Adygea

Adygea ( ), officially the Republic of Adygea or the Adygean Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is a part of the Southern Federal District, and covers an area of , with a population of roughly 500,731 residents as of 2025. It is an enclave within Krasnodar Krai and is the fifth-smallest Russian federal subject by area. Maykop is the capital and the largest city of Adygea, home to one-third of the republic's population.

Adygea is one of Russia's ethnic republics, primarily representing the indigenous Circassian people who form 25% of the Republic's population, while Russians form a majority at 60%, and with minority populations of Armenians and Ukrainians. The official languages of Adygea are Adyghe and Russian.

History

The Cherkess (Adyghe) Autonomous Oblast was established within the Russian SFSR on July 27, 1922, on the territories of the Kuban-Black Sea Oblast, primarily settled by the Adyghe people. At that time, Krasnodar was the administrative center. It was renamed Adyghe (Cherkess) Autonomous Oblast on August 24, 1922, soon after its creation. In the first two years of its existence the autonomous oblast was a part of the Russian SFSR, but on October 17, 1924, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created North Caucasus Krai within the RSFSR.

It was renamed Adyghe Autonomous Oblast (AO) in July 1928. On January 10, 1934, the autonomous oblast became part of the new Azov-Black Sea Krai, which was removed from North Caucasus Krai. Maykop was made the administrative center of the autonomous oblast in 1936. Adyghe AO became part of Krasnodar Krai when it was established on September 13, 1937.

On July 3, 1991, the oblast was elevated to the status of a republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.Official website of the Republic of Adygea. Основные сведения The first President of the republic was Aslan Dzharimov, elected on 5 January 1992.

Russians make up two-thirds of the population within Adygea. The current Head of Adygea is Murat Kumpilov.

Geography Adygea lies in Russia's Southern Federal District of Eastern Europe, in the foothills of the Northwestern Caucasus in the Caucasus Mountains System, with plains in the northern areas and mountains in the southern area. Forests (mainly of European beech, oak, and maple) cover almost 40% of its territory. Area — . Borders — the Republic of Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai. Highest point — Chugush Mountain: .

Rivers

The long Kuban River is one of the major navigable rivers in the Caucasus region. It forms part of the northern border between the Republic of Adygea and Krasnodar Krai. Other rivers include: Belaya River Chokhrak River Dakh River Fars River Khodz River Kisha River Bolshaya Laba River — (forming part of the eastern border between Adygea and Krasnodar Krai) Psekups River Pshish River Sakhray River Sukhoy Kurdzhips River — flows near the archaeological site at Mezmaiskaya cave.

Lakes

The republic has no large lakes. However, it has several reservoirs:МОНИТОРИНГ ВОДОХРАНИЛИЩ РЕСПУБЛИКИ АДЫГЕЯ , the largest in North Caucasus Oktyabrskoye ReservoirОктябрьское Shapsug Reservoir Tshchikskoye Reservoir (Тщикское) Shendzhiyskoye Reservoir Chetukskoye Reservoir Kuzhorskoye Reservoir Maykop Reservoir

Mountains

The republic's major mountains and peaks range in height from , and include: Chugush Mountain — Mount Fisht — Oshten Mountain Pseashkho Mountain Shepsi Mountain

Natural resources The republic is rich in oil and natural gas. Other natural resources include gold, silver, tungsten, and iron.

Climate Average January temperature: Average July temperature: Average annual precipitation:

February 15, 2010, recorded the absolute maximum for the winter months—in the capital, the city of Maykop, the temperature was .

Politics

The chief executive of the government of the Republic of Adygea is the Head (called "President" until May 2011), who is appointed for a five-year term. Proficiency in the Adyghe language is a prerequisite for the candidate.

The current Head, Murat Kumpilov (since January 27, 2017), succeeded Aslan Tkhakushinov, initially as acting Head of the region. There is also a directly elected State Council (Khase or Xase—not to be confused with the Adyghe Khase, a union of Adyghe who supported Sovmen for a second term), which comprises the Council of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. Both councils are elected every five years and have 27 deputies each.

