Kabardino-Balkaria

Kabardino-Balkaria (Russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рия), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic,^{[note 1][10][11][12]} is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200.^[13] Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in Europe, Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 m (18,510 ft). Mount Elbrus has 22 glaciers that feed three rivers — Baksan, Malka and Kuban. The mountain is covered with snow year-round.

Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ (Kabardian) Къабарты-Малкъар Республика (Karachay-Balkar) Кабардино-Балкарская Республика (Russian)
Republic
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: State Anthem of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic [1]
Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Coordinates: 43°35′N 43°24′E
Country	Russia
Federal district	North Caucasian
Economic region	North Caucasus
Capital	Nalchik[2]
Government
• Type	Parliament of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic[3]
• Head[4]	Kazbek Kokov[5]
Area
• Total	12,470 km2 (4,810 sq mi)
Population  (2021 Census)
• Total	904,200 57.1% Kabardins 19.8% Russians 13.7% Balkars 3% Cherkess 6.7% other [6]
• Rank	56th
• Urban	51.9%
• Rural	48.1%
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK[7])
ISO 3166 code	RU-KB
Vehicle registration	07
Official language(s)	Balkar[8] • Kabardian[8] • Russian[9]
Website	glava.kbr.ru

Geography

The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part. The republic shares an international border with Georgia.

• Area: 12,500 square kilometers (4,800 sq mi)
• Borders:
  • internal: Stavropol Krai (N/NE), North Ossetia–Alania (E/SE/S), Karachay–Cherkessia (W/NW)
  • international: Georgia (Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Zemo Svaneti) (S/SW)
• Highest point: Mount Elbrus (5,642 m)
• Maximum N->S distance: 167 kilometers (104 mi)
• Maximum E->W distance: 123 kilometers (76 mi)

Kabardino-Balkaria is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Rivers

Major rivers include:

• Terek River (623 km)
• Malka River (216 km)
• Baksan River (173 km)
• Urukh River (104 km)
• Chegem River (102 km)
• Cherek River (76 km)
• Argudan River
• Kurkuzhin River
• Lesken River

Lakes

There are about 100 lakes in the Republic, none of which is large. Just over half (55) are located between the Baksan and Malka Rivers, the largest each of an area of no more than 0.01 square kilometers (0.0039 sq mi). Some of the lakes are:

• Tserikkel Lake (area 26,000 m²; depth 368 m)
• Lower Goluboye Lake
• Kel-Ketchen Lake (depth 177 m)
• Upper Tserikkel Lake (depth 18 m)
• Sekretnoye Lake
• Tambukan Lake (area 1.77 km²; depth 1.5 to 2 m), partially within Stavropol Krai.

Mountains

• Mount Elbrus (5,642 m), a volcanic mountain and the highest peak in Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus

Other major mountains include:

• Mount Dykhtau (5,402 m)
• Mount Koshtantau (5,151 m)
• Mount Shkhara (5,068 m)
• Pushkin Peak (5,033 m)
• Mount Mizhergi (5,025 m)

Natural resources

Kabardino-Balkaria's natural resources include molybdenum, tungsten, and coal.

Climate

The republic has a continental-type climate.

• Average January temperature: −12 °C (10 °F) (mountains) to −4 °C (25 °F) (plains)
• Average July temperature: +4 °C (39 °F) (mountains) to +23 °C (73 °F) (plains)
• Average annual precipitation: 500–2,000 mm.

History

Main article: History of Kabardino-Balkaria

It is known that modern-day Circassians also called Kassogs were inhabiting Kabardino Balkaria since at least the 6th century BC, then known as Zichia.^[14] On 1 July 1994 Kabardino-Balkaria became the second republic after Tatarstan to sign a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.^[15]

Politics

The head of government in Kabardino-Balkaria is the Head. The current Head is Kazbek Kokov.^[16] The legislative body of the Republic is the Parliament comprising 72 deputies elected for a five-year term.^[3][17]

The republic adopted a new constitution in 2001 which prevents the republic from existing independently of the Russian Federation.^[18]

Administrative divisions

This section is an excerpt from Administrative divisions of Kabardino-Balkaria.[edit]

