Chuvans are one of the forty or so "less-numerous peoples of the North" recognized by the Russian government. Most Chuvans today live within Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...

 in the far northeast of Russia. Based on first-hand field research by several ethnographers in the 1990s, people who self-identify as Chuvans seem to do so in one of two ways: on the one hand, some of them live in small villages and in the tundra in areas that are primarily associated with reindeer herding.

History

Historical accounts describe the Chuvans as a people in Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, belonging to the Yukaghir

Yukaghir

The Yukaghir, or Yukagirs , деткиль ) are a people in East Siberia, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.-Region:The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of...

 group. They roamed along the upper tributaries of the Anadyr River and Anyuy River

Anyuy River (Chukotka)

The Anyuy River or Anyui River is a river in the Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Kolyma River, flowing into it in its delta area at Nizhnekolymsk, only about 100 km from the mouths of the Kolyma....

 in the 17th century. The Chuvans were engaged in hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

-breeding. In the 18th century, some Chuvans retreated to the Kolyma River

Kolyma River

The Kolyma River is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. Itrises in the mountains north of Okhotsk and Magadan, in the area of and...

 following attacks by the Chukchi

Chukchi people

The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...

. There they gradually russified

Russification

Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...

. The other part was assimilated by the Koryaks

Koryaks

Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...

 and Chukchis. According to the 2002 Russian Census, there were 1087 Chuvans in Russia.

Language

Many of these speak the Chukchi language

Chukchi language

The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...

 (belonging to the Chukotko-Kamchatkan

Chukotko-Kamchatkan

Chukotko-Kamchatkan can refer to:* Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages* Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples...

 family) in addition to Russian, and some have intermarried with the Chukchis. On the other hand, some, such as those living in the town of Markovo

Markovo, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Markovo is a village situated near the head of small-boat navigation of the Anadyr River, near the center of the Anadyrsky District of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, part of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...

 on the Anadyr River

Anadyr River

Anadyr is a river in the far northeast Siberia which flows into Anadyr Bay of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its basin corresponds to the Anadyrsky District of Chukotka....

, neither herd reindeer nor are they able to speak Chukchi.

Ethnographic maps shows the Chuvans as the indigenous population of the Chuvanskoye

Chuvanskoye

Chuvanskoye is a rural locality in Anadyrsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Russia. Municipally, the village is incorporated as Chuvanskoye Rural Settlement. It is located west of Markovo on the banks of the Yeropol River, a tributary of the Anadyr River...

 village some 100 km west of Markovo

Markovo

Markovo may refer to:*Markovo, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Markovo, Slovenia, a settlement in the Kamnik Municipality, Slovenia* Markovo, Croatia, a village near Slatina, Croatia-See also:*Markov...

.