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The Circassian - Cherkess of Russian Federation

The Circassian - Cherkess of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 40,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Circassian people of the northwestern Caucasus, part of the broader Adyghe ethnolinguistic community whose homeland was divided by modern Russian administrative boundaries. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Kabardian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Circassian (Cherkess)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Caucasus
Primary Language(s): Kabardian (kbd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 40,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024435
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Pray for the Circassian - Cherkess 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kabardian
Language Family: Abkhaz-Adyge

90%
%
Kabardian Speakers

Media Resources in Kabardian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kabardian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2009 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kabardian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Circassian - Cherkess 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 Circassian - Cherkess:
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 Circassian - Cherkess of Russian Federation

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Cherkess Across Countries (ROP3 - 102234) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Circassian - CherkessPG024435Circassian - CherkessRussian Federation40,000Engaged yet UnreachedKabardianSunni Islam

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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