A popular saying holds that, “In Russia, everyone is indigenous.” Indeed, there is some truth to this statement, as most ethnic communities in today’s Russian state resided—ab origine — within its current territorial borders. Many of these communities self-identify as both Russian citizens and as distinctive ‘peoples’. Some maintain customary cultural, economic, social, and/or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture. Some claim collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories and to the natural resources therin. Some speak distinctive languages. The World Bank’s concept of Indigenous Peoples (IPs), as elaborated, under Operational Policy (OP) 4.10, is therefore pertinent to at least some of these groups.