ADYGEA

The 'Republic of Adygea' (; ) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) enclaved within Krasnodar Krai. The direct transliteration of the republic's name is ''Respublika Adygeya''. Other ways of transliterating the republic's name include 'Adygeya' and 'Adyghea'.

Contents

Geography

Time zone

Rivers

Lakes

Mountains

Natural resources

Climate

History

Politics

Divisions

Demographics

Economy

Transportation

Culture

Education

See also

Reference

External links

Geography

Adygea is situated on the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, with plains in the north, and mountains in the south. Forests cover almost 40% of the territory of the republic.

★ ''Area'': 7,600 km²

★ ''Borders'': Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai

★ ''Highest point'': Chugush Mountain (3,238 m)

Time zone

Adygea is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).

Rivers

Kuban River (870 km) is one of the major rivers in the Caucasus region, and it is navigable. It forms part of the northern border between 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

Lakes

There are no large lakes in the republic. There are several reservoirs, that include:

★ Krasnodarskoye Reservoir

★ Oktyabrskoye Reservoir

★ Shapsugskoye Reservoir

★ Tshchitskoye Reservoir

Mountains

The republic's major mountains range in height from 2,000 to 3,238 m and include:

★ Chugush Mountain (3,238 m)

★ Fisht Mountain

★ Oshten Mountain

★ Pseashkho Mountain

★ Shepsi Mountain

Natural resources

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

Climate

★ ''Average January temperature'': -2°C

★ ''Average July temperature'': +22°C

★ ''Average annual precipitation'': 700 mm

History

The Adyghe people were the ancient dwellers of the North-West Caucasus, sometimes known as Circassians since the 13th century.
Cherkess (Adyghe) Autonomous Oblast was established within the Russian SFSR on July 27, 1922 on the territories of 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 under the jurisdiction of the newly created North Caucasus Krai within the RSFSR.^[1]
It was renamed Adyghe Autonomous Oblast in July of 1928. On January 10, 1934, the autonomous oblast became part of new Azov-Black Sea Krai, which was spun off North Caucasus Krai. Maykop was designated 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. The first president of Adygea was Aslan Aliyevich Dzharimov, elected in January of 1992. From 2002 to 2007 Hazret Sovmen was president. He, and the majority of the rest of the political elite in Adygea, are Adyghes. As a reaction to this, an organisation calling itself the ''Union of Slavs'' has been established, claiming that ethnic Russians are discriminated against in Adygea. They advocate the merger of Adygea with Krasnodar Krai, but have so far had little support for this proposition from the Kremlin.

Politics

The head of government in Adygea is the President, who is elected for a five-year term. Proficiency in Adyghabze (Adyghe language) is a prerequisite for a presidency candidate.
The President is Aslan Tkhakushinov (since January 13, 2007), succeeding Hazret Sovmen. There is also a directly elected State Council—Khase, 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 Prime Minister of Adygea is appointed by the President with the consent of the National Assembly. The acting Prime Minister of Adygea is Kazbek Paranuk (since September 16, 2006).
The republic sends three representatives to the parliament of the Russian Federation; one to the Duma and the other two to the Federation Council.
The republic's Constitution was adopted on May 14, 1995.

Divisions

Adygea is administratively divided into seven districts (''raions''), two cities/towns, and five urban-type settlements. Municipally, Adygea is divided into two urban okrugs, five urban settlements, and 46 rural settlements.

Demographics

★ 'Population': 447,109 (2002)

★
★ ''Urban'': 234,900 (52.5%)

★
★ ''Rural'': 212,209 (47.5%)

★
★ ''Male'': 208,019 (46.5%)

★
★ ''Female'': 239,090 (53.5%)

★ 'Females per 1000 males': 1,149

★ 'Average age': 37 years

★
★ ''Urban'': 36.6 years

★
★ ''Rural'': 37.4 years

★
★ ''Male'': 34 years

★
★ ''Female'': 39.6 years

★ 'Number of households': 151,597 (with 440,449 people)

★
★ ''Urban'': 82,949 (with 230,286 people)

★
★ ''Rural'': 68,648 (with 210,163 people)

★ 'Vital statistics' (2005)

★
★ ''Births'': 4,550 (birth rate 10.3)

★
★ ''Deaths'': 6,726 (death rate 15.2)

★ 'Ethnic groups'
According to the 2002 Census, ethnic Russians make up 64.5% of the republic's total population, while the ethnic Adyghe is only 24.2%. Other groups include Armenians (3.4%), Ukrainians (2.0%), Kurds (3,631, or 0.8%), Tatars (2,904, or 0.7%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

	census 1926	census 1939	census 1959	census 1970	census 1979	census 1989	census 2002
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%)
Russians	29,102 (25.6%)	171,960 (71.1%)	200,492 (70.4%)	276,537 (71.7%)	285,626 (70.6%)	293,640 (68.0%)	288,280 (64.5%)
Armenians	738 (0.7%)	2,348 (1.0%)	3,013 (1.1%)	5,217 (1.4%)	6,359 (1.6%)	10,460 (2.4%)	15,268 (3.4%)
Ukrainians	26,405 (23.3%)	6,130 (2.5%)	7,988 (2.8%)	11,214 (2.9%)	12,078 (3.0%)	13,755 (3.2%)	9,091 (2.0%)
Others	6,415 (5.7%)	6,313 (2.6%)	7,289 (2.6%)	11,198 (2.9%)	13,939 (3.4%)	18,752 (4.3%)	26,355 (5.9%)

Economy

Even though it is now 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), and several rail lines pass through the republic.

Culture

Adyghabze (Adyghe language) is a member of West North-Caucasian group of Caucasian languages. Along with the Russian language, the Adyghe language is the state language of Adygea.
There are 8 state and 23 public museums in the republic. The largest museum is the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea, located in Maykop.

Education

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

See also

★ Music of Adygea

Reference

1. "Политический альманах России 1997. Том 2. Социально-политические портреты регионов" (''Political Almanac of Russia 1997. Vol. 2. Social and Political Portraits of the Regions''), online edition под ред. М. Макфола и Н. Петрова

External links

★ Official website of Adygea

★ Overview of Adygea (''Kommersant'' newspaper)

★ Official Website of the Adyghe State University

★ Official Website of the Adyghe State University

★ Official Website of the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea