The Mansi From The Village of Lopaevo

Incoming Editorial Team·Verified September 15, 2026

Vasily Viktorovich from the village of Lopaevo can trace his family lineage back 13 generations. Every one of his ancestors was recorded in official documents as a Vogul, the historical name for the people now known as the Mansi. Yet Novaya Lyalya District in Sverdlovsk Region, where the Lopaev family has lived and farmed for centuries, is not officially recognized as a traditional territory of Russia's Indigenous peoples of the North. How did this happen, and what will Vasily Viktorovich do about it?