The Veps of Russian Federation

The Veps of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 6,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a small Finno-Ugric ethnic group native to northwestern RussiaVepsläižed They are an Indigenous people, in the Finno-Ugric people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Orthodox. They primarily speak Russian.

Veps in Russian Federation photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 De Visu - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: European Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Finno-Ugric
Primary Language(s): Russian (rus)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Orthodox
Population: 6,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048830
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Veps 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: Christianity - Orthodox
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Orthodox Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Russian
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Russian Speakers

Bible Resources in Russian:

Or check out the Russian bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Veps

The Veps are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Veps

The Veps 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.

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

Next steps for the Veps

The Veps are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Veps of Russian Federation

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them
readMatthew 4:24

Pray that the truth about the Lord will spread throughout the land so that many will have an opportunity to receive the good news and put their faith in Him.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Vepsian (ROP3 - 110551) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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