Veps language, spoken by the Vepses, belongs to the Baltic-Finnic group of the Finno-Ugric languages. Vepses or vepsians are Finnic people that speak Veps language, which belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of Finno-ugric family. ... Finnic (Fennic, sometimes Baltic Finnic) may refer to Finnish-similar languages spoken close to the Gulf of Finland, i. ... Approximate geographical distribution of areas where indigenous Finno-Ugric languages are spoken. ...

According to Soviet statistics 8,000 people were self-designated Veps speakers at the end of the 1970s. The statistics are however considered extremely unreliable by most non-Soviet linguists, not changing the situation that the language must be understood as in stern threat of extinction. State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

According to the location of the people, the language is divided into three main dialects: Northern Veps (at Lake Onega to the south of Petrozavodsk, to the north of river Syväri, including the Veps Autonomous Rural district), Central Veps (in the Saint Petersburg region), and Southern Veps (in the Vologda Oblast). The Northern dialect is somewhat more distinct than the others, but it is nevertheless possible for the members of the different dialect groups to understand each other. The speakers of the Northern dialect call themselves Ludi, or Ludilainen. Their speech is sometimes classified as a dialect of Karelian. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Lake Onega (also known as Onego, Onezhskoe ozero (from Russian, Онежское озеро), and Onezhskoe lake) is a lake in the Russian Federation. ... Petrozavodsk (Russian: ; Karelian/Finnish: Petroskoi) is the capital of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, with a population of 266,160 (2002 Census). ... Categories: Russia geography stubs | Russian rivers | Karelia ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Categories: Stub | Oblasts of Russia ... Vepses or vepsians are Finnic people that speak Veps language, which belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of Finno-ugric family. ... The Karelian language is a variety closely related to Finnish, with which it is not necessarily mutually intelligible. ...

External links:

• Ethnologue report for Veps
• The Peoples of the Red Book: THE VEPS
• VEPS.ORG
• KODIMA.NAROD.RU