- Votes
Votes are people of
Votia inIngria (part of modern day northwesternRussia , roughly (south)west ofSaint Petersburg , near, and east of the Estonian border-town ofNarva ). Their own ethnic name is "Vadjalain" (plural: "Vadjalaizõt)." The Finno-UgricVotic language spoken by Votes is close toextinction . Votians were one the founding people ofVeliky Novgorod .As a distinct people, Votes have become practically extinct after
Stalinist dispersion to Soviet provinces far away — as 'punishment' for alleged disloyalty and cowardice duringWorld War II . In 1989, there were still 62 known Votes left, the youngest of whom was born in 1930. In 1848, the number of Votes had been 5148 (Ariste 1981: 78).Along with the
Izhorians , they are generally Orthodox, while the otherFinnic inhabitants of Ingria, theIngrian Finns , are Lutheran.Votes in Latvia
The historical sources inform that about 1445 the
Livonian Order captured many people inIngermanland and moved them toBauska , where working force was needed to built a castle. After the castle was built, the Vots did not go back but were settled in the vicinities of Bauska and became farmers. Gradually, they forgot their own language and customs and were assimilated in neighboringLatvians . This process was not very fast - it is estimated that about 1000 Vots could yet be counted there 400 years later in the middle of the 19th century.Bibliography
*
Paul Ariste 1981. "Keelekontaktid". Tallinn: Valgus. [pt. 2.6. "Kolme läänemere keele hääbumine" lk. 76 - 82] et iconExternal links
* [http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3259/index.html Virtual Votia]
* [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/votes.shtml The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire - The Votes]
* [http://www.roots-saknes.lv/Ethnicities/Vots/vots.htm Ethnicity of the Latvian Vots - The Krieviņi]
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