The Republic of Adygea (Adyghe Adyge Republic; short name: Adygea) is
a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, a republic within it. It
is part of the Southern Federal District, is part of the North Caucasus
Economic Region. The capital is the city of Maikop.
It is an
enclave: the territory of the republic is surrounded on all sides by the
territory of the Krasnodar Territory.
It was formed on July 27,
1922 as the Cherkess (Adygei) Autonomous Region on the territory of the
Maikop and Yekaterinodar departments of the Kuban-Black Sea Region, on
August 24, 1922, the Cherkess (Adygei) Autonomous Region was renamed the
Adygei (Circassian) Autonomous Region. In August 1928 it was renamed the
Adygea Autonomous Region, on July 3, 1991 it was transformed into the
Soviet Socialist Republic of Adygea. On March 23, 1992, the modern name
was adopted.
State languages: Adyghe and Russian.
Caucasian Biosphere Reserve
Dakhovskaya
Kamennomostsky (Khadzhokh)
Mezmay
The Republic is located in the south-west of the Russian Federation,
on the left bank of the Kuban, occupies the central part of the
Prikubanskaya inclined (Zakubanskaya) plain and the northern slopes of
the North-Western Caucasus.
The main territory of the republic is
located in the basin of two main tributaries of the Kuban: the rivers
Laba and Belaya and lies between the parallels 44° and 45° N. The 45th
parallel crosses the Krasnodar reservoir and the northern part of the
Kuban plain, the 44th parallel passes through the mountainous regions
near the lake. Psenodakh and the village. Guzeripl, the 40th meridian
almost in the middle crosses the republic from north to south, passing
through the central part of the Lagonaki highlands, slightly west of
Maykop and st. Giaginskaya.
Adygea borders on the Krasnoarmeisky,
Dinsky, Ust-Labinsky, Kurganinsky districts of the Krasnodar Territory
and the city of Krasnodar in the north, on the Adler, Lazarevsky,
Khostinsky districts of the city of Sochi in the south, on Apsheronsky,
Belorechensky, Seversky districts and the city of Goryachiy Klyuch in
the west and Mostovsky, Labinsky and Kurganinsky districts in the east.
The area of Adygea is 7790 km². The length of the borders is 900 km.
The length of the territory of the republic from north to south is 208
km, from west to east 165 km.
Adygea is rich in forest resources, occupying more than a third of its territory, in the southern part. Of the minerals, there are small reserves of natural gas, large reserves of building materials (gravel, sand, clay, limestone), in the mountainous part of the republic there are small deposits of gold and ore materials.
Adygea is located in the time zone of Moscow time. Timezone: UTC+3.
The climate is moderately warm and mild. The nature of atmospheric
circulation has a great influence on the formation of the region's
climate. An important climatic and recreational characteristic of the
area is the duration of sunshine. In general, there are from 200 to 250
clear days a year in the republic; total solar radiation is 115-120
kcal/sq.cm.
To a large extent, the nature of the climate is
determined by the peculiarities of the geographical position of the
republic, first of all, by the proximity of the non-freezing Black Sea,
the latitude of the terrain, the height and distribution of the mountain
ranges of the North-Western Caucasus. The Black Sea is a good
"accumulator" of heat, accumulating it in the summer and gradually
giving it to the surrounding areas in the winter. At the same time, it
is the focus of the formation of the so-called Black Sea cyclones, which
carry moisture to coastal areas. In turn, the Caucasus Mountains hold
back the moist winds of the western components and contribute to
sufficient moistening of the territory of the republic in the spring and
summer. Therefore, precipitation in Adygea falls twice as much as, for
example, in the northern steppe zone of the Krasnodar Territory. The
number of days with precipitation as a whole for the year is 115-150.
There are 200-210 warm days in a year.
Precipitation across the
territory of the republic is very uneven, especially in the
foothill-mountain zone. In general, their number increases with height.
However, the distribution of precipitation is greatly influenced by the
orography of the area. Thus, the northern ledge of the Lagonaki
Highlands is a kind of “orographic screen”, in front of which the amount
of precipitation increases sharply. The highest average annual
precipitation (2744 mm) was recorded at the Belorechensky Pass.
The wind regime of the territory is also subject to the orography of the
area. So, if winds of the northern and southeastern directions prevail
in Dakhovskaya, then in the river located in the valley. White village
Guzeripl - northern, northeastern, southern and southwestern directions.
