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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mordvins of Russian Federation

The Mordvins of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 333,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Volga Finnic people of the middle Volga region of Russia, composed mainly of the Erzya and Moksha. Their culture reflects Uralic roots and centuries of interaction with Russian and Turkic peoples, and they are predominantly Eastern Orthodox. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Erzya is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Mordvinian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Finno-Ugric
Primary Language(s): Erzya (myv)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 333,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000927
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Pray for the Mordvins of Russian Federation

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

85%
%
Eastern Orthodox Christia… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Erzya
Language Family: Uralic

80%
%
Erzya Speakers

Media Resources in Erzya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Erzya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Institute for Bible Translation✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Erzya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mordvins 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 Mordvins:
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

Pray specifically for the Mordvins of Russian Federation

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
readJames 1:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will consider it pure joy when they face trials of many kinds, trusting in God's promise that the testing of their faith produces perseverance.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Mordvin-Erzya Across Countries (ROP3 - 106791) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MordvinsPG000927MordvinsRussian Federation333,000Engaged yet UnreachedErzyaEastern Orthodox Christianity
MordvinsPG024289MordvinsKazakhstan21,500Unengaged and UnreachedErzyaEastern Orthodox Christianity
MordvinsPG024307MordvinsUzbekistan15,000Unengaged and UnreachedErzyaEastern Orthodox Christianity
MordvinsPG024629MordvinsTurkmenistan2,400Unengaged and UnreachedErzyaEastern Orthodox Christianity

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 Data Standards section.

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