Volkhov Chudes (волховская чудь) were a Finno-Ugric people living along the banks of the Volkhov River. The Volkhov Chudes lived upstream from Staraya Ladoga.Rahkonen 2011: 205. Pauli Rahkonen's studies of local toponyms suggest that the Volkhov Chudes spoke a Finnic language.Rahkonen 2011: 205.
In the southwest the toponymy has more similarities with Mordvinic and Proto-Finnic, while in the southeast toponymy has similarities with Meryan toponymy.Rahkonen 2011: 241–242. It can be seen that the eastern Volkhov Chudes were very close to Meryans, culturally and linguistically.Rahkonen 2011: 255.
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