Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, Russians were consistently the largest ethnic group in the USSR. Of a total population of 262 million people in 1979, the share who were Russian was over 137 million, which is equal to roughly 52 percent. In 1989, the total population of the Soviet Union was almost 286 million, with the ethnic Russian population at 145 million, or 51 percent. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Tatars were the only of the ten largest ethnic groups not to be given their own independent country, with Tatarstan instead becoming one of Russia's federal republics.
Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989
(in thousands)
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US Census Bureau. (August 31, 1991). Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in thousands) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/
US Census Bureau. "Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in thousands)." Chart. August 31, 1991. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/
US Census Bureau. (1991). Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in thousands). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/
US Census Bureau. "Total Population of Select Ethnicities and Nationalities in The Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in Thousands)." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Aug 1991, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/
US Census Bureau, Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in thousands) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Total population of select ethnicities and nationalities in the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1989 (in thousands) [Graph], US Census Bureau, August 31, 1991. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248304/population-ussr-by-ethnicity-cold-war/
