Armenians (Bulgarian: арменци, armentsi) are the fifth largest minority, after Russians, in Bulgaria, numbering 6,552 according to the 2011 census, down from 10,832 in 2001, while Armenian organizations estimate up to 22,000. Armenians have lived in the Balkans (including the territory of modern Bulgaria) since no later than the 5th century, when they moved there as part of the Byzantine cavalry. Since then, the Armenians have had a continuous presence in Bulgarian lands and have often played an important part in the history of Bulgaria from early Medieval times until the present.