Russian DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Russia · Eastern Europe
Two of the ancient reference sources in our model come from Russia itself: Eastern hunter-gatherers from Karelia, and Yamnaya herders from Samara on the Volga, whose culture spread steppe-related ancestry across much of Europe in the Bronze Age. In our model, the Russian average is 39.0% steppe, 32.6% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 17.7% Eastern hunter-gatherer and 10.7% Western hunter-gatherer. The fit (0.064) is rougher than for most populations, which is normal for East Slavs with these sources, so read the percentages as an approximate sketch. The early medieval spread of Slavic-speaking groups shaped the present-day profile, and our closest ancient matches agree: medieval and Late Modern people with a Slavic profile from Vladimir, followed by High Medieval Polish and Kievan Rus' samples. The closest modern averages are Russians from Tver and Novgorod, followed by Ukrainians from Dnipro and Donetsk, and Belarusians.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 39.0%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 32.6%, Eastern hunter-gatherers 17.7%
- Closest modern population in our data: Russian (Tver), distance 0.0099
- Closest ancient group in our data: Russia Vladimir Late Modern (Slavic Profile), distance 0.0165
Russian is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Russian individuals sampled in Russia. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Russian average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Russian average, 39.0%, goes to Steppe herders (Yamnaya), ahead of Anatolian Neolithic farmers (32.6%) and Eastern hunter-gatherers (17.7%). The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) component reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC. The Anatolian Neolithic farmers share (32.6%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.064), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Sarmatia – Balto-Slavic Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Russian
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Russian (Tver) first for Russian, at 0.010, then Russian (Novgorod) and Ukrainian (Dnipro). Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Ukrainian (Dnipro) (0.016), Ukrainian (Donetsk) (0.021) and Ukrainian (Chernihiv) (0.021). Even the tenth closest, Lithuanian (PA), is only 0.023 away: Russian belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian (Tver) | 0.0099 | Very close |
| 2 | Russian (Novgorod) | 0.0119 | Very close |
| 3 | Ukrainian (Dnipro) | 0.0156 | Very close |
| 4 | Ukrainian (Donetsk) | 0.0206 | Very close |
| 5 | Ukrainian (Chernihiv) | 0.0206 | Very close |
| 6 | Belarusian | 0.0210 | Very close |
| 7 | Cossack (Ukrainian) | 0.0215 | Very close |
| 8 | Ukrainian | 0.0224 | Very close |
| 9 | Lithuanian (South Aukstaitija) | 0.0228 | Very close |
| 10 | Lithuanian (PA) | 0.0234 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Russian
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Russian average is Russia Vladimir Late Modern (Slavic Profile) (Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD), at 0.017, followed by Russia Vladimir High Medieval Viking Age (Slavic Profile) and Poland High Medieval Ostrow Lednicki (Balto-Slavic Profile). That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia Vladimir Late Modern (Slavic Profile) | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0165 |
| 2 | Russia Vladimir High Medieval Viking Age (Slavic Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0198 |
| 3 | Poland High Medieval Ostrow Lednicki (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0206 |
| 4 | Poland High Medieval Plonsk (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0213 |
| 5 | Ukraine High Medieval Kievan Rus'-Golden Horde Pidhirtsi (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0219 |
| 6 | Ukraine High Medieval Kievan Rus'-Golden Horde Korolivka (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0225 |
| 7 | Germany Early-High Medieval Elbe Slav Obermollern | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0237 |
| 8 | Poland High Medieval Lad (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0247 |
| 9 | Germany High-Late Medieval Krakauer Berg (Balto-Slavic Profile) | High to Late Medieval, c. 1000-1500 AD | 0.0248 |
| 10 | Poland Early Medieval Niemcza (Balto-Slavic Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0248 |
Ancient DNA from Russia
Our ancient DNA database holds 2,938 individuals excavated in present-day Russia, dated from about 208,050 BC to 1918 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1a (370), R1b (317) and N1a (235), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are U5 (367), U4 (226) and U2 (150). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Russian population.
Ancient sample data compiled by Nomad on the GenArchivist forum.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups in ancient samples from Russia
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups in ancient samples from Russia
Ancient DNA studies on Russia
- The Yeniseian and Andronovo Substrates in the Gene Pools of the Indigenous Southern Siberian Populations Analyzed by Q and R1a Y-Haplogroups (2026)
- Ancient genomics study reveals low HLA diversity in eastern hunter-gatherers (2026)
- Comparison of Illumina NovaSeq 6000, GeneMind SURFSeq 5000, Salus Evo, and MGI DNBSEQ-G400 for Ancient DNA Whole-Genome Sequencing (2026)
- Biochip for Determination of 92 Human Y-Chromosome Haplogroups by SNP Markers and Frequency Distribution of These Haplogroups in Slavic Population of European Russia (2026)
- Modern descendants of Kyordyughen warrior (Yakutia, 4200 years before present) in populations of Far East (2026)
- Genetic history of Rus' (2025)
- Paratyphoid Fever and Relapsing Fever in 1812 Napoleon’s Devastated Army (2025)
- Pre-Slavic and Slavic Interaction at Eastern Periphery of Slavic Expansion in Northeastern Europe (Y-Gene Pools of Volga-Oka Region) (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 2,938 from Russia.
Compare yourself with Russian
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Russian average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Russian and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
Keep in mind that a population average is a statistical summary of a limited number of sampled individuals. Real people inside any group vary, some carry more of one ancestry and some less, and no genetic profile decides who is or is not Russian. Use these numbers as a map of deep ancestry, not as a label.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Thanks: to Nomad (GenArchivist) for the population and ancient sample collection this atlas is built on, and to Davidski (Eurogenes) for Global25.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Russian average. Your own DNA has its own story: Sarmatia – Balto-Slavic Ancestry Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people from Eastern and Central-Eastern Europe of Balto-Slavic ancestry: ancient regional core (Corded Ware, Bronze Age cultures, Scythian, Sarmatian and Baltic Iron Age, Przeworsk, Wielbark and Chernyakhiv, Early Slavs...
More populations from Eastern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Russian?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Russian average is about 39.0% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 32.6% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 17.7% Eastern hunter-gatherers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Russian?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Russian (Tver)), the closest modern populations to the Russian average are Ukrainian (Dnipro), Ukrainian (Donetsk) and Ukrainian (Chernihiv). The closest ancient matches are Russia Vladimir Late Modern (Slavic Profile), Russia Vladimir High Medieval Viking Age (Slavic Profile) and Poland High Medieval Ostrow Lednicki (Balto-Slavic Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Russian?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Russian average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Russian ancestry?
For the Russian average, the regional report to choose is Sarmatia – Balto-Slavic Ancestry Report, which our fit test rates as an excellent match. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.