The Nentsy of Russian Federation

The Nentsy of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 44,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Russia They are an Indigenous people, in the Finno-Ugric people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Shamanism. They primarily speak Nenets.

Nentsy in Russian Federation photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Nenets

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: European Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Finno-Ugric
Primary Language(s): Nenets (yrk)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Shamanism
Population: 44,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000963
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Nentsy 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: Ethnoreligion - Shamanism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Shamanism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nenets
Language Family: Uralic

%
Nenets Speakers

Media Resources in Nenets:

Films:

No entries found for: Nenets(yrk). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Nenets:

Or check out the Nenets bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Nentsy

The Nentsy are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Nentsy

The Nentsy 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.

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

Next steps for the Nentsy

The Nentsy 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Nentsy of Russian Federation

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
readPsalm 6:9

Pray that lost people will hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ, knowing that He hears their plea and accepts their prayer.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Nenets (ROP3 - 111128) reported in the following countries:

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

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

Scroll to Top