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The Russians of Svalbard

The Russians of Svalbard, numbering approximately 1,200 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an East Slavic people whose culture has developed across the vast landscapes of Eastern Europe and northern Asia, shaped by Orthodox Christianity, agricultural and frontier traditions, and strong state institutions. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Russian is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Svalbard
People Cluster: Slav, Eastern
Primary Language(s): Russian (rus)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 1,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000542
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Russians of Svalbard

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.

Pray Now!
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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: Russian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Russian Speakers

Media Resources in Russian:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film
Magdalena View Film
The Savior View Film
The Savior View Film

6 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Russian:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1876 Synodal Bible, Light of the East Mission Anniversary Bible ✓ ✓ ✓
2014 Bible League International ✓
Holy Bible, New Russian Translation ✓
Holy Synod Version ✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Russian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent 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 Russians:
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

Pray specifically for the Russians of Svalbard

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
readJohn 3:18

Pray for those who are living under the burden of their sin to believe in Jesus, the only Son of God, and receive freedom.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
readPsalm 34:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be grounded in the Word, always trusting in the Lord's provision for their needs.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Russian Across Countries (ROP3 - 108452) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

40 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population Strategic Progress Index Language ▲ Religion
Russians PG000193 Russians France 75,000 Engaged yet Unreached French Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG039316 Russians Russian Federation 108,220,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Unaffiliated
Russians PG008063 Russians Australia 28,500 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG015312 Russians Madagascar 35,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Unaffiliated
Russians PG015414 Russians Mozambique 3,700 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG016303 Russians Cuba 22,500 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG016491 Russians Venezuela 4,500 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Unaffiliated
Russians PG017363 Russians Argentina 37,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG017453 Russians Chile 2,000 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG017587 Russians Peru 1,400 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Unaffiliated
Russians PG033639 Russians Cyprus 96,500 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG039315 Russians Kazakhstan 4,550,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG007587 Russians North Korea 5,500 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG042904 Russians Belarus 776,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG042915 Russians Ukraine 7,020,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG043463 Russians Canada 200,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG046469 Russians United States 961,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG046696 Russians Poland 14,000 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG046784 Russians Czech Republic 42,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG048817 Russians Azerbaijan 108,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Unaffiliated
Russians PG049403 Russians Germany 260,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000800 Russians Georgia 27,500 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000069 Russians Belgium 64,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000119 Russians Finland 81,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000350 Russians Italy 39,500 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000429 Russians Netherlands 5,300 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000542 Russians Svalbard 1,200 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000567 Russians Sweden 25,500 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000675 Russians United Kingdom 64,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000745 Russians Bulgaria 14,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000781 Russians Estonia 330,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000038 Russians Austria 32,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000840 Russians Kyrgyzstan 246,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000849 Russians Latvia 506,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000853 Russians Lithuania 154,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000867 Russians Moldova 132,000 No Longer Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000983 Russians Tajikistan 42,500 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000984 Russians Turkmenistan 112,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG000998 Russians Uzbekistan 551,000 Engaged yet Unreached Russian Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Russians PG007374 Russians China 19,000 Unengaged and Unreached Russian Eastern 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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