Where are Dolgan people from?

The Dolgans are Turkic-speaking people constituting the basic population of the Taymyr autonomous okrug, which is far above the Arctic Circle in north-central Russia. They are descended from several groups, particularly Evenks, one of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North. They adopted a Turkic language sometime after the 18th century. The 2010 Census counted 7,885 Dolgans.

Dolgans speak the Dolgan language, which is closely related to the Yakut language.

Originally, the Dolgans were nomadic hunters and reindeer herders. However, they were prevented from following a nomadic lifestyle during the Soviet era and required to form 'kolkhozy' (rural collectives) that – in addition to their traditional activities – engaged in reindeer breeding, fishing, dairy farming and market gardening.