Ethno-linguistic processes among the indigenous peoples of the Northern Altai foothills in the 20th - early 21st centuries

The article discusses the ethno-linguistic processes among the indigenous populations of the foothills in the Northern Altai during the 20th - early 21st centuries. The aim of the study is to identify the reasons of the current crisis of the national minority languages. The spread of the Russian language among the indigenous population is associated with the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical mission in the Altai. The missioners organized missionary settlements and schools. An important impact was produced by the availability of school education in the 1930s. The elimination of economically unviable villages, migrations, and mixed marriages contributed to the destruction of the functioning environment of the minority languages.