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The Evens (pl. эвэсэл,  in Even and эвены,  in Russian; formerly called Lamuts) are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 22,383 Evens in Russia. They speak their own language called Even, one of the Tungusic languages. The Evens are close to the Evenks by their origins and culture. Officially, they have been considered to be of Orthodox faith since the 19th century, though the Evens have retained some pre-Christian practices, such as shamanism. Traditional Even life is centred upon nomadic pastoralism of domesticated reindeer, supplemented with hunting, fishing and animal-trapping. There were 104 Evens in Ukraine, 19 of whom spoke Even. (Ukr. Cen. 2001)

History
The Evens people are part of the Eastern Siberians that migrated out of central China around 10,000 years ago. They are the northern and easternmost indigenous group in Siberia, and they are somewhat isolated from the rest of the indigenous groups in Siberia, with the closest groups being the Yakuts and the Evenks who are over 1,000 kilometers away. Their economy was supplemented by winter hunts to obtain wild game. Hunters sometimes rode reindeer, and sometimes moved along on wooden skis.

In the 17th century, the people today known as the Eveni were divided into three main tribes: the Okhotsk reindeer Tungus (Lamut), the Tiugesir, Memel’ and Buiaksir clans as well as a sedentary group of Arman’ speakers. Today, they are all known as Eveni.

The traditional lodgings of the Evens were conical tents which were covered with animal skins. In the southern coastal areas, fish skins were used. Settled Evens used a type of earth and log dugout. Sheds were erected near the dwellings in order to house stocks of frozen fish and meat.

During the Soviet reign the government collectivized reindeer herding, which drastically changed the lives of the Evens and other indigenous groups in Siberia. With the rise of Communism in the late 1910's, the new government aimed to civilize the nomadic tribes of Siberia by constructing permanent housing for them and standardizing and collectivizing reindeer herding which was their main occupation and lifestyle. The Soviet government seized and then redistributed all of the reindeer of the Evens people and mandated specific migration routes and dates that the Evens people had to abide by. The Soviets created a written language for them and eliminated illiteracy among the Evens in the 1930s. Many nomadic Evens chose to settle down, joined the kolkhozes and engaged themselves in cattle-breeding and agriculture.

Notable Evens

 * Varvara Belolyubskaya, linguist and poet
 * Viktor Lebedev, freestyle wrestler