Russians in Kyrgyzstan

Russians in Kyrgyzstan form a minority ethnic group numbering 419,600 individuals according to the 2009 census, representing 9.1% of the total population.[1] Most ethnic Russians migrated to the country during the 20th century. The Russian population has been declining since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union due to low fertility-rates and to emigration. As of 1999 837,000 Russians and Ukrainians lived in Kyrgyzstan, representing 13.5% of its total population.[2]

The ethnic Russian population lives primarily in the north, especially in the capital city of Bishkek, although some settlements in the north of the country have an ethnic Russian majority. Most ethnic Russians in Kyrgyzstan are either non-religious or Russian Orthodox, with a small proportion of Old Believers (an anti-reformist group that split from the Russian Orthodox church during the 17th century).[3]