The Tuvinian of Russian Federation

The Tuvinian of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 268,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a small ethnic group who live in a large area on both sides of the Yenesei River in the Tuvinian Autonomous Oblats They are an Indigenous people, with Tuvinian as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Ural-Siberian people cluster of the Turkic Peoples. Their primary religion is Orthodox Christianity. They primarily speak Tuvan.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Tuvinian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Tuvan (tyv)
Primary Religion(s): Orthodox Christianity
Population: 268,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000956
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tuvinian of Russian Federation

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Orthodox Christianity Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tuvan
Language Family: Turkic

95%
%
Tuvan Speakers

Bible Resources in Tuvan:

Or check out the Tuvan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Tuvinian:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tuvinian are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Tuvinian:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tuvinian are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Tuvinian:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Tuvinian of Russian Federation

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Tuvinian Across Countries (ROP3 - 110333) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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