The lower social strata in the ethnogenesis of Nizhny Novgorod Tatars

The article studies the communities that constituted the lower ethnic social strata and participated actively in the ethnogenesis of Nizhny Novgorod Mishar Tatars (Nizhghars). Among them the author distinguishes the old residents of the region - non-service class Tatars, Posop Tatars, or Burtas, and "Yasak Cheremis" that interpreted by the author as one of the Bulgarian ethnics groups. Scholars debate mostly about the extinct ethnic communities: Majars, Burtases, and Bortniks, who were mentioned in some sources in close connection with the non-Russian peoples.