• Cities and towns under republic's jurisdiction
  • Nalchik (Нальчик) (capital)
  • Baksan (Баксан)
  • Prokhladny (Прохладный)
• Districts:
  • Baksansky (Баксанский)
  • Chegemsky (Чегемский)
    • Towns under the district's jurisdiction:
      • Chegem (Чегем)
  • Chereksky (Черекский)
  • Elbrussky (Эльбрусский)
    • Towns under the district's jurisdiction:
      • Tyrnyauz (Тырныауз)
  • Leskensky (Лескенский)
  • Maysky (Майский)
    • Towns under the district's jurisdiction:
      • Maysky (Майский)
  • Prokhladnensky (Прохладненский)
  • Tersky (Терский)
    • Towns under the district's jurisdiction:
      • Terek (Терек)
  • Urvansky (Урванский)
    • Towns under the district's jurisdiction:
      • Nartkala (Нарткала)
  • Zolsky (Зольский)

Map of the republic

• 
  Cherek-Balkarskaya gorge
• 
  Mount Dykh-Tau
• 
  Prielbrusye
• 
  Tyzyl Gorge

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1926	230,923	—
1959	420,115	+81.9%
1970	588,203	+40.0%
1979	674,605	+14.7%
1989	759,586	+12.6%
2002	901,494	+18.7%
2010	859,939	−4.6%
2021	904,200	+5.1%
2025	908,090	+0.4%
Source: Census data, estimate[19]

Population: 904,200 (2021 Census);^[13] 859,939 (2010 Census);^[20] 901,494 (2002 Census);^[21] 759,586 (1989 Soviet census).^[22]

Life expectancy at birth in Kabardino-Balkaria

Life expectancy:^[23][24]

	2019	2021
Average:	76.5 years	73.8 years
Male:	72.6 years	69.9 years
Female:	79.9 years	77.3 years

Vital statistics

Source:^[25][26]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Fertility rates
1970	592	11,683	3,913	7,770	19.7	6.6	13.1
1975	634	12,315	4,717	7,598	19.4	7.4	12.0
1980	680	14,098	5,457	8,641	20.7	8.0	12.7
1985	725	15,941	5,854	10,087	22.0	8.1	13.9
1990	772	15,412	6,573	8,839	20.0	8.5	11.5	2.45
1991	788	14,952	6,995	7,957	19.0	8.9	10.1	2.35
1992	799	13,728	7,093	6,635	17.2	8.9	8.3	2.16
1993	807	11,781	7,864	3,917	14.6	9.7	4.9	1.86
1994	816	11,407	8,052	3,355	14.0	9.9	4.1	1.79
1995	828	10,844	8,236	2,608	13.1	9.9	3.2	1.67
1996	840	10,293	8,199	2,094	12.2	9.8	2.5	1.56
1997	853	10,016	7,985	2,031	11.7	9.4	2.4	1.47
1998	866	9,997	8,201	1,796	11.5	9.5	2.1	1.44
1999	875	9,221	8,292	929	10.5	9.5	1.1	1.30
2000	883	9,207	8,792	415	10.4	10.0	0.5	1.26
2001	891	8,892	8,778	114	10.0	9.9	0.1	1.19
2002	897	9,119	8,954	165	10.2	10.0	0.2	1.20
2003	896	9,294	9,202	92	10.4	10.3	0.1	1.20
2004	889	9,414	8,695	719	10.6	9.8	0.8	1.22
2005	882	8,991	9,034	- 43	10.2	10.2	-0.0	1.13
2006	875	9,308	8,764	544	10.6	10.0	0.6	1.16
2007	870	11,397	8,441	2,956	13.1	9.7	3.4	1.41
2008	866	12,052	8,095	3,957	13.9	9.3	4.6	1.49
2009	863	12,143	8,406	3,737	14.1	9.7	4.3	1.62
2010	860	12,576	8,080	4,496	14.6	9.4	5.2	1.66
2011	860	12,848	8,136	4,712	14.9	9.4	5.5	1.70
2012	859	13,786	7,709	6,077	16.0	9.0	7.0	1.83
2013	859	13,365	7,712	5,653	15.6	9.0	6.6	1.80
2014	860	13,397	7,571	5,826	15.6	8.8	6.8	1.83
2015	861	12,627	7,582	5,045	14.6	8.8	5.8	1.75
2016	863	12,191	7,386	4,805	14.1	8.5	5.6	1.72
2017	865	11,092	7,391	3,701	12.8	8.5	4.3	1.61
2018	865	10,881	7,044	3,837	12.5	8.1	4.4	1.61
2019	866	9,973	7,142	2,831	11.5	8.2	3.3	1.51
2020		10,604	8,624	1,980	12.2	9.9	2.3	1.64
2021		10,462	9,436	1,026	12.0	10.8	1.2	1.67
2022		10,049	8,010	2,039	11.5	9.2	2.3	1.51
2023		9,941	6,827	3,114	11.0	7.5	3.5	1.53
2024		10,180	6,963	3,217	11.2	7.7	3.5	1.61

Note: TFR 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 source.^[27]

Ethnic groups

Kabardino-Balkaria includes two major ethnic communities, the Kabardins (Circassians), who speak a North-West Caucasian language, and the Balkars who speak a Turkic language. According to the 2021 Census,^[28] Kabardins make up 57.1% of the republic's population, followed by Russians (19.8%) and Balkars (13.7%). Other groups include Cherkess (3.0%), Turks (1.9%), Ossetians (0.8%), Romani (0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Ethnic group	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	%
Kabardin	122,237	54.2%	152,237	42.4%	190,284	45.3%	264,675	45.0%	303,604	45.5%	364,494	48.2%	498,7022	55.3%	490,453	57.2%	502,615	57.1%
Balkars	33,197	14.7%	40,747	11.3%	34,088	8.1%	51,356	8.7%	59,710	9.0%	70,793	9.4%	104,951	11.6%	108,577	12.7%	120,898	13.7%
Russians	32,622	14.5%	129,067	35.9%	162,586	38.7%	218,595	37.2%	234,137	35.1%	240,750	31.9%	226,620	25.1%	193,155	22.5%	174,768	19.8%
Ossetians	3,839	1.7%	4,608	1.3%	6,442	1.5%	9,167	1.6%	9,710	1.5%	9,996	1.3%	9,845	1.1%	9,129	1.1%	6,877	0.8%
Ukrainians	24,723	11.0%	11,142	3.1%	8,400	2.0%	10,620	1.8%	12,139	1.8%	12,826	1.7%	7,592	0.8%	4,800	0.6%	1,461	0.2%
Cherkess	8,803	3.9%	21,328	5.9%	18,315	4.4%	33,790	5.7%	47,246	7.1%	614	0.1%	725	0.1%	2,475	0.3%	26,544	3.0%
Others											55,058	7.3%	53,059	5.9%	49,081	5.7%	47,748	5.7%
1 The results of the 1926 census refer to the present territory, which is a combination of the Kabardo-Balkarian AO and a part of the Terek district. The latter area was mainly inhabited by Russians and Ukrainians.[29] 2 In view of the results of the 1989 census and the 2010 census, the number of Kabardins in 2002 seems unlikely high. 3 23,289 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.[30]

• 
  Mosque in Kabardino-Balkaria
• 
  Catholic church in Kabardino-Balkaria (Diocese of Saratov, Blagoveshchenka)
• 
  Balkars in 1936
• 
  Kabardian wrestler Beslan Mudranov won Russia's first gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Religion

Religion in Kabardino-Balkaria as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[31][32]
Islam			70.8%
Russian Orthodoxy			11.6%
Other Christians			4%
Native faiths			1.8%
Spiritual but not religious			5.6%
Atheism and irreligion			4.4%
Other and undeclared			1.8%

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people,^[31] 70.8% of the population of Kabardino-Balkaria adhered to Islam, 11.6% to the Russian Orthodox Church, 3.8% were non-Orthodox Christians, and 1.8% followed Adyghe (Kabardian) folk religion and other indigenous faiths. In addition, 12% of the population declared to be "spiritual but not religious" and 5.6% was atheist or followed other religions, including Jehovah's Witnesses.^[31]

See also

• Caucasian Avars
• Bulgars
• List of chairmen of the Parliament of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic
• Minor hydro-electric plants of Kabardino-Balkaria
• Mount Imeon

Notes

1. Russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, romanized: Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika; Kabardian: Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, romanized: Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublikê; Karachay-Balkar: Къабарты-Малкъар Республика, romanized: Qabartı-Malqar Respublika