Members of Groups Referred to as ‘Small Peoples’ or ‘Nationalities’ Don’t Like These Terms, ‘Komi Daily’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 8 – Many human communities on the territory of today’s Russian Federtion are called “small peoples” or “nationalities,” but those who ae members of such groups don’t like these terms because in the first case this term is dismissive and in the second suggests that they haven’t developed enough to be a nation, in contrast to the Russians, Komi Daily says.

            Moreover, the independent émigré outlet of the Komi people says that many are also unhappy to be lumped in one group as “the non-Russian peoples,” not just because it makes the Russians “the point of reference” but also because it is typically used dismissively (komidaily.com/2026/10/08/kak-korrektno-govoritt-pro-korennye-narody/).

            “There is no perfect term, “ the Komi Daily portal acknowledges but suggests that “indigenous peoples” and “ethnic minorities” are more neutral and thus better.  And the use of words like these matters because otherwise much coverage of such groups manifests a kind of exoticism, a tendency to focus only on what makes them different from Russians.

            That is not only offensive, the portal continues, but dangerous because it suggests that to become a real nation, they have to give something up and because it ignores that in many cases Russians are doing many of the same things as the indigenous peoples but under different names, including broader categories like polygamy and clans.

            And related to this is another terminological danger. Many Russians and even some indigenous peoples use words like “mastering” or “discovery” to talk about the history and development of the regions in which the latter live and always have. It would be far better, the portal says, to use “the broader term ‘colonization.’”