Concept
The Nenets (ненэй ненэче, nenəj nenəče, ненцы, nentsy), also known as Samoyed, are a Samoyedic ethnic group native to northern Arctic Russia, Russian Far North. According to the latest census in 2021, there were 49,646 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District stretching along the coastline of the Arctic Ocean near the Arctic Circle between Kola and Taymyr peninsulas. The Nenets people speak either the Tundra or Forest Nenets languages. In the Russian Federation they have a status of indigenous small-numbered peoples. Today, the Nenets people face numerous challenges from the state and oil and gas companies that threaten the environment and their way of life. As a result, many cite a rise in locally based activism. The literal morphs samo and yed in Russian convey the meaning "self-eater", which is considered derogatory. Therefore, the name Samoyed quickly went out of usage in the 20th century. The people are known as the nenety/nenaj/nenaye, which means "human". In old Russian, the term Samoyed was often applied indiscriminately to different peoples of Northern Russia who speak related Uralic languages: Nenets, Nganasans, Enets, Selkups (speakers of Samoyedic languages). Currently, the term "Samoyedic peoples" applies to the whole group of these different peoples. It is the general term that includes the Nenets, Enets, Selkup, and Nganasan people. The names of two autonomous regions of Russia (Nenets, Yamal-Nenets) mention the Nenets as the titular nationality of the region; another such district (Taimyrsky (Dolgano-Nenetsky) Autonomous Okrug) was abolished in 2007 and transformed into the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The Nenets are divided into two groups: tundra and forest; the two groups have different languages. Tundra Nenets are the majority. They live in two autonomous regions. Forest Nenets – about 1500 people.
