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Chechen people

Chechens
Нохчий
Nokhchiy
Total population
(1.5 million to 2 million)
Regions with significant populations
 Russia 1,431,360
     Chechnya 1,031,647
     Ingushetia 95,403
     Dagestan 87,867
     Rostov Oblast 15,469
     Moscow Oblast 14,465
     Stavropol Krai 13,208
     Volgograd Oblast 12,256
     Tyumen Oblast 10,623
     Astrakhan Oblast 10,019
 European Union
      France
      Austria
      Belgium
      Germany
     
130,000-200,000
30,000
25,000
17,000
12,000
 Turkey 100,000
 Kazakhstan 34,000
 Jordan 15,000
 Iraq 10,000+
 Georgia 10,000 (including Kist people)
 Syria 5,000–6,000
 Azerbaijan 5,000
 Egypt 5,000
 Ukraine 2,877
 Spain

2,100


Data figures from 2001 to 2013;
see also Chechen diaspora.
Languages
Chechen
See Language section
Religion
Predominantly Islam (Nondenominational Muslims and Shafi'i Sunni Muslim)
Related ethnic groups
Nakh peoples (Ingush people, Bats people, Kist people) and other Northeast Caucasian people)

2,100

Chechens (/ˈɛən/, Chechen: Нохчий Noxçiy; Old Chechen: Нахчой Naxçoy) are a Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples originating in the North Caucasus region of Eastern Europe. They refer to themselves as Vainakhs (which means "our people" in Chechen) or Nokhchiy (pronounced [no̞xtʃʼiː]; singular Nokhchi, Nakhchuo or Nakhtche. Chechen and Ingush peoples are collectively known as the Vainakh. The majority of Chechens today live in the Chechen Republic, a subdivision of the Russian Federation.

The isolated terrain of the Caucasus mountains and the strategic value outsiders have placed on the areas settled by Chechens has contributed much to the Chechen community ethos and helped shape its fiercely independent national character. Chechen society has traditionally been egalitarian and organized around many autonomous local clans, called teips.

The term "Chechen" first occurs in Arabic sources from the 8th century. According to popular tradition, the Russian term "Chechen" comes from the name of the village of Chechen-Aul. The word "Chechen", however, occurs in Russian sources as early as 1692 and the Russians probably derived it from the Kabardian "Shashan".


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