Veps or
Vepsians are
Finnic people who speak the
Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the
Uralic languages. The self-designations of these people in various dialects are
vepslaine,
bepslaane, and (in northern dialects, southwest of
Lake Onega)
lüdinik and
lüdilaine. According to the 2002
census, there were 8,240 Veps in Russia. Of the 281 Veps in
Ukraine, 11 spoke Vepsian (Ukr. Census 2001). The most prominent researcher of the Veps in Finland is Eugene Holman. Western Vepsians have kept their language and culture. Nowadays almost all Vepsians speak fluent
Russian. The young generation in general does not speak their native language.