Volkhov Chudes (волховская чудь) were a Finno-Ugric people living along the banks of the Volkhov River, who spoke a Finnic language. The Volkhov Chudes lived upstream from Staraya Ladoga.[1] Rahkonen's studies of local toponyms confirm that the Volkhov Chudes spoke a Finnic language.[2]
In the southwest the toponymy has more similarities with Mordovic and Proto-Finnic, while in the southeast toponymy has similarities with Meryan toponymy.[3] It can be seen that the eastern Volkhov Chudes were very close to Meryans, culturally and linguistically.[4]