Wind speeds in the area are relatively low. The greatest storm winds are
observed mainly in winter and are associated exclusively with the
passage of atmospheric fronts. A characteristic feature of the wind
regime of the mountain and foothill zone is the presence of
mountain-valley winds.
Despite the small length of the territory
of Adygea from north to south (about 200 km), the climate of the
republic is very diverse. In its northern plains, the climate is
moderately continental, in the foothills it is warm and humid, and in
the southern part, the climate is cold in the highlands.
In
general, climatic resources are favorable for agriculture, industrial
development, transport and recreation. Climatic features are best traced
by the seasons of the year.
Winter in the republic is not snowy,
moderately cold, mild. In rare years, it starts right away. Usually
there is a more or less long pre-winter period. During this period of
time, there is an incessant change of cold snaps and thaws with complete
snow melting. On average, winter in Adygea begins in the first half of
December, when the average daily air temperature drops below 0 ° C,
however, the timing of the onset of winter can vary: in warm years,
autumn can last until mid-January and smoothly turn into spring, and in
cold years, winter can come already in November and end only at the end
of March. The coldest winter month is January. Its average long-term
temperature ranges from −2.0°С in the plains to −4.4°С in the foothills.
In winter, significant cooling is not uncommon, when the minimum air
temperature drops to -20 ... - 25 ° С. In this case, the absolute
minimum can reach -30 ... - 35 ° С. In the middle of winter, sharp thaws
are possible with temperatures reaching +10 ... + 15 ° С and causing
snow melting, breaking of the ice cover and floods on rivers. Often
these thaws are associated with a warm dry wind - a hair dryer.
The height of the snow cover on the flat part is small: 6-10 cm, in the
foothills and mountains it ranges from 50 cm to 2-5 m. The maximum snow
height (6.1 m) was recorded in the Fisht mountain group. Soil freezing
on the flat part of Adygea does not exceed 15-30 cm.
Spring is
usually associated with the weakening of the Asian baric maximum and the
retreat to the east of its western spur. As a consequence, Mediterranean
cyclones are able to move to the east and northeast. The associated
removals of warm air masses from the south and southwest contribute to a
rapid increase in air temperature, thawing and warming of the soil. A
distinctive feature of the spring circulation in Adygea is the great
variability of atmospheric processes and the rapid change of air masses.
Spring on the plain comes early (according to long-term average
data, at the end of February - the first decade of March), and in the
mountains at an altitude of 2000 m - at the end of March and later. By
the beginning of March, the snow completely disappears from the fields,
and the complete thawing of the soil is observed already in February.
The increase in heat in the spring is, as a rule, fast. Already 15 days
after the beginning of spring: during March, the air temperature passes
through + 5 ° C, and on April 10-20 - through + 10 ° C. By this time the
frosts have stopped.
In summer, the circulation of air masses is
significantly weakened. The weather is mainly formed due to the
transformation of air masses into slowly moving in the Azores and Arctic
anticyclones, which is largely facilitated by a large influx of solar
radiation. Summer in Adygea lasts an average of 140-150 days. On the
flat part of the republic, it sets in in the first half of May, in the
foothills 10-15 days later, and in the mountains up to an altitude of
1700-1800 m above sea level in the first half of June. The average
monthly air temperature in the warmest month of the year: July is
+23.2°С on the plains, and +20…+22°С in the foothills. Summer on the
plain is hot and dry, in the foothills it is much cooler. In the higher
mountains, a stable transition of air temperature above +10°C is not
observed.
Summer precipitation is predominantly torrential in
nature. In total, during the warm period, from 300 to 400 mm falls on
the flat territory. In the foothills, the amount of precipitation during
this period increases to 500-550 mm, and in the mountains to 800-1000
mm.
Autumn on the plains of Adygea comes in late September -
early October, in the foothills 10-15 days earlier. The beginning of
autumn is characterized by consistently warm, dry and sunny weather
("Indian summer"). In the second half of October, the air temperature
passes through 10°C towards a further decrease, the active vegetation of
agricultural crops ends, the first frosts are noted. The rains become
continuous. In mid-November, there is a steady transition of air
temperature through + 5 ° C, the vegetation of agricultural crops stops
completely.
