The Kryashens: Christianized Tatars

The Kryashens (Keräşen in Tatar) are a subgroup of the Volga Tatars who are Orthodox Christians. They regard themselves as distinct from other Tatars, although their dialect differs only slightly from the central (Kazan) dialect of literary Tatar. learntatar.com lists them among the Tatar subgroups.

A group of performers in embroidered Kryashen folk costumes on stage

Members of a Kryashen cultural ensemble performing in traditional folk dress in Kazan (Igor Evgenyevich Alekseyev; CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication); Wikimedia Commons)

Relation to the Mišär Tatars: the Kryashens are NOT Mišärs but a Volga-Tatar Christian group based largely on the Kazan dialect. The Estonian Tatars, by contrast, are Muslim Mišärs, and their descendants follow Islam, various other beliefs, or have left religion altogether. The Kryashens are thus historically a contrasting group by religion, not the same community. Whether any Mišärs were baptized (so-called Mišär Kryashens) is not confirmed in these sources — an open question, not asserted here.

Christianization

16th century: the first forced conversions after the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates (after 1552); most converts, however, returned to Islam.
18th century: a more lasting and extensive Christianization, especially under Empress Anna, amid mosque destruction and anti-Muslim pressure; converts were given tax exemptions and privileges.

Language and population

Language: the Kryashen dialect of Tatar (close to the central, Kazan dialect) and Russian; a modified Cyrillic script was adopted for religious texts in 1862.
Where they live: Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan and Chelyabinsk Oblast.
Population: the 2010 Russian census recorded 34,882 Kryashens in Russia; Kazakhstan had 20,913.

The Kryashens: Christianized Tatars