Setos

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Setos (setoq) are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic minority in south-eastern Estonia and north-western Russia. Setos are mostly Seto-speaking Orthodox Christians of Estonian nationality. Their language Seto (like Finnish, Estonian and Võro) belongs to the Balto-Finnic group of the Finno-Ugric languages. Seto is a regional language of Estonia (in search of more recognition). Along with Orthodox Christianity, vernacular traditional folk religion is also widely known and supported among Setos.

There are approximately 10,000 Setos all around the world. The bulk of Setos, however, are found in the Seto region (Setomaa), which is divided between south-eastern Estonia (Põlva and Võro counties) and north-western Russian Federation (Pskov Oblast).

[edit] The border question

Prior to World War I, the whole of Setomaa belonged to the Pskov Gouvernement of the Russian Empire. With the peace treaty of Tartu, the area was ceded to the newly created Republic of Estonia and included into Petseri County (Petserimaa), which contained several predominantly Russian-speaking communes as well as Seto-speaking ones. As a result of World War II, the Republic of Estonia was annexed to the Soviet Union and in the years after the war, the border between the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was revised by Moscow authorities to what it is now. The issue became topical as the Republic of Estonia was restored in the borders of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 and a national border was established soon afterwards. The establishment of the border brought about the division of Setomaa between two countries for the first time in history.

[edit] Representative organisations

The Seto Congress, a body comprising representatives of Seto villages and organisations, is regularly convened every three years and elects a permanent Council of Elders. The Society for Seto Congress is a member of the Estonian Bureau for Lesser Used Languages. The Setomaa federation of municipalities in Estonia (Setomaa Valdade Liit, comprising the communes of Mikitämäe, Verska, Meremäe and Misso) publishes the newspaper Setomaa, partly in the Seto, partly in Estonian.