Setos

Setos (setoq) are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic minority in south-eastern Estonia and north-western Russia. Setos are mostly Seto-speaking Orthodox Christians
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...

of Estonian nationality. Their dialect, that some consider an independent language - the Seto language
Seto language
Seto or Setu language is a dialect of the Finnic South Estonian or Võro language , spoken by about 5,000 people...

(like Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...

and Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...

) belongs to the Balto-Finnic group of the Finno-Ugric
Finno-Ugric
Finno-Ugric can refer to:* Finno-Ugric languages* Finno-Ugric peoples...

languages. Seto is in search of more recognition, being traditionally considered a dialect of Estonian. Along with Orthodox Christianity, vernacular traditional folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...

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 (Seto
Seto language
Seto or Setu language is a dialect of the Finnic South Estonian or Võro language , spoken by about 5,000 people...

: Setomaa
Setomaa
Setoland is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto speaking Setos. Seto language belongs to south Estonian dialect of Estonian language. The historic range of Setomaa is located on territories of present day Estonia and Russia...

), which is divided between south-eastern Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...

(Põlva
Põlva County
Põlva County , or Põlvamaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. The county also shares a common border with Russia...

and Võro counties) and north-western Russian Federation (Pskov Oblast