Karachay-Cherkessia

Karachay-Cherkessia, officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a population of 469,865. Cherkessk is the largest city and the capital of the republic.

Karachay-Cherkessia is one of Russia's ethnic republics, primarily representing the indigenous Caucasian-Turkic Karachay people and the Cherkess or Circassian people. Karachays form the largest ethnic group at around 44% of the population, followed by ethnic Russians (27%) and Cherkess (13%). The Cherkess are mostly of the Besleney and Kabardin tribes. The republic has five official languages: Russian, Abaza, Cherkess (Kabardian), Karachay-Balkar, and Nogai.

The majority of the republic's territory is within the Caucasus Mountains, except for a small strip at the northern edge of the Don Steppe. Karachay-Cherkessia is bordered by Krasnodar Krai to the west, Stavropol Krai to the north-east, Kabardino-Balkaria to the south-east, and an international border with Georgia to the south-west. Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, is located on the border with Kabardino-Balkaria.

Geography

The republic is located at the slopes of northwestern Caucasus and borders with Krasnodar Krai in the west and northwest, the Kabardino-Balkar Republic in the southeast, Georgia (including Abkhazia) in the south and west, and with Stavropol Krai in the northeast. It stretches for from north to south and for from east to west. Mountains cover 80% of the republic's territory; Mount Elbrus, which at is the highest peak in the Caucasus, is located on the republic's border with Kabardino-Balkaria. The republic is rich in water resources. A total of 172 rivers flow through its territory, with the largest one being the Kuban, Bolshoy Zelenchuk, Maly Zelenchuk, Urup, and Laba. There are about 130 mountain lakes of glacial origin and an abundance of mineral springs. Climate is moderate, with short winters and long, warm, humid summers. The average January temperature is , and the average July temperature is . Average annual precipitation varies from in the plains to in the mountains. Natural resources include gold, coal, clays, and more.

Karachay-Cherkessia is the only region in the North Caucasian Federal District that does not have an airport.

History The Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast was founded on 12 January 1922, in the early years of the Soviet Union. It was split into Karachay Autonomous Oblast and Cherkess National Okrug on 26 April 1926. The Cherkess National District was elevated to an autonomous oblast status on 30 April 1928.

In November 1943, Karachay Autonomous Oblast was abolished, the Karachay people were accused of collaboration with the Nazis and 70,000 were subsequently deported to the Kazakh and Uzbek republics. Most of the Karachay territory was split between Stavropol Krai and the Georgian SSR. The remaining territory populated by the Cherkessians was known as Cherkess Autonomous Oblast until 9 January 1957 when it was incorporated into Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast in its former borders due to the rehabilitation of the Karachay.

On 3 July 1991, the autonomous oblast was elevated to the status of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia (under the jurisdiction of the Russian SFSR).

In January 1992, Russian president Boris Yeltsin was prepared to accept the division of Karachay-Cherkessia and introduced draft laws to the Supreme Soviet of Russia for the reconstitution of the Karachai Autonomous Oblast and Cherkess Autonomous Oblast within the Russian Federation. A commission on formation of three autonomous regions – Karachai, Cherkess, and Batalpashinsk – was established in the Supreme Soviet.

On 28 March 1992, a referendum was held in which, according to official results, the majority of the population of Karachay-Cherkessia voted against splitting the republic and, on 9 December 1992, the republic was recognized as the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

Politics

The head of the government in Karachay-Cherkessia is the fead (until 28 June 2012, the official title was "President"). Until February 2011, the president was Boris Ebzeyev, a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation. Rashid Temrezov is currently the head of the republic.

Ethnic tension is a considerable problem in the republic. In May 1999, Karachay-Cherkessia conducted its first-ever free regional presidential election. When Vladimir Semyonov, a Karachay, won the election over Stanislav Derev, a Circassian, Derev supporters protested, alleging widespread electoral fraud, with many advocating for the partitioning of the republic. These hostilities deescalated following mediation, led by Moscow, and an independent court review of the election, which upheld the result.

