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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

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.

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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

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
read1 John 4:21

Pray that the good news of God's love will reach everyone in this people group, and that His love will compel them to love others as Christ has loved us.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic 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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