Nogays

The Nogays, also called Nogays or Nogay people, are a Turkic ethnic group primarily located in the North Caucasus and surrounding regions of the Russian Federation. They trace their origins to the Nogai Khanate and to nomadic Turkic groups of the Golden Horde, who settled in the Pontic-Caspian steppe and later dispersed across the southern steppe regions.

They traditionally speak Nogai, a Turkic language in the Kipchak branch, and many Nogays are bilingual in Russian or other regional languages. Islam is the predominant religion, with most Nogays adhering to Sunni practices, typically within the Hanafi tradition.

Historically, from the 15th to the 17th centuries, Nogai khans led a semi-independent polity in the southern steppes known as the Nogai Khanate. Russian expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries brought demographic and political changes, leading to migrations and assimilation pressures. Significant numbers moved into the Kuban region and Dagestan, and later dispersion occurred within the broader Soviet space, with some Nogays joining diaspora communities in Turkey and other former Soviet states.

Today, Nogays are concentrated mainly in the North Caucasus, particularly in Stavropol Krai, Dagestan, and Karachay-Cas, with smaller communities in neighboring regions. They maintain pastoral and agrarian traditions and organize social life around kinship networks and regional customs. Language use varies, with ongoing efforts to preserve Nogai in education and cultural contexts alongside the dominant languages of their host regions.