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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ahiska Turks of Russian Federation

The Ahiska Turks of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 80,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are ethnic Turks whose identity is rooted in the Ahiska (Meskheti) region of Georgia prior to their forced deportation by the Soviet government in 1944. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Turkish is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Turkish (tur)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 80,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047070
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Pray for the Ahiska Turks of Russian Federation

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Turkish Speakers

Media Resources in Turkish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkish:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Halk Dilinde 2012✓✓
Kutsal Kitap 2009✓✓
New Turkish Bible Translation✓
Yeni Antlaşma 1987, 1994✓✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Ahiska Turks:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Ahiska Turks 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.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Ahiska (Meskheti) Turk Across Countries (ROP3 - 115687) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Ahiska TurksPG048856Ahiska TurksUkraine8,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Ahiska TurksPG047351Ahiska TurksUnited States11,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Ahiska TurksPG047070Ahiska TurksRussian Federation80,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Ahiska TurksPG024371Ahiska TurksKyrgyzstan18,000Engaged yet UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Ahiska TurksPG024319Ahiska TurksUzbekistan197,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni Islam
Ahiska TurksPG024092Ahiska TurksAzerbaijan27,000Unengaged and UnreachedTurkishSunni 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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