Adygea

For other uses, see Adygea (disambiguation).

Republic of Adygea Адыгэ Республик (Adyghe) Республика Адыгея (Russian)
Republic
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Anthem of the Republic of Adygea"
Republic of Adygea
Coordinates: 44°39′N 40°00′E
Country	Russia
Federal district	Southern
Economic region	North Caucasus
Capital	Maykop
Government
• Type	State Council (Khase)
• Head	Murat Kumpilov
Area
• Total	7,792 km2 (3,009 sq mi)
Population  (2021 Census)
• Total	496,934 64.4% Russians 25.7% Adyghe 3.3% Armenians 0.6% Ukrainians 6% other
• Rank	75th
• Density	63.77/km2 (165.2/sq mi)
• Urban	49.4%
• Rural	50.6%
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
ISO 3166 code	RU-AD
Vehicle registration	01
Official language(s)	Adyghe • Russian

The Republic of Adygea, (/ˌɑːdɪˈɡeɪə/) 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. 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.

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.

History

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. 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.

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

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

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.

• Area — 7,792 km² (3,009 sq mi).
• Borders — the Republic of Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai.
• Highest point — Chugush Mountain: 3,238 m (10,623 ft).

Rivers

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:

• 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
• Sukhoy Kurdzhips River — flows near the archaeological site at Mezmaiskaya cave.

Lakes

Lago-Naki area in Adygea

The republic has no large lakes. However, the several large reservoirs include:

• Krasnodarskoye Reservoir
• Oktyabrskoye Reservoir
• Shapsugskoye Reservoir
• Tshchitskoye Reservoir

Mountains

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:

• Chugush Mountain — 3,238 m (10,623 ft)
• Mount Fisht — 2,868 m (9,409 ft)
• Oshten Mountain
• Pseashkho Mountain
• Shepsi Mountain

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 months—in the capital, the city of Maykop, the temperature was 23.4 °C (74.1 °F).

Politics

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.

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.

Administrative divisions

Administrative divisions of the Republic of Adygea

Main article: List of administrative and municipal 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.

Name	Local Name	Area in km2	Population Census 2010	Population Estimate 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 District	Гиагинский м.р.	790.0	31,766	31,394
Koshekhablsky District	Кошехабльский м.р.	606.7	30,422	29,726
Krasnogvardeysky District	Красногвардейский м.р.	725.5	30,868	31,765
Maykopsky District	Майкопский м.р.	3,667.4	58,439	60,107
Takhtamukaysky District	Тахтамукайский м.р.	440.0	69,662	82,909
Teuchezhsky District	Теучежский м.р.	710.0	20,643	20,802
Shovgenovsky District	Шовгеновский м.р.	521.4	16,997	16,187
Adygea Republic	Республика Адыгея	7,600.0	439,996	453,376

• Note "м.р." above is an abbreviation for "муниципальный район" (Municipal District)

Demographics

• Population: 496,934 (2021 Census); 439,996 (2010 Census); 447,109 (2002 Census); 432,588 (1989 Soviet census).

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1926	113,481	—
1939	241,799	+113.1%
1959	284,690	+17.7%
1970	385,644	+35.5%
1979	404,504	+4.9%
1989	432,588	+6.9%
2002	447,109	+3.4%
2010	439,996	−1.6%
2021	496,934	+12.9%
Source: Census data

	2019	2021
Average:	73.8 years	71.2 years
Male:	69.1 years	66.6 years
Female:	78.4 years	75.8 years

• Life expectancy:

• 
  Life expectancy at birth in Adygea
• 
  Life expectancy with calculated differences
• 
  Life expectancy in Adygea, Krasnodar Krai and neighboring regions
• 
  Zoomed version of the chart since 2014

Vital statistics

Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service Archived April 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

	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

Ethnic groups

According to the 2021 Census, 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%).

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%

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.
2. Including 397 Kabardins and 16,133 Cherkess.

