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The North Caucasus,[b] or Ciscaucasia,[c] is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia.[d] It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and Black Sea to the west, the Caspian Sea to the east, and the Caucasus Mountains to the south. The region shares land borders with the countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus.[e] Located in the south of the region, Mount Elbrus is the tallest peak in Europe.[a] Krasnodar is the most populous among the urban centres in the region.
| North Caucasus | |
|---|---|
 Map of North Caucasus | |
| Coordinates | 43°21′18″N 42°26′31″E |
| Country | |
| Federal subjects | |
| Demonym | North Caucasian |
| Time Zones | UTC+03:00 |
| Highest mountain | Elbrus (5,642 metres (18,510 ft))[a] |
The North Caucasus came under Russian control in the 19th century, following the Caucasian War between the Russian Empire and the various regional powers. The territory is the southernmost portion of Russia and is divided between a number of republics and krais. It is administered as part of the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts and consists of Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the constituent republics, approximately from west to east: the Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia–Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Republic of Dagestan and to the north: Kalmykia.[f]
Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the northern slope and western extremity of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, as well as a part of its southern slope to the West. The Pontic–Caspian steppe area is often also encompassed under the notion of a Ciscaucasus region, thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe or Nogai steppe is generally considered to be the Manych River. Owing to its mild climate compared to much of Russia, the region has been described as Russia's "sunbelt".[f]
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Ancient cultures of the Northern Caucasus are known as Klin-Yar community, with one of the most notable cultures being the ancient Koban culture.[5]
Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic–Caspian steppe, mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils, which has been almost completely tilled and grazed. It is bounded by the Sea of Azov on the west, and the Caspian Sea on the east. According to the Concise Atlas of the World, Second Edition (2008), the Ciscaucasus region lies on the European side of the "commonly-accepted division" that separates Europe from Asia.[d]
Russia completed the conquest of the North Caucasus by 1864. Between the 1850s and World War I, about a million North Caucasian Muslims, including Circassians, Chechens, Ingush, Ossetians, and others, became refugees in the Ottoman Empire.[6] The Ottoman government settled North Caucasian refugees in territories of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Kosovo, Greece, Cyprus, and North Macedonia, creating a large North Caucasian diaspora.[7]
Much of the Northern Caucasus seceded from Russia in March 1917 as the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, taking advantage of the instability caused by the February Revolution and becoming a minor participant in the Russian Civil War. Mountainous Republic troops engaged in fierce clashes against the invading White General Anton Denikin's Volunteer Army, before the latter's defeat at the hands of the Red Army. The region was informally occupied by the Soviet Union shortly afterwards, and the republic was forced into accepting a nonviolent annexation in January 1921. It was reformed into the Mountainous ASSR, which was later dissolved in October 1924, replaced by a series of autonomous Okrugs and Oblasts.
The outer border of the Soviet Union's North Caucasus Krai was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region (Raion) which includes an oblast (Rostov Oblast), two krais (Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai), and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District (Okrug) also included Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, and the Republic of Kalmykia. Its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze (today Vladikavkaz) and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk (today Stavropol).
Unrest
The North Caucasus region experienced widespread unrest and insurgency after the fall of the Soviet Union, including a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, the Islamic State.[8][9][10]
The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years.[9][10] During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, such as North Ossetia–Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia, Stavropol Krai, and Volgograd Oblast.
While the insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the insurgent underground in the North Caucasus,[11] counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus have not ended.[12] In June 2022, the US State Department advised citizens not to travel to the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, due to terrorism, kidnapping and risk of civil unrest.[13]
Other paramilitaries active in the region have included the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, an anti-Georgian organization and a participant in the 1992–1993 Abkhaz conflict that based its flag and political agenda directly on those of the Mountainous Republic.
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The North Caucasus, especially in its mountainous territories, has the highest life expectancy in Russia.[14][15] The region is known for a large number of centenarians.[16][17][18]
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Krasnodar Krai
Adygea
Stavropol Krai
Rostov Oblast
Volgograd Oblast
Kalmykia
Ast-
rakh-
an
Oblast
rakh-
an
Oblast
The North Caucasus region within Russia
- Red: NC economic region, former NC krai, former NC military okrug
- Green: former NC military okrug
- Blue: NC economic region, NC federal okrug, former NC military okrug
Russian political subdivisions associated with the region include:
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Location of the North Caucasian Federal District
Map of former North Caucasus Military District (okrug)
Map of modern-day North Caucasus Economic Region (raion)
Sophia Valley, Karachay-Cherkessia
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- Mount Elbrus is widely considered to be the tallest European peak.[3]
- (Adyghe: Темыр Къафкъас, romanized: Temır Qafqas; Avar: Хьундасеб Кавказ; Karachay-Balkar: Шимал Кавказ, romanized: Şimal Kavkaz; Chechen: Къилбаседа Кавказ, romanized: Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; Ingush: Даькъасте, romanized: Däq̇aste; Kabardian: Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, romanized: İṩxhərə Qauqaz; Ossetian: Цӕгат Кавказ, romanized: Cægat Kavkaz; Russian: Северный Кавказ, romanized: Severnyy Kavkaz, IPA: [ˈsʲevʲɪrnɨj kɐfˈkas])
- The northern part of the Caucasus is widely considered to be a part of the European continent, as it sits north the Greater Caucasus watershed.[1][2]
- The North Caucasus also shares borders with the two partially recognized breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to its south, both of which are internationally recognised as part of Georgia.
- A primary introduction to the North Caucasus region.[4]
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