The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of

Russia 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 ...

located in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

. Its capital is the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Syktyvkar. The population of the republic as of the 2010 Census was 901,189.

History

The

Komi people The Komi ( kv, комияс, ' also ', also called Komi-Zyryans or Zyryans, are an indigenous Permian ethnic group whose homeland is in the northeast of European Russia around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama rivers. They mostly ...

first feature in the records of the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...

in the 12th century, when East Slavic traders from Novgorod traveled to the

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

region in search of furs and animal hides. The Komi territories came under the influence of Muscovy in the late Middle Ages (late 15th to early 16th centuries). The site of Syktyvkar, settled from the 