![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fennougria.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/vepsamaa-1197x720.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fennougria.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Flag_of_Vepsia.svg_-1188x720.png\")
Territory<\/b><\/h2>
The ancient territory of the Veps is much larger than that of today. It comprised the area between Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega and Lake Beloye. The dispersed settlement of the Veps extended to the Northern Dvina River and the White Sea in the east. These days, the Veps live in small groups in two separate areas: on the southwestern coast of Lake Onega and in the Veps Upland. In the 1940s, the Veps population was 30,000 – 40,000, while in 1989 it had declined to 12,501. According to the last census from 2010, there were 5,936 Veps, a 28% decline from 2002 when their number was 8,240. There were 3,613 speakers of the Veps language in 2010, a 37.2% decline from 2002 (5,753 speakers). Today, many Veps villages have been either Russified or abandoned.<\/p> The Veps language belongs to the northern group of Finnic languages alongside Finnish, Karelian and Izhorian languages. Veps has been called the Sanskrit of the Finnic languages due to its archaic nature – for instance, there is no consonant gradation as a result of which the language is very rule-based.<\/p>
The Veps live in the Republic of Karelia and in Vologda and Leningrad Oblasts, where Veps village groups are situated. Usually a group of villages (Veps: k\u00fcl\u00e4<\/em>) has a name of Veps origin while a smaller village within it (Veps: deroun<\/em>) is often of Russian origin. Frequently Veps villages have three names: Veps, Russian in the local colloquial language, and the official name in Russian.<\/p>Population<\/b><\/h2>
Language<\/b><\/h2>