Until 1991, it was not a separate republic, the territory was part of
the Krasnodar Territory. In December 1991 - January 1992, elections of
deputies to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Adygea were held. The
first parliament in the history of Adygea was formed. In 1993, it was
transformed into the Legislative Assembly (Khase), and in 1995 into the
State Council - Khase.
In January 1992, the first president of
the republic, Aslan Dzharimov, was elected, in March 1992, the first
chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Adygea, Adam Tleuzh.
From 2002 to 2007, Adygea was headed by Khazret Sovmen, from 2007 to
2017 - Aslan Tkhakushinov. Murat Kumpilov has been the Head of the
Republic of Adygea since 2017.
On December 25, 1993, the
Constitution of the Russian Federation, which came into force, confirmed
the republican status of Adygea.
The Constitution of the Republic
of Adygea was approved by the Legislative Assembly (Khase) on March 10,
1995.
The population of the republic according to Rosstat is 497,704
people. (2023). Population density: 63.87 people/km2 (2023). Urban
population: 49.51% (2022).
The death rate at the end of 2017 was
12.6 ppm. Taking into account the total population, it turns out that
5713 people die in the region per year
Adyghes (Circassians) live
mainly in 45 auls, as well as in the city of Maikop, the village of
Enem, the village of Yablonovsky and the village of Tlyustenkhable. They
are most compactly settled in Takhtamukaysky, Teuchezhsky, Shovgenovsky,
Koshekhablsky and Krasnogvardeysky districts.
In 1998, a group of
Circassians (42 families (about 200 people), settled in Maykop and the
new village of Mafekhable (Maikop district).
The rest of the
population in rural areas lives in villages, farms, villages and towns.
Russians are settled throughout the republic, they live compactly in
the Giaginsky and Maikop regions, their numbers are large in the
Krasnogvardeisky, Takhtamukaysky regions.
Ukrainians are
dispersed throughout Adygea.
Tatars live compactly in Adygea:
Kirov farms (Shovgenovsky district), Political department, Otradny
(Koshekhablsky district), Afipsip village (Takhtamukaysky district),
Maykop city.
Armenians are settled compactly in the Maykop
region: the farms Proletarsky, Tsvetochny, North-Eastern Gardens,
Shaumyan, the village of Tulsky, the village of Kuzhorskaya, the city of
Maykop.
Kurds: the villages of Beloe, Preobrazhenskoye, Sadovoe,
Yelenovskoye, the village of Bzhedugkhabl (Krasnogvardeisky district).
Greeks: Gaverdovsky farm (city district Maykop).
Adygea is an industrial-agrarian republic, with such industries as food, woodworking, pulp and paper, mechanical engineering and metalworking.
The basis of agro-industrial production is plant growing, pig breeding, sheep breeding, industrial poultry farming, horse breeding.
As of May 1, 2020, in Adygea, the number of cattle totaled 47.3 thousand heads (2.4% more than on the same date last year), including 24.4 thousand cows (0.4 % less). In particular, 11.9 thousand heads of cattle were kept in agricultural organizations of the republic (8.2% more), including 5.2 thousand cows (18.2% more). In January-April 2020, 39.0 thousand tons of milk were produced in the republic (1.6% more than in the same period of 2019), including 6.1 thousand tons in agricultural organizations (22% more ). As of May 1, the number of pigs in the republic was 78.6 thousand heads (5.5% more than a year ago), sheep and goats - 59.1 thousand heads (3.6% less). In particular, in agricultural organizations, the number of pigs totaled 72.8 thousand heads (5.2% more), sheep and goats - 20.9 thousand heads (7.7% more). In Adygea, a significant increase in the number of poultry was noted: in general, in the republic - by 18.1% compared to the level of 2019 (up to 1.8 million heads), in agricultural organizations - by 25% (up to 1.0 million heads). This is due to the resumption of work of Khanskaya Poultry Farm LLC, where 7 buildings and 5 cold rooms were reconstructed, a veterinary laboratory and a production workshop for slaughtering poultry were created, and in the future they plan to increase the number of livestock from 1 to 2.5 million broilers and reconstruct 7 more buildings. The launch of production at the Khan poultry farm led to an increase in the output of livestock and poultry for slaughter (in live weight) in the region up to 10.1 thousand tons in four months (+ 21.7% compared to last year), in particular, in agricultural organizations - up to 7 .7 thousand tons (+32.8%). Egg poultry farming showed less significant dynamics: the release of eggs in Adygea in January-April amounted to 34.4 million pieces. (+11%), including in agricultural organizations - 17.2 million units. (+16.2%).
