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Votians, also referred to as Votes, Vots and Vods (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finns native to historical Ingria, the part of modern-day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east of the border-town of Narva. The Finnic languages Votic language spoken by Votians is close to Language death. The language is still spoken in three villages of historical Votia and by an unknown number of speakers in the countryside. The villages are Jõgõperä (Krakolye), Liivcülä (Peski), and Luuditsa (Luzhitsy). Eesti Rahva Muuseum: Vadjalased ( Archived) In the Russian 2020 census, 99 people identified as Votian.
Votians were one of the founding people of Veliky Novgorod.
The earliest literary references to the Votes by their traditional name are from medieval Russian sources, where Votes are referred to as Voď. Older Russian sources grouped them (under the name ) with Estonians. Lake Peipus near the Votian homelands is called Chudsko ozero, meaning "Lake of Chudes" in Russian.Toivo Vuorela: Suomensukuiset kansat, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1960
In 1069, the Votes were mentioned taking part in an attack on the Novgorod Republic by the Principality of Polotsk. Eventually Votes became part of the Novgorod Republic, and in 1149 they were mentioned taking part in an attack by Novgorod against , who are speculated to be peoples of Tavastia. One of the administrative divisions of Novgorod, Voch'skaa, was named after Votes. After the collapse of Novgorod in the 1470s, the Grand Principality of Moscow deported many Votes from their homelands, and began more aggressive conversion of them. Missionary efforts started in 1534, after Novgorod's archbishop Macarius complained to Ivan IV that Votes were still practicing their pagan beliefs. Macarius was authorized to send monk Ilja to convert the Votes. Ilja destroyed many of the old holy shrines and worshipping places. Conversion was slow and the next archbishop had to send priest Nikifor to continue Ilja's work. Slowly Votes were converted and they became devoted Christians.Gustav Ränk, Vatjalaiset, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki 1960 (Finnish)
Sweden controlled Ingria in the 17th century, and attempts to convert local Orthodox believers to the Lutheran faith caused some of the Orthodox population to migrate elsewhere. Mika Sivonen, Me inkerikot, vatjalaiset ja karjalaiset" - Uskonnollinen integrointi ja ortodoksisen vähemmistön identiteetin rakentuminen Ruotsin Inkerissä 1680-1702 At the same time many Finnish peoples immigrated to Ingria. Religion separated the Lutheran Finns and Estonians and the Orthodox Izhorians and Votes, so intermarriage was uncommon between these groups. Votes mainly married other Votes, or Izhorians and Russians. They were mostly trilingual in Votic, Ingrian and Russian. In 1848, the number of Votes had been 5,148, (Ariste 1981: 78),Paul Ariste 1981. Keelekontaktid. Tallinn: Valgus. pt. but in the Soviet Russian census of 1926 there were only 705 left. From the early 20th century on, the Votic language no longer passed to following generations. Most Votes were evacuated to Finland along with Finnish Ingrian Finns during World War II, but were returned to the Soviet Union following the September 1944 Moscow Armistice. The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire
As a distinct nation, Votes have become practically extinct after Stalinist dispersion to distant Soviet provinces as 'punishment' for alleged disloyalty and cowardice during World War II. Expellees allowed to return in 1956 found their old homes occupied by Russians. In 1989, there were still 62 known Votes left, with the youngest born in 1930. There were 73 self-declared Votes in the 2002 Russian census. Of them 12 lived in St. Petersburg, 12 in Leningrad Oblast and 10 in Moscow. In 2008 Votes were added to the list of Indigenous peoples of Russia, granting them some support to preserving their culture. Inkeri: Kantakansojen päivillä pohdittiin vatjalaisten ja inkerikkojen tulevaisuutta, There have been some conflicts with Votic villagers and foresters, and in 2001 the Votic museum was burned in the village of Lužitsõ. Vaikuttava Tietotoimisto: Sukukansojamme kohdanneet onnettomuudet Another possible problem is a port which is being constructed to Ust-Luga. It is planned that some 35,000 people would move near historic Votic and Izhoran villages. Inkeri.ee: Laukaansuun suursatama uhkaa inkerois- ja vatjalaiskyliä id:gray1 value:gray(0.9)
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Some modern people in Latvia around Bauska, with historic Krevinian ancestry still wish to identify with Votians and there has been new interest in Votian culture among them. There also exists a Votic museum in Latvia.
Today Estonia still has Votian cultural events in Narva.
Votes were quite poorly educated, and only one Vote, Dmitri Tsvetkov, is known to have ever attended and graduated from a university. Ancient Votic religion is not known well, but it is assumed that it was similar to other Finnic beliefs.
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