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The Nanai of Russian Federation

The Nanai of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 12,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tungusic ethnic group indigenous to Russian Manchuria region. They mostly adhere to Shamanism and Russian is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Altaic
Primary Language(s): Russian (rus)
Primary Religion(s): Shamanism
Population: 12,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000930
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Pray for the Nanai 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shamanism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

100%
%
Shamanism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Russian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Russian Speakers

Media Resources in Russian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film
The SaviorView Film

6 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Russian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nanai 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 Nanai:
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 Nanai of Russian Federation

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

Nanai Across Countries (ROP3 - 107064) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
HezhenPG007186HezhenChina7,000Unengaged and UnreachedMandarin ChineseChinese Folk Religion
NanaiPG000930NanaiRussian Federation12,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianShamanism

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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