Religions

Maykop Central Mosque

Religion in Adygea as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)
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%

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people 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.

Education

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

Economy

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

• Anatoly Berezovoy (1942—2014), Soviet pilot/cosmonaut.
• Aslan Dzharimov (born 1936), first president of the Republic of Adygea.
• Anna Kareyeva (born 1977), handball player.
• Mukharby Kirzhinov (born 1949), weightlifter.
• Andrei Kobenko (born 1982), footballer.
• Nikita Kucherov (born 1993), ice hockey player.
• Vladimir Nevzorov (born 1952), judoka.
• Hazret Sovmen (born 1937), second president of the Republic of Adygea.
• Aslan Tkhakushinov (born 1947), third president of the Republic of Adygea.
• Aslan Tlebzu (born 1981), Adyghe folk musician.
• Konstantin Vasilyev (1942—1976), painter.

See also

• Music in the Republic of Adygea
• Mezmaiskaya cave
• Circassian genocide
• Adyghe people

References

Sources

• Государственный Совет – Хасэ Республики Адыгея. Закон №90 от 7 июня 2007 г. «О государственных символах Республики Адыгея (текст в ред. от 7 июня 2007 г.)», в ред. Закона №91 от 28 апреля 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в некоторые Законы Республики Адыгея». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Советская Адыгея", No. 112–113, 14 июня 2007 г. (State Council of the Republic of Adygea. Law #90 of June 7, 2007 On the Symbols of State of the Republic of Adygea (text of rev. of June 7, 2007), as amended by the Law #91 of April 28, 2012 On Amending Various Laws of the Republic of Adygea. Effective as of the day of official publication.).
• Закон №168-1 от 14 февраля 1995 г. «О праздичных днях и памятных датах», в ред. Закона №231 от 1 августа 2013 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 3 Закона Республики Адыгея "О праздичных днях и памятных датах"». Вступил в силу 14 февраля 1995 г. Опубликован: "Ведомости ЗС (Хасэ) - Парламента РА", No. 15, 14 февраля 1995 г.. (Law #168-1 of February 14, 1995 On Holidays and Memorial Dates, as amended by the Law #231 of August 1, 2013 On Amending Article 3 of the Law of the Republic of Adygea "On Holidays and Memorial Dates". Effective as of February 14, 1995.).
• Государственный Совет — Хасэ Республики Адыгея. 10 марта 1995 г. «Конституция Республики Адыгея (текст в ред. от 3 мая 2007 г.)», в ред. Конституционного закона №459 от 30 октября 2015 г. «О поправках к Конституции Республики Адыгея». Опубликован: "Ведомости ЗС (Хасэ) — Парламента РА", №16, 6–10 марта 1995 г. (State Council of the Republic of Adygea. March 10, 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Adygea (text of rev. of May 3, 2007), as amended by the Constitutional Law #459 of October 30, 2015 On the Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Adygea. ).
• Президент Республики Адыгея. Распоряжение №46-рп от 2 апреля 2007 г. «Об организации официального Интернет-сайта исполнительных органов государственной власти Республики Адыгея». (President of the Republic of Adygea. Directive #46-rp of April 2, 2007 On Creation of the Official Website of the Executive Organs of State Power of the Republic of Adygea. ).
• Азаренкова, А. С.; Бондарь, И. Ю.; Вертышева, Н. С. (1986). Основные административно-территориальные преобразования на Кубани (1793–1985 гг.) (in Russian). Краснодарское книжное издательство.

External links

• Адыгэ Республикэм и Лъэпкъ театр (in Adyghe)
• The Voice of Circassians (Adyghe Language)
• (in Russian) Official website of the Republic of Adygea Archived May 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
• Overview of the Republic of Adygea (Kommersant newspaper)
• Official Website of the Adyghe State University
• (in Russian) Official Website of the Adyghe State University
• (in Russian) Official Website of the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea