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The Republic of Adygea, (/ˌɑːdɪˈɡə/)[11][a] also known as 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 7,600 square kilometers (2,900 sq mi), with a population of roughly 496,934 residents.[7] 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.

Quick Facts Republic of Adygea Адыгэ Республик (Adyghe)Республика Адыгея (Russian), Country ...
Republic of Adygea
Адыгэ Республик (Adyghe)
Республика Адыгея (Russian)
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Anthem: "Anthem of the Republic of Adygea" [1]
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Republic of Adygea
Republic of Adygea
Coordinates: 44°39′N 40°00′E
CountryRussia
Federal district[2]Southern
Economic region[3]North Caucasus
CapitalMaykop[4]
Government
  TypeState Council (Khase)[5]
  HeadMurat Kumpilov[5]
Area
  Total
7,792 km2 (3,009 sq mi)
Population
  Total
Increase 496,934
  Rank75th
  Density63.77/km2 (165.2/sq mi)
  Urban
49.4%
  Rural
50.6%
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK[8])
ISO 3166 codeRU-AD
Vehicle registration01
Official language(s)Adyghe[9]  Russian[10]
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Adygea is one of Russia's ethnic republics, primarily representing the indigenous Circassian people that 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.

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History

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Map of Adygea

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] The first President of the republic was Aslan Dzharimov, elected on 5 January 1992.[15]

Relations between the Adyghe and ethnic Russians in Adygea are currently good.[citation needed] Russians make up two-thirds of the population within Adygea.[16] The current Head of Adygea is Murat Kumpilov.[17]

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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.

  • Area7,792 km2 (3,009 sq mi).
  • Borders — the Republic of Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai.
  • Highest pointChugush Mountain: 3,238 m (10,623 ft).

Rivers

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Khodz river headwaters, endemic region

The 870-kilometer (540 mi) 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:

Lakes

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Lago-Naki plateau in Adygea

The republic has no large lakes. However, it has several reservoirs:[19]

  • Krasnodar Reservoir [ru], the largest in North Caucasus
  • Oktyabrskoye Reservoir[20]
  • Shapsug Reservoir
  • Tshchikskoye Reservoir (Тщикское))
  • Шенджийское
  • Четукское
  • Кужорское
  • Maykop Reservoir

Mountains

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Mount Fisht

The republic's major mountains and peaks range in height from 2,000–3,238 metres (6,562–10,623 ft), and include:

Natural resources

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

Climate

  • Average January temperature: −0.5 °C (31.1 °F)
  • Average July temperature: +23 °C (73 °F)
  • Average annual precipitation: 70 centimeters (28 in)

February 15, 2010, recorded the absolute maximum for the winter monthsin the capital, the city of Maykop, the temperature was 23.4 °C (74.1 °F).

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Politics

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Former Head of the Republic of Adygea, Aslan Tkhakushinov, in 2010

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.[21]

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.

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Administrative divisions

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Administrative divisions of the Republic of Adygea

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.

More information Name, Local Name ...
NameLocal NameArea in
km2
Population
Census[22] 2010
Population
Estimate[23]
1 Jan 2018
Cities (republican municipal districts)
Maykop Городской округ
Майкоп
58.6 166,540 165,279
Adygeysk Городской округ
Адыгейск
32.4 14,659 15,207
Districts
Giaginsky DistrictГиагинский м.р.790.031,76631,394
Koshekhablsky DistrictКошехабльский м.р.606.730,42229,726
Krasnogvardeysky DistrictКрасногвардейский м.р.725.530,86831,765
Maykopsky DistrictМайкопский м.р.3,667.458,43960,107
Takhtamukaysky DistrictТахтамукайский м.р.440.069,66282,909
Teuchezhsky DistrictТеучежский м.р.710.020,64320,802
Shovgenovsky DistrictШовгеновский м.р.521.416,99716,187
Adygea Republic Республика Адыгея7,600.0439,996453,376
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  • Note "м.р." above is an abbreviation for "муниципальный район" (Municipal District)
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Demographics

More information Year, Pop. ...
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1926113,481    
1939241,799+113.1%
1959284,690+17.7%
1970385,644+35.5%
1979404,504+4.9%
1989432,588+6.9%
2002447,109+3.4%
2010439,996−1.6%
2021496,934+12.9%
Source: Census data
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2019 2021
Average: 73.8 years 71.2 years
Male: 69.1 years 66.6 years
Female: 78.4 years 75.8 years

Vital statistics

Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service Archived April 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine[30]
More information Average population, Live births ...
Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude 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
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Ethnic groups

According to the 2021 Census,[31] 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%).

More information Ethnic group, 1926 Census ...
Ethnic
group
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 29,102 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% 270,714 63.6% 287,778 64.4%
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 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% 15,561 3.7% 14,810 3.3%
Kurds 2 0.0% 262 0.1% 3,631 0.8% 4,528 1.1% 5,233 1.2%
Romani 1,109 0.3% 1,134 0.3% 1,844 0.4% 2,364 0.6% 2,908 0.7%
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% 5,856 1.4% 2,810 0.6%
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% 14,093 3.3% 18,403 4.1%
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  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.[32]
  2. Including 397 Kabardins and 16,133 Cherkess.

Religions

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Maykop Central Mosque
More information Religion in Adygea as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas) ...
Religion in Adygea as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[33][34]
Russian Orthodoxy
35.4%
Other Orthodox
1.4%
Other Christians
3.8%
Islam
23.6%
Spiritual but not religious
19.8%
Atheism and irreligion
8.2%
Other and undeclared
7.8%
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According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people[33] 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.[33]

Education

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

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Economy

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Maykop Beer Brewery

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

A man speaking Adyghe.

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

See also

References

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