Although activity by separatists in the region pales compared to Chechnya and Dagestan, militant groups exist in Karachay-Cherkessia. A car bomb that killed two people in March 2001 was blamed on Chechen separatists. Muslim separatist groups have formed, and dozens of their members have been killed by the Russian authorities.

In September 2007, the FSB killed ethnic Abazin Rustam Ionov ("Abu-Bakar"), head of the Karachaevo Jamaat (assembly), along with his wife.

Administrative divisions

Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia Capital: CherkesskAs of 2014: Number of districts(районы) 10 Number of cities/towns(города) 4 Number of urban-type settlements(посёлки городского типа) 7As of 2002:Results of the 2002 Russian Population Census—Territory, number of districts, inhabited localities, and rural administrations of the Russian Federation by federal subject Number of rural localities(сельские населённые пункты) 139 Number of uninhabited rural localities(сельские населённые пункты без населения) —

Cities and towns under republic's jurisdiction Cherkessk (Черкесск) (capital) Karachayevsk (Карачаевск) Towns under the town's jurisdiction: Teberda (Теберда) Urban-type settlements under the town's jurisdiction: Dombay resort settlement (Домбай) Elbrussky (Эльбрусский) Ordzhonikidzevsky (Орджоникидзевский) Districts: Abazinsky (Абазинский) Adyge-Khablsky (Адыге-Хабльский) Karachayevsky (Карачаевский) Urban-type settlements under the district's jurisdiction: Novy Karachay (Новый Карачай) Pravokubansky (Правокубанский) Khabezsky (Хабезский) Malokarachayevsky (Малокарачаевский) Nogaysky (Ногайский) Prikubansky (Прикубанский) Urban-type settlements under the district's jurisdiction: Udarny (Ударный) Urupsky (Урупский) Urban-type settlements under the district's jurisdiction: Mednogorsky (Медногорский) Ust-Dzhegutinsky (Усть-Джегутинский) Towns under the district's jurisdiction: Ust-Dzheguta (Усть-Джегута) Zelenchuksky (Зеленчукский)

Demographics

Population: Life expectancy: 20192021Average: 76.2 years 73.5 yearsMale: 71.7 years 69.3 yearsFemale: 80.4 years 77.3 years

Vital statistics Average population (x 1000)Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Total fertility rate 1970 346 6,021 2,153 3,868 17.4 6.2 11.2 1975 357 6,619 2,288 4,331 18.5 6.4 12.1 1980 373 7,044 2,794 4,250 18.9 7.5 11.4 1985 394 8,119 3,350 4,769 20.6 8.5 12.1 1990 422 7,218 3,496 3,722 17.1 8.3 8.8 1991 427 7,145 3,713 3,432 16.7 8.7 8.0 1992 431 6,846 3,915 2,931 15.9 9.1 6.8 1993 433 5,569 4,336 1,233 12.9 10.0 2.8 1994 434 5,786 4,598 1,188 13.3 10.6 2.7 1995 437 5,633 4,501 1,132 12.9 10.3 2.6 1996 439 5,281 4,683 598 12.0 10.7 1.4 1997 440 4,987 4,615 372 11.3 10.5 0.8 1998 441 4,990 4,537 453 11.3 10.3 1.0 1999 441 4,523 4,707−184 10.3 10.7−0.4 2000 440 4,666 4,961−295 10.6 11.3−0.7 2001 440 4,778 4,911−133 10.9 11.2−0.3 2002 440 4,927 5,207−280 11.2 11.8−0.6 2003 442 5,088 5,427−339 11.5 12.3−0.8 2004 446 5,190 5,059 131 11.6 11.3 0.3 2005 450 5,194 5,131 63 11.5 11.4 0.1 2006 454 5,032 4,924 108 11.1 10.8 0.2 2007 459 6,066 4,626 1,440 13.2 10.1 3.1 2008 465 6,364 4,731 1,633 13.7 10.2 3.5 2009 470 6,200 4,711 1,489 13.2 10.0 3.2 1.55 2010 476 6,139 4,737 1,402 12.9 10.0 2.9 1.51 2011 477 6,289 4,664 1,625 13.1 9.7 3.4 1.54 2012 475 6,499 4,633 1,866 13.7 9.8 3.9 1.63 2013 471 6,547 4,464 2,083 13.9 9.5 4.4 1.67 2014 470 6,318 4,553 1,765 13.5 9.7 3.8 1.65 2015 468 5,803 4,523 1,280 12.4 9.6 2.8 1.54 2016 467 5,575 4,393 1,182 11.9 9.4 2.5 1.52 2017 466 5,145 4,346 799 11.0 9.3 1.7 1.43 2018 465 4,974 4,137 837 10.7 8.9 1.8 1.43 2019 5,050 4,219 831 10.8 9.1 1.7 1.48 2020 5,135 5,034 101 11.0 10.8 0.2 1.53 2021 4,470 5,677 -1,207 9.6 12.2 -2.6 1.35 2022 4,429 4,460 -31 9.5 9.6 -0.1 1.30 2023 4,413 3,974 439 9.4 8.5 0.9 1.34 2024 4,357 4,049 308 9.3 8.6 0.7 1.34 Sources: 1970 to 2008;Russian Federal State Statistics Service 2009–2013; 2014–...Russian Federal State Statistics Service