In 2020, the republic increased the gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops by 15% compared to last year. As of October 28, 729 thousand tons of grain and leguminous crops have been threshed. Productivity increased by 6 c/ha. 115 thousand hectares were sown for the harvest, 5% more than in 2019. As of November 10, the gross harvest of rice amounted to more than 50.5 thousand tons. In 2019, the gross rice harvest amounted to 44.3 thousand tons. Thus, in 2020, this indicator increased by 14% The area under rice this year amounted to more than 9.6 thousand hectares, which is 18.5% more than a year earlier. The average yield was 52.5 q/ha.
As of October 2020, 8 power plants with a total capacity of 191.68 MW were operated on the territory of Adygea, including two hydroelectric power plants, one wind power plant, one solar power plant and four thermal power plants. In 2018, they produced 78 million kWh of electricity. A feature of the energy sector of Adygea is the highest share of wind energy in generating capacities in Russia, which is associated with the location of the largest wind power plant in Russia, the Adygei wind farm, in the region.
Developed auto and rail transport, shipping on the river Kuban.
In Adygea in 2013, the Department of the State Employment Service of the Republic of Adygea registered the unemployment rate at the level of 1.2% -1.4%
The territory of the republic belongs to the zone of mixed tourism.
It has significant hunting resources.
Several nature protection
zones have been created in Adygea: the Caucasian State Biosphere
Reserve, located on the territories of the Republic of Adygea and the
Krasnodar Territory, a number of unique natural monuments, the Mountain
Adygea National Nature Park.
Hiking mountain and horse trails are
very popular. Bases and recreation camps can simultaneously accommodate
more than 1,500 vacationers.
On April 10, 1992, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company of the Republic of Adygea was established.
During the Soviet period in Adygea, the Muslim clergy disappeared
completely. On February 28, 1985, the chairman of the Council for
Religious Affairs, Konstantin Kharchev, reported to the Central
Committee of the CPSU that there was not a single registered association
of Muslims in the Adygei Autonomous Region. After the collapse of the
USSR, the Muslim clergy reappeared.
Local Islamic communities are
subordinate to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Adygea and the
Krasnodar Territory, which was established in 1991 at the first congress
of Muslims of the Republic of Adygea in the village of Adamiy. It is
noteworthy that the previous last congress of Muslims of the region took
place in 1927 in the same village. Since 2012, the Spiritual Directorate
has been headed by Mufti Askarbiy Kardanov. At present, the Spiritual
Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Adygea and the Krasnodar
Territory (SUM RA and KK) includes 12 regional religious organizations
of Muslims, as well as 3 city organizations (Maikop, Krasnodar and
Adygeisk). To date, 44 mosques operate on the territory of the Republic
of Adygea. In early November 2000, the Cathedral Mosque was opened in
Maykop.
On March 28, 1991, after the creation of the Republic of
Adygea, the Maykop deanery of the Krasnodar and Kuban diocese was
established.
On February 26, 1994, the Holy Synod formed the
Maykop and Armavir diocese with the center in Maikop, which included the
Republic of Adygea and 13 districts of the Krasnodar Territory (72
parishes in total), which on December 28, 2000 was transformed into
Maikop and Adygei.
Currently, the diocese includes parishes of
the Republic of Adygea. Headed by Archbishop Tikhon (Lobkovsky). It is
divided into 7 deaneries. The number of its parishes: 54. There are St.
Michael's Trans-Kuban men's Athos communal deserts and two of its
farmsteads in the village of Khamyshki and the village of Bezvodnaya, a
convent in the name of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God. The
Trinity Cathedral in Maikop functions, the Assumption Cathedral was
built.
In Adygea there are representatives of the Old Believer
Church of various persuasions. One Maikop Old Believer Pomeranian
community of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church and one community of the
Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church are registered.
Other
Christian organizations also operate: 1 - Baptist, 6 - Evangelical
Christians, 6 - Jehovah's Witnesses, 2 - Pentecostals, 1 - Seventh Day
Adventists.
Armenians mostly belong to the Armenian Apostolic
Church. There are two parishes of the diocese of the South of Russia in
Maykop and in the Proletarsky farm (Maikop district). The rector of both
parishes is Ter Mushegh Khachatryan.
There are extremely few
followers of neo-pagans who profess native faith.