Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation

CHUVASH

Chuvash: translation

Ethnic group. At 1.6 million, the Chuvash are Russia’s fourth-largestethnic minority. Their origins can be dated to the establishment of the Volga-Bulgar state in the 10th century. Ethnically, the Chuvash are a mixture of Turkic Bulgars and Finno-UgricMaris; however, theirlanguage, Chuvash, is the only surviving member of the Oghur subfamily of Turkic languages, which includes the dead languages of Khazar, Hunnic, and Bulgar.
Chuvash identity experienced a renaissance in the 1980s, centered on the Chuvash Public Cultural Center. This cultural revival gained political strength with the establishment of the National Rebirth Party (led by the philologist Atner Khuzangai, son of the preeminent Chuvash poet of the 20th century) and other nationalist organizations in 1991, and the increasing tendency of ethnic Chuvash to speak their mother tongue in public areas.Nationalism, which was quite tepid (described by some pundits as “ethnic nihilism”) in the late 1980s, grew in strength by 1991 when some nationalist leaders, including the future president Nikolay Fyodorov, called for Chuvashiya’s elevation to the status of aunion republic.
While the vast majority of Chuvash are nominallyRussian Orthodoxdue to mass conversions in the 18th century under Russian rule, some retainIslamfrom the period when they were governed by theTatars, while others have more recently converted due to proselytizing effort ofMuslimsfromTurkeyandCentral Asia. Until the mid-20th century,Christianityas practiced by the Chuvash remained highly syncretic, continuing many animist folk practices. Since thedissolution of the Soviet Union, a number of Chuvash have embraced Sardash, a form ofneo-paganismbased on ancestral practices and purportedly influenced by Zoroastrianism. This belief system has been promoted by many Chuvash intellectuals as a national religion; it also has a strong ecological orientation, which has attractedenvironmentallyminded Chuvash.

  1. chuvash—A member of a people of Turkic speech and Mongolian race living in the Volga region in eastern Russia The Turkic language spoken by the Chuvash people...Crosswordopener
  2. chuvash—чувашский язык...Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь
  3. chuvash—чуваш чувашка чувашский...Англо-русский вспомогательный словарь
  4. chuvash—a чуваш чувашский...Англо-русский словарь Лингвистика-98
  5. chuvash—n чувашка чувашский язык...Англо-русский словарь Лингвистика-98
  6. chuvash—сущ. чувашский язык относится к тюркской семье языков распространен в России Чувашия носителей млн. чел...Англо-русский словарь общей лексики
  7. chuvash—adj. чувашский...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  8. chuvash—n. чуваш...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  9. chuvash—.strong [tuv] n. чуваш чувашкаthe Chuvash собир. чуваши. чувашский язык.strong [tuv] aChuvash Republic Республика ЧувашияChuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic и...Новый большой англо-русский словарь
  10. chuvash—Chuvash . [tuv] ni . чуваш чувашка the собир. iчуваши . чувашский язык . [tuv] ai чувашский Republic Республика Чувашия Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ист. iЧ...Новый большой англо-русский словарь II
  11. chuvash—.strong tuv n . чуваш чувашка the собир. emчуваши . чувашский язык .strong tuv a чувашский Republic Республика Чувашия Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ис...Новый большой англо-русский словарь под общим руководством акад. Ю.Д. Апресяна