The Tatars of Russian Federation

The Tatars of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 7,080,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to the Tatarstan region of Russia and Ukraine. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tatar is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Tatar (tat)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 7,080,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024481
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tatars 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

50%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tatar
Language Family: Turkic

88%
%
Tatar Speakers

Media Resources in Tatar:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Tatar:

2 entries

Or check out the Tatar bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tatars 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 Tatars:
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 Tatars of Russian Federation

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Tatar Across Countries (ROP3 - 109874) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TatarsTatarsBulgaria6,100Engaged yet UnreachedCrimean TatarEthnoreligion
TatarsTatarsAzerbaijan15,500Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsKazakhstan259,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUzbekistan868,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsKyrgyzstan7,900Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsRussian Federation7,080,000Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTajikistan7,200Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkiye31,500Engaged yet UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsTurkmenistan73,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsUnited States7,000Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni Islam
TatarsTatarsCanada5,300Unengaged and UnreachedTatarSunni 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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