Aleksandrovsk.

The main question is; Do these Mordvins still use Ersa and Moksha languages, or have they changed the communication language to Russian language as the result being surrounded by mainly bigger Russian settlements in these areas. The Estonians found in 1980´s still few older women able to speak Estonian language in Krasnojarsk Oblast in a settlement Narva. All Finns in neighbouring Helsinki village had by then already died and the village was renamed with Russian name. I believe similar stories are found from several Mordvin (Ersa and Moksha) inhabited villages too. In old local Russian tales of these areas Finno Ugrians are always connected with bears and wolfs. Quite near Narva was a large convicted criminal settlemant Verhne Suetuk (Ylä-Suetuk), 65 km south east of Minuisinsk where all Lutherian faith Finns, Ingians, Estonians, Latvians and Volga Germans were deported when their death penalty was changed to lifetime deportation to Siberia. This settlement had the worstest reputation in whole Siberia. Many of the convicted murderers managed to dissapear, being either killed by inhabitants of surrounding settlements or they managed to reach Tannu Tuva and dissapeared to China for ever. There were more than 900 of those. Another such a place was near Aleksandrovsk in Sahalin Island.

Some remarks from Early Finno Ugrians in Altai Urheimat (Alkukoti)
Please note according very respective British geographical researcer James S. Gregory B.A. F.R.G.S. who published in 1968 his monumental total 947 p. work, today quite difficult to find, "Russian Land Soviet People" Hakissis are Türkized Finno Ugrians who represent the last remnant of Finno Ugrian people in Russia´s Middle Asia who stayed near northern slopes of Altai mountains. In addition he gives the origin of Saha people as; The Finnish tribes are mentioned in early Chinese writings as fair heared and blue eayed. They appear to have intermingled with Türkic peoples of the southern slopes occupying large part of Siberia and European Russia in the second and third centuries. Some of these Finnish tribes, mixed with certain element extent with Mongols and broad-faced, round headed Türkic people, ancestors of the Türko-Tatar (who appeared between the third and sixth centuries), were pushed out towards the north, north-west, and north-east by the Türko-Tatars and mixed with the Tungus peoples. The Jakuts (Sahas) who speak a Türco-Tatar language, may have originated this way, and may have mixed with the Mongols from Lake Baikal area. The Tungus peoples are charactized by a high proportion of the population belonging to the "O" blood-group, typical for Finno Urgians as well, which is thought to have been the predominant blood-group among the authochonous peoples of Europe and Siberia. The intermixture with ancient Finnish and Türkic tribes from Altai region, beginning as far back as 1.000 BC. (I belong also to blood-type "O".)

However, some remnants of these early Finno-Ugrian settlements were found in Altai and Minusink areas. Some of the burial chambers that have been examined contained the remnants up to 150 persons. They were settled agricultural people who used complex irrigation system to water their fields and lived in log or clay and timber houses with thatched roofs. There are similar settlements in the Krasnojarsk district and the Altai. In a hill country south-east of Novosibirsk a grave was found with yielded gold plates, a bronze mirror, a needle and a red shroud of Chinese silk dating back 1.200 BC.

The most famous excavations, which began in 1929 (with main purpose to prove of their Slavonic connection to the Skyyttas) in the high Altai valley of Pazyryk, produced evidence of the high standard of civilization based upon agriculture between the first and fifth centuries BC, among a people who used carts, tables, pile carpets, and felt cushions, and made sculptures ang carvings of the highest artistic merit. the motifs used in decoration as well as many objects discovered there were quite similar to those used by the Kirgiz today and used in Kama valley. Most of the corpses found were red or yellow heared white skin medium size people with many tattoos in their bodies. The early Chinese writings describe these people blond and many young women were transfered to China c. 1.200 - 1.000 BC. These Chinese writings are the first written mention of these early Finno Ugrians.

In the Upper Jenisei valley, settlements belonging to Hun people from the first century BC to the fourth century AD, have been exavated, and provide evidence of iron-working and agriculture, and many objects of Chinese origin, including a house believed to have been the residence of a Chinese tribal general who was viceroy of the Hunnish tribes of the Jenisei at this time. In the northern forests there were no Iron Age, the Nenetsi hunters and reinder breeders continuing to use stone and bone implements for nearly modern times. So called Jenisei Samojeedis or Southern Nenetsis in the area have now totally dissapeared, the last living Kumassi, Klaudia Plotnikova a walking treasure box with her memories of her peoples old tales and of old Shamanism, last of her kind, was discovered by Estonian linguistian Ago Künnap in 1968, died in 1989, and with her one of the original Southern Siberian people at Sajaani mountains Sayan Mountains. Kumassis lived as neihgbours of Hakassi (Khakassi) people, east of them. Matori and other Nenentsi tribes dissapeared in 1800´s.

I just wonder why in Imperial Russia all the Finno Ugrian peoples which were scattered here and there seems to have collected tgether in certain areas and usually, as in Sajan mountains, to provide the first element of European settlers, as some kind of pathfinders with idea if they do not survive there, it is useless to send more emigrants in the area. Peharps the Mordvin peoples were used as an example of successful resettler as in 1899 one St.Petersburger Panslavist magazine, at the time of the first greatest anti-Finnish propaganda campaing suggested seriously to transfer all the landless Finns to Siberia because they are used to live in forests and can manage in hard winter conditions. This in the first Finland´s eaters campaing in Imperial Russia. The echoes of this kind of general campaign was again heard in 1920 - 1921 during the great hunger period when the Bolsheviks suggested to Mordvins to move into Siberia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.112.168.67 (talk) 20:04, 29 July 2008 (UTC)