Who are the Tofalars, an ethnic people lost in the Sayan taiga (PHOTOS) Gateway to Russia Jan 14 2026 History

https://www.gw2ru.com/history/243668-tofalars-ethnic-people-lost-in-the-sayan-taiga-photos The memory of one of Russia's smallest ethnic groups might have been lost forever, if not for Emperor Nicholas II. Even in Russia, few people have heard of this small indigenous people from Siberia. The Tofalars or as they were formerly called, the Karagas, belong to the Turkic group and live in remote areas of the Sayan Mountains.