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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

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
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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