Kurds in Russia

Kurds in Russia (Russian: Курды в России, romanized: Kurdy v Rossii; Kurdish: Kurdên Rusyayê, کوردانی ڕوسیا) form a major part of the historically significant Kurdish population in the post-Soviet space, with close ties to the Kurdish communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

During the early 19th century, the main goal of the Russian Empire was to ensure the neutrality of the Kurds in the wars against Persia and the Ottoman Empire. In the beginning of the 19th century, Kurds settled in Transcaucasia, at a time when Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, Kurds were persecuted and exterminated by the Turks and Persians, a situation that led Kurds to move to Russian Transcaucasia.

According to unofficial data cited by Rudaw in October 2022, more than 100 Kurds had been drafted from Krasnodar region into the Russian armed forces to fight in Ukraine. Turkish media alleged that members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the People's Defense Units were fighting as mercenaries for Russian forces. In February 2023, Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) published an intercepted conversation between two alleged operators of Shahed drones during a Russian attack on Ukraine on 10 February. According to HUR, the speakers were communicating in a Kurdish dialect with some Persian words while discussing target coordinates. HUR said the interception could indicate that Kurdish mercenaries with experience operating Shahed drones were assisting Russian forces in Ukraine.