Most of the Asian population of Russia lives in rural areas. The only Asian communities that are largely urbanized in Russia are the Koreans, Tatars, Uzbek and Kyrgyz.
Statistics show that women outnumber men in the Asian community, which is in accordance with a general Russian trend.
Origins in various parts of Asia
Many Asian ethnic groups have a vague history, which makes it difficult for modern researchers to trace their ancestors. For example, Buryats originate from Siberian and Mongolian tribes and eventually settled down near Lake Baikal and the modern Russian internal republic of Buryatia.
They were first mentioned in the ‘History of Mongols,’ the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work from the end of the 13th century.
The history of the Kalmyks is also tightly connected with another Mongol tribe – the Oirats. The earliest written records of the Tuvan people refer to them as the Dingling.
Tatars and Kazakhs share common ancestors and speak Turkic languages. Yakuts, Bashkirs, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz people are also believed to have descended from Turkic ethnic groups native to Central Asia.
Many Korean communities across Russia trace their roots back to the Koreans who lived in the Russian Far East during the late 19th century. Koreans, who left their country due to poverty, quickly adapted to the Far East and settled on empty farmlands.
The Soviet Union deported most of them in the 1930s to Central Asian countries, where they continue to live now.
The internal republics of Tatarstan and Yakutia also have large ethnic Asian populations.
Many ethnic groups have a representative body and cultural centers. The Russian government has also set up the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs.
The Russian Constitution guarantees the right of all internal republics to have their own state languages, apart from Russian. It also guarantees the right of ethnic groups to preserve their native language and create conditions for their study and development.
Unfortunately, many Asian people from Russian republics are moving from their homes to Moscow or other economically developed cities. In 2013 more than half a million internal migrants moved to the European part of Russia.
Statistics on government salary arrears might explain the urge to leave. In 2015 the Siberian Federal District owed its employees about 773 million rubles (about $13.3 million) in arrears, while the number in the Central Federal district was just 477 million rubles.
Who are Asians
The Russian government census divides the population on the basis of ethnicities, but it is difficult to objectively decide as to which group can be classified as Asian.
The definition of the term Asian varies in different countries. The United Kingdom mainly defines Asians as people of South Asian origin, which mostly includes Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
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