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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Karachay of Russian Federation

The Karachay of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 218,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to the North Caucasus, primarily residing in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic of southwestern Russia. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Karachay-Balkar is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Caucasus
Primary Language(s): Karachay-Balkar (krc)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 218,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024447
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Pray for the Karachay 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: Karachay-Balkar
Language Family: Turkic

97%
%
Karachay-Balkar Speakers

Media Resources in Karachay-Balkar:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Karachay-Balkar:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
IBT Version✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Karachay-Balkar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Karachay 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 Karachay:
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 Karachay of Russian Federation

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Karachay Across Countries (ROP3 - 104628) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
KarachayPG047199KarachayUnited States475Unengaged and UnreachedKarachay-BalkarSunni Islam
KarachayPG024447KarachayRussian Federation218,000Engaged yet UnreachedKarachay-BalkarSunni Islam
KarachayPG024353KarachayKyrgyzstan800Unengaged and UnreachedKarachay-BalkarSunni 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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