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Kryashens ( tt-Cyrl, керәшен(нәр), , russian: кряшены; sometimes called ''Baptised Tatars'' (russian: крещёные тата́ры)) are a sub-group of the
Volga Tatars The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after ...
, frequently referred to as one of the minority ethnic groups in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. They are mostly found in
Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...
and in
Udmurtia Udmurtia (russian: Удму́ртия, r=Udmúrtiya, p=ʊˈdmurtʲɪjə; udm, Удмуртия, ''Udmurtija''), or the Udmurt Republic (russian: Удмуртская Республика, udm, Удмурт Республика, Удмурт ...
,
Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
and Chelyabinsk Oblast. Kryashens are Orthodox Christians and some of them regard themselves as being different from other Tatars even though most Kryashen dialects differ only slightly from the Central dialect of the Tatar language and do not differ from the accents of the Tatar Muslims in the same areas. The 2010 census recorded 34,882 Kryashens in Russia.


History

Ethnographers and historians associate the formation of groups of Kryashens with the process of voluntary and violent
Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of Muslim and Animist Volga Tatars in the 16-19 centuries. The first wave of Kryashens were the result of forced conversions soon after the Russian conquest of the
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
and
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
Khanates. However, most of these converts reverted to Islam and Christianity made little headway among the Tatars. A more lasting and significant presence of Kryashens emerged during a period of mosque destruction and anti-Muslim oppression from the Russian authorities during the 18th century. During the reign of
Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...
, many Muslims were forced or pressured to convert. New converts were exempted from paying taxes, were granted certain privileges, and were given better resources for the learning of their new faith. Most Tatars converted for economic or political reasons rather than conviction. Many continued to secretly practice Islam and were crypto-Muslims. By the end of the 19th century, several thousands once again reverted to Islam. However, by the early 20th century, there was a significant Kryashen population that still continues to exist though in smaller numbers than in the past. In recent times the Kryashens have assimilated with Russians and other Tatar groups. There is a high intermarriage rates with Russians.


Literature and education

The earliest Kryashen works and literature were written using the Arabic script. However, a unaltered Cyrillic script was also used to translate religious material to Tatar. A modified
Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...
was adopted in 1862. By the early 20th century over 100 books were published using this script. In 1922, a modified Arabic script for writing Tatar was introduced to the Kryashens although the Cyrillic script continued in use until 1928 as this was when both scripts were replaced by the Latin script. The earliest literature was mainly religious in nature but around the 1910s a steady rise of secular works began being published. A newspaper for the Kryashen community was published from 1928 to 1929 in
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
but soon ceased to exist afterwards. The Kryashens had little religious and educational infrastructure in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, during the 18th century they were given many privileges and facilities were built or accommodated for the Kryashens. The first Tatar school for converts was established in 1863 while the first seminary was founded in 1872.


Notable people of Kryashen descent

*
Dmitry Karbyshev Dmitry Mikhaylovich Karbyshev (russian: Дмитрий Михайлович Карбышев; , Omsk — 18 February 1945, Mauthausen, Austria) was an officer of the Russian Imperial Army, a Red Army general, professor of the Soviet General St ...
*
Aleksei Antonov Aleksei Innokentievich Antonov (russian: Алексей Иннокентьевич Антонов; 9 September 1896 – 16 June 1962) was a General of the Soviet Army, awarded the Order of Victory for his efforts in World War II. From 1945 to 1 ...
* Pyotr Gavrilov


References


External links


The Internet ethnocultural project www.kryashen.ru


* ttp://rusk.ru/st.php?idar=8540 Этнокультурная идентичность кряшен {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerasens Ethnic groups in Russia Tatar Christians Volga Tatars Persecution of Muslims