Ethnic groups According to the 2021 Census, Karachays make up 44.4% of the republic's population, followed by Russians (27.5%), and Cherkess and Abazins together make up 20.8%.

Ethnicgroup 1926 Census1 1939 Census 1959 Census 1970 Census 1979 Census 1989 Census 2002 Census 2010 Census 2021 Census3 Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Karachays 53,17531.3% 70,93229.2% 67,83024.4% 97,10428.2% 109,19629.7% 129,44931.2% 169,19838.5% 194,32441.0% 205,57844.4% Cherkess 16,18629.5% 17,6677.3% 24,1458.7% 31,1909.0% 34,4309.4% 40,2419.7% 49,59111.3% 56,46611.9% 58,82512.7% Abazins 13,7318.1% 14,1385.8% 18,1596.5% 22,8966.6% 24,2456.6% 27,4756.6% 32,3467.4% 36,9197.8% 37,6648.1% Russians 40,07223.6% 118,78548.8% 141,84351.0% 162,44247.1% 165,45145.1% 175,93142.4% 147,87833.6% 150,02531.6% 127,62127.5% Nogais 6,2633.7% 6,8692.8% 8,9033.2% 11,0623.2% 11,8723.2% 12,9933.1% 14,8733.4% 15,6543.3% 17,3683.7% Ukrainians 32,51819.1% 4,1041.7% 4,0111.4% 4,8191.4% 4,5551.2% 6,3081.5% 3,3310.8% 1,9900.4% 7870.2% Others 8,0824.8% 10,7034.4% 13,0684.7% 15,1384.4% 17,3624.7% 22,5735.4% 22,2535.1% 18,8924.0% 15,4253.3% 1 The results of the 1926 census refer to the present territory, which is a combination of the Cherkess ND, the Karachay AO and adjacent areas. The latter areas were mainly inhabited by Russians and Ukrainians.

2 13,496 Kabardins and 2,690 other Cherkess.

3 6,597 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.

Religion

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people, 64% of the population of Karachay-Cherkessia adheres to Islam, 13% to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% to the Karachay and Circassian native faith, 2% are unaffiliated Christians, unchurched Orthodox Christian believers or members of non-Russian Orthodox churches. In addition, 10% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 3% are atheist, and 6% are other/undeclared.

Notable people

Zuhra Bayramkulova – Dairy farmer and Hero of Socialist Labour. Islam Itlyashev – Circassian singer Mussa Ekzekov – Businessman Arslanbek Sultanbekov – Nogai folk singer

Science The republic is the home of what was the largest telescope in the world from 1975 until 1993 (the BTA-6), a very large radio telescope (576 meters in diameter, RATAN-600), and the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science dedicated to the study of astronomy. These facilities are located on the bank of the Zelenchuk River, between the villages of Zelenchukskaya and Arkhyz.

Gallery

Karachay-Cherkessia

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