Karachay-Cherkessia
First-level administrative division of Russia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karachay-Cherkessia (Russian: Карачаево-Черкесия, romanized: Karachayevo-Cherkesiya), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic,[note 1] 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.[13] Cherkessk is the largest city and the capital of the republic.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2015) |
Karachay-Cherkess Republic | |
---|---|
Карачаево-Черкесская Республика | |
Other transcription(s) | |
• Karachay-Balkar | Къарачай-Черкес Республика |
• Kabardian | Къэрэшей-Шэрджэс Республикэ |
• Nogai | Карашай-Шеркеш Республикасы |
• Abaza | Къарча-Черкес Республика |
Anthem: State Anthem of Karachay-Cherkessia [1] | |
Coordinates: 43°55′N 41°47′E | |
Country | Russia |
Federal district | North Caucasian[2] |
Economic region | North Caucasus[3] |
Capital | Cherkessk[4] |
Government | |
• Body | People's Assembly[5] |
• Head[5] | Rashid Temrezov[6] |
Area | |
• Total | 14,277 km2 (5,512 sq mi) |
• Rank | 77th |
Population | |
• Total | 469,865 |
• Estimate (2018)[9] | 466,305 |
• Rank | 74th |
• Urban | 41.3% |
• Rural | 58.7% |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK [10]) |
ISO 3166 code | RU-KC |
License plates | 09 |
OKTMO ID | 91000000 |
Official languages | Russian;[11] Abaza, Cherkess (Kabardian), Karachay, Nogai[12] |
Website | http://www.kchr.ru/ |
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.[12]
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.