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Hobbits re-emerge in Russian census

October 16, 2002 at 17:15:03

The BBC is reporting that the latest Russian census has uncovered Hobbits, Elves, and Middle-earthers in its population.

J.R.R. Tolkien has long been popular among Russian readers, and apparently the Tolkien fan community felt comfortable enough to lay claim to some Tolkienian ethnicities in the first census conducted throughout the Russian Republic since the breakup of the former Soviet Union.

The BBC reports:

For the first time ever, citizens were asked to define their own nationality "according to how they feel".

Elves, Hobbits and middle-Earthers have all put in an appearance.

Read the full story here (but that's really all they have to say about Hobbits, except for the headline).