Kabardino-Balkaria

I

Introduction

Kabardino-Balkaria, autonomous republic, south-western Russia, located on the northern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and bordered by Georgia on the south, by the Russian republics of Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia-Alania on the west and east respectively, and by the Stavrapol Kray (territory) of the Russian Federation on the north. Kabardino-Balkaria has an area of 12,500 sq km (4,826 sq mi). Nalchik is the capital of the republic.

II

Land and Resources

The terrain ascends through foothills from the Kabardin Plain in the north and north-east, to the high Caucasus Mountains in the south. Mount Elbrus (5,642 m/18,510 ft), on the border with Karachay-Cherkessia, and near the border with Georgia, is the highest mountain in Europe. Other notable peaks are Dykh Tau (5,203 m/17,070 ft) and Shkhara (5,201 m/17,064 ft). The main rivers of the republic—the Malka, the Baksan, the Chegem, and the Cherek—rise in the mountains and are fed by glaciers. On the Kabardin Plain, they all join the Terek, which passes through the republic from its source in Georgia. The most important glaciers are Bezengi and Dykhsu.

The climate is continental, tempered by altitude in the mountains. On the Kabardin Plain temperatures range from -4° C (24.8° F) in January to 23° C (73.4° F) in July, with annual precipitation of less than 500 mm (20 in). In the mountains temperatures range from below -12° C (10.4° F) in January to 4° C (39.2° F) in July, and precipitation reaches 2,000 mm (79 in) or more annually.

The Kabardin Plain is dominated by steppe vegetation. The lower levels of the mountains are forested with beech, hornbeam, oak, birch, alder, and pine; the higher levels by alpine meadows, giving way ultimately to bare rock and ice fields. Pryelbrussky National Park (established in 1986) occupies an area of 1,004 sq km (388 sq mi) along the Baksan valley, in the extreme eastern portion of the republic. The mountainous landscape of the park, interspersed with alpine meadows, forests, and natural mineral springs, supports a diverse range of wildlife species, including the chamois, tur (goat), brown bear, lynx, wild boar, golden eagle, Caucasian black grouse, and bearded vulture.

III

Population

The republic has a population of about 782,000 (2002 estimate). Nalchik has a population of about 256,082 (1995), and in all about 57 per cent of the population is urban. According to the 2002 census Kabardin comprise about 55.3 per cent of the population, Russians 25.1 per cent, Balkars 11.6 per cent, Ossetians 1.1 per cent, Turks 1 per cent, and Ukrainians 0.8 per cent.

The Kabardin people, who call themselves Keberdei or more generally Adygei, are related to the Cherkess and Adygei, and speak an Ibero-Caucasian language of the north-west Caucasian, or Abkhazo-Adygei, group. Kabardin and Cherkess form a single literary language. The Balkar people, who call themselves Balkar, Malkar, or Taulula, are a Kipchak Turkic-speaking people related to the Karachay. Both peoples are Sunni Muslims.

Kabardino-Balkaria is the location of the Kabardino-Balkaria State University; the High-Mountain Geophysical Institute; the North Caucasus Institute of Fine Arts; and the Kabardino-Balkaria State Agricultural Academy.

IV

Economy

Grain-farming, livestock-raising, mountain tourism, and light industry, such as food processing, machine-building, and the manufacture of electrical instruments, characterize the economy of Kabardino-Balkaria. There is also mining for coal and mineral ores and forestry in the mountains. A free economic zone was established in the republic in 1995, with tax and customs privileges granted to the region by the Russian central government in a bid to encourage investment and boost the regional economy. Since the scheme was introduced, Kabardino-Balkaria has attracted significant investment from overseas companies. Nalchik is linked by air, rail, and road to Moscow and the rest of the Caucasus area. International flights operate to a number of destinations in the Middle East.