The Koryaks are mainly reindeer herders along the Bering Sea. They once roamed a much larger area of the Russian Far East but warfare with Russian Cossacks and a smallpox epidemic in 1769-1770 reduced the Koryak population from about 10,000 in 1700 to 4,800 in 1800. They now number about 100,000 and are the largest indigenous group in Russia. (less info)