The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. M ...

of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

within the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and was originally a part of the

Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or Mountain ASSR ( rus, Го́рская АССР, r=Gorskaya ASSR; ce, Лаьмнийн Автономин Советийн Социалистийн Республика) was a short-lived autono ...

. On 16 January 1922 the region was detached from the Mountain ASSR and the

Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Oblast The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the Kabardino-Balkaria region of the Soviet Union. The Oblast was formed in 1921 as the Kabardin Autonomous Oblast before becoming the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Obl ...

on 1 September 1921. It became an autonomous republic on 5 December 1936. On 30 January 1991, the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR declared

state sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the ...

. It is now the

Kabardino-Balkaria The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, ''Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika''; kbd, Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, ''Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublik� ...

republic, a federal subject of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR bordered no other sovereign states during the existence of the Soviet Union. Like the

Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; inh, Нохч-ГӀалгӀай Автономе Советий Социализма Республика, Noxç-Ġalġay Avtonome Sovetiy Socializma Respublika; russian: Чече́но-И ...

, the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR was shared by two nationalities. Both autonomous republics resided as part of the

and featured Russians as the ethnic majority.

History

The Russian, Ottoman and Persian Empires fought for the region between the 17th and 19th centuries, during which the region was under Russian control. After the

October revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

, the region joined the

in 1921, during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. The territories were detached from the Mountain ASSR to the

in 1922, and on 5 December 1936 it was renamed the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1944,

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

accused the Balkars of cooperating with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, men of military age suspected of being collaborators were deported to internment camps in Central Asia. Stalin ceded the

Baksan valley Baksan may refer to: *Baksan (town), in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia * Baksan Urban Okrug, a municipality which incorporates Baksan (town) * Baksan (river), in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia *Baksan Neutrino Observatory The ...

to the Georgian SSR. "Balkar" was dropped from the state's name, which was renamed to the

Kabardin ASSR The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, and was originally a part of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. ...

. After the war's end, most of those interned were allowed to return, except those who actually were involved in anti-Soviet conspiracies. In 1957, the original name of Balkar-Kabardin ASSR was restored.

Geography

The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was located in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

mountains. It covered an area of .

Rivers

The main rivers include the

Terek River The Terek (; , Tiyrk; , Tərč; , ; , ; , ''Terk''; , ; , ) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rise ...

(623 km),

Malka River The Malka (), also known as Balyksu (), is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, which forms the northwest part of the Terek basin.Baksan River The Baksan, also known as Azau (russian: Баксан, Азау) is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia. It flows east northeast and joins the Malka just before that river joins the northwest bend of the Terek. The Baksan is long, with a dr ...

(173 km),

Urukh River The Urukh (russian: Урух, os, Æрæф, ''Æræf'', Digor: Ирæф, ''Iræf''), known as Kharves in its upper reaches,У ...

(104 km), and Cherek River (76 km).

Lakes

An area of is covered solely by

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s. More than 100 lakes are located in the borders, although none of them has very large surface area. Most of the lakes are located in the mountains, formed by glacial processes. Lakes located on a plain include Tambukan Lake.

Mountains

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...

(5,642 m) is volcanic and the highest peak in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

. Other major mountains include Mount Dykhtau (5,402 m), Mount Koshkhatau (5,151 m), and

Mount Shkhara Shkhara ( ka, შხარა) is the highest point in the nation of Georgia It is located near the Russian-Georgian border, in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region on the northern side, and the Svaneti region of Georgia in the south. Shkhara lies ...

(5,068 m).

Resources

Along with timber, the mining of minerals such as

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isol ...

, and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

were a main industry in the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR. The region also has a great abundance of

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

References

{{coord missing, Kabardino-Balkaria Autonomous republics of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic History of Kabardino-Balkaria States and territories established in 1936 States and territories disestablished in 1989 1936 establishments in the Soviet Union 1989 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Former socialist republics