Who Are the Telengit?
The Telengit are an indigenous Turkic people of the southeastern Altai Republic, Russia, numbering approximately 3,500-4,000. They inhabit the high mountain valleys of the Kosh-Agach and Ulagan districts along the Chuya River and near the borders with Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. They speak a dialect of Southern Altai, a Turkic language, and are often classified as one of the Altai subgroups rather than a separate ethnic group (a classification some Telengit contest). The Telengit are traditionally nomadic pastoralists herding horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and yaks in the high steppe environments of the eastern Altai.
High-Altitude Pastoralism
The Telengit homeland in the eastern Altai features high-elevation steppe and semi-arid mountain environments quite different from the forested valleys of the northern Altai. This landscape supported nomadic pastoralism with seasonal movements between winter camps in protected valleys and summer pastures in alpine meadows. Horses were culturally central—for transport, prestige, and meat. Yaks, adapted to high altitudes, provided milk, meat, and wool. Cattle, sheep, and goats completed the herds. Soviet collectivization transformed this nomadic economy into sedentary collective farms, but some pastoral practices continued. Post-Soviet privatization has seen partial revival of mobile herding.
Ethnic Identity Questions
The Telengit occupy an ambiguous position in ethnic classification. Soviet authorities grouped them with other Altai peoples as "Altaians" (Altai-kizhi), a consolidated ethnic category. Some Telengit accept this classification; others insist on separate ethnic recognition, emphasizing cultural and dialectal distinctiveness from northern Altai groups. In the 2002 Russian census, Telengit was recognized as a separate nationality, and approximately 2,400 self-identified as Telengit. The 2010 census showed similar numbers. This ethnic identity question connects to broader debates about indigenous rights, recognition, and autonomy in Russia's complex nationality policies.
Contemporary Telengit
Modern Telengit live in one of Russia's most remote and beautiful regions—the Altai highlands bordering Mongolia and China. Pastoralism continues though transformed by markets and regulations. Tourism along the Chuya Highway and into the Altai mountains brings income and exposure. Climate change affects pastures and water availability. Traditional beliefs (often characterized as "Burkhanism" or Altai spirituality) persist alongside Orthodox Christianity. Language vitality is higher than many Siberian indigenous languages given Altai's broader speaker base. How the Telengit balance pastoral traditions with tourism development and maintain cultural distinctiveness within the broader Altai framework shapes this highland people's future.
References
- Potapov, L. P. (1969). Ethnic Composition and Origins of the Altaians
- Znamenski, A. A. (1999). \"From Shamanism to Burkhanism: A Century of Social and Religious Change among the Altaians\"
- Halemba, A. (2006). The Telengits of Southern Siberia: Landscape, Religion and Knowledge in Motion