The
Evens (formerly known as the
Lamuts a term meaning "ocean people" in Even) (
эвэн, pl.
эвэсэл in Even and
эвены in
Russian) are a people in
Siberia and the
Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the
Magadan Oblast and
Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of
Sakha east of the
Lena River. According to the 2002
census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 22,383 Evens in Russia. They speak their own
Even language, one of the
Tungusic languages. The Evens are close to the
Evenks by their origins and
culture. Officially, they were considered to be of
Orthodox faith since the 19th century, but the Evens managed to preserve different forms of non-
Christian beliefs, such as
shamanism. Traditional Even life is centred upon nomadic pastoralism of domesticated reindeer, supplemented with hunting, fishing and animal-trapping. There were 104 Evens in Ukraine, 19 of whom speaking Even. (Ukr. Cen. 2001)