The Nenetses, Nentsi, Yurak (archaic), or Samoyedes (archaic) comprise a nomadic people who moved (probably from farther south in Siberia) to the northernmost part of what later became Russia when other peoples moved into their original territory (before the 12th century A.D.). They ended up between the Kanin and Taymir peninsulas, around the Ob' and Yenisey rivers, with some of them settling into small communities and taking up farming, while others continued hunting and reindeer herding. They bred the Samoyed dog to help herd their reindeer and pull their sleds, and European explorers later used those dogs for polar expeditions, because they have adapted so well to the Arctic conditions.

The name Samoyed entered the Russian language as a deformation of the self-reference Saamod, Saamid (the Fennic suffix "-d" denotes plurality: Saami -> "Saamid"). In Russian ethnographic literature of 19th century they were also called "Самодь", which was often transliterated into English as Samodi. The literal morphs samo and yed in Russian convey the meaning "self-eater" and sound very derogatory. Therefore the name Samoyed quickly went out of usage in the 20th century, and the people bear the name of Nenets, which actually refers to one of Samodi tribes.

The Samoyedic languages form a minor branch of the Uralic language family, the major branch being the Finno-Ugric languages.

After the Russian Revolution, the government of the Soviet Union tried to force the nomad Samoyeds to settle down, and most of them became assimilated.

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