The Republic sends three representatives to the parliament of the Russian Federation; one to the State Duma and the other two to the Federation Council.

The Constitution of the Republic of Adygea was adopted on May 14, 1995.

Administrative divisions

The Republic of Adygea is administratively divided into seven districts (raions), two cities/towns, and (at a lower administrative level) five urban-type settlements. Municipally, the republic is divided into two urban okrugs, five urban settlements, and 46 rural settlements.

Name Local Name Area inkm2 PopulationCensusState Committee of the Russian Federation on Statistics. 2010 PopulationCensusState Committee of the Russian Federation on Statistics. 2021 PopulationEstimate1 Jan 2025Cities (republican municipal districts)MaykopГородской округ Майкоп 58.6 166,540 167,658 161,818AdygeyskГородской округ Адыгейск 32.4 14,659 15,625 15,659DistrictsGiaginsky District Гиагинский м.р. 790.0 31,766 31,937 31,735Koshekhablsky District Кошехабльский м.р. 606.7 30,422 30,047 30,200 Krasnogvardeysky District Красногвардейский м.р. 725.5 30,868 32,049 31,858Maykopsky District Майкопский м.р. 3,667.4 58,439 58,477 59,243 Takhtamukaysky District Тахтамукайский м.р. 440.0 69,662 122,759 131,771 Teuchezhsky District Теучежский м.р. 710.0 20,643 22,155 22,254 Shovgenovsky District Шовгеновский м.р. 521.4 16,997 16,227 16,193Adygea Republic Республика Адыгея 7,600.0 439,996 496,934 500,731

Note "м.р." above is an abbreviation for "муниципальный район" (Municipal District)

Demographics Population:

20192021Average: 73.8 years 71.2 yearsMale: 69.1 years 66.6 yearsFemale: 78.4 years 75.8 years

Life expectancy:

Vital statistics Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service

Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Fertility rates 1970 386,000 5,681 3,307 2,374 14.7 8.6 6.2 1975 396,000 5,900 3,907 1,993 14.9 9.9 5.0 1980 409,000 6,610 4,828 1,782 16.2 11.8 4.4 1985 423,000 6,966 5,283 1,683 16.5 12.5 4.0 1990 436,000 6,171 5,375 796 14.2 12.3 1.8 2.06 1991 439,000 5,912 5,905 7 13.5 13.5 0.0 1.96 1992 444,000 5,306 5,969- 663 12.0 13.5-1.5 1.73 1993 447,000 4,774 6,662-1 888 10.7 14.9-4.2 1.54 1994 449,000 4,907 6,519-1 612 10.9 14.5-3.6 1.59 1995 450,000 4,798 6,475-1 677 10.7 14.4-3.7 1.55 1996 450,000 4,625 6,382-1 757 10.3 14.2-3.9 1.49 1997 450,000 4,430 6,302-1 872 9.8 14.0-4.2 1.42 1998 451,000 4,340 6,245-1 905 9.6 13.9-4.2 1.38 1999 450,000 3,879 6,215-2 336 8.6 13.8-5.2 1.22 2000 448,000 4,071 6,710-2 639 9.1 15.0-5.9 1.27 2001 447,000 4,212 6,566-2 354 9.4 14.7-5.3 1.31 2002 447,000 4,540 6,715-2 175 10.2 15.0-4.9 1.39 2003 446,000 4,634 6,929-2 295 10.4 15.6-5.2 1.40 2004 444,000 4,648 6,645-1 997 10.5 15.0-4.5 1.37 2005 443,000 4,550 6,726-2 176 10.3 15.2-4.9 1.32 2006 441,000 4,606 6,686-2 080 10.4 15.2-4.7 1.33 2007 440,000 5,210 6,454-1 244 11.8 14.7-2.8 1.50 2008 440,000 5,601 6,558- 957 12.7 14.9-2.2 1.60 2009 439,000 5,513 6,219- 706 12.5 14.2-1.6 1.66 2010 439,000 5,721 6,065- 476 13.0 14.1-1.1 1.70 2011 441,000 5,511 6,197- 554 12.5 13.8-1.3 1.66 2012 444,000 5,700 5,924- 224 12.9 13.4-0.5 1.71 2013 445,000 5,568 5,814- 246 12.5 13.1-0.6 1.68 2014 448,000 5,699 5,938- 239 12.7 13.3-0.6 1.73 2015 450,000 5,613 5,841- 228 12.5 13.0-0.5 1.72 2016 453,000 5,451 5,818- 367 12.1 12.9-0.8 1.69(e) 2017 453,000 4,758 5,734- 976 10.5 12.7-2.2 2019 4,184 5,654- 1,470 9.1 12.3-3.2 2020 4,419 6,154- 1,735 9.5 13.3-3.8

Ethnic groups According to the 2021 Census, ethnic Russians make up 64.4% of the republic's total population, while the ethnic Adyghe are 25.7%. Other groups include Armenians (3.3%), Kurds (1.2%), Romani people (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.6%).

Ethnicgroup 1926 Census 1939 Census 1959 Census 1970 Census 1979 Census 1989 Census 2002 Census 2010 Census 2021 Census1 Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Russians 29,10225.6% 171,96071.1% 200,49270.4% 276,53771.7% 285,62670.6% 293,64068.0% 288,28064.5% 270,71463.6% 287,77864.4% Adyghe 50,821 44.8% 55,048 22.8% 65,908 23.2% 81,478 21.1% 86,388 21.4% 95,439 22.1% 108,115 24.2% 109,699 25.8% 114,688 25.7%2 Armenians 7380.7% 2,3481.0% 3,0131.1% 5,2171.4% 6,3591.6% 10,4602.4% 15,2683.4% 15,5613.7% 14,8103.3% Kurds 20.0% 2620.1% 3,6310.8% 4,5281.1% 5,2331.2% Romani 1,1090.3% 1,1340.3% 1,8440.4% 2,3640.6% 2,9080.7% Ukrainians 26,40523.3% 6,1302.5% 7,9882.8% 11,2142.9% 12,0783.0% 13,7553.2% 9,0912.0% 5,8561.4% 2,8100.6% Others 6,4155.7% 6,3132.6% 7,2892.6% 11,1982.9% 13,9393.4% 18,7524.3% 26,3555.9% 14,0933.3% 18,4034.1% 50,304 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. Including 397 Kabardins and 16,133 Cherkess.

Religions

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people 35.4% of the population of Adygea adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 23.6% to Islam, 3% are unaffiliated Christians and 1% are Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to church or are members of other Orthodox churches. In addition, 19.8% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 8% is atheist, and 8.6% follows other religions or did not answer to the question.

Education Adyghe State University and Maykop State Technological University, both in the capital Maykop, are the two major higher education facilities in Adygea.

Economy

Even though it is one of the poorest parts of Russia, the republic has abundant forests and rich soil. The region is famous for producing grain, sunflowers, tea, tobacco, and other produce. Hog and sheep breeding are also developed.

Food, timber, woodworking, pulp and paper, heavy engineering, and metal-working are the most developed industries.

Transportation There is a small airport in Maykop (ICAO airport code URKM). Several rail lines pass through the republic.

Culture

The Adyghe language (Адыгабзэ) is a member of the Northwest Caucasian language family. Along with Russian, Adyghe is the official language of the republic.

There are 8 state and 23 public museums in the republic. The largest museum is the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea in Maykop.

Notable people Anatoly Berezovoy (1942–2014), Soviet pilot/cosmonaut Aslan Dzharimov (born 1936), first president of the Republic of Adygea Anna Kareyeva (born 1977), handball player Mukharby Kirzhinov (1949–2026), weightlifter Andrei Kobenko (born 1982), footballer Nikita Kucherov (born 1993), ice hockey player Vladimir Nevzorov (born 1952), judoka Hazret Sovmen (born 1937), second president of the Republic of Adygea Aslan Tkhakushinov (born 1947), third president of the Republic of Adygea Aslan Tlebzu (born 1981), Adyghe folk musician Konstantin Vasilyev (1942–1976), painter

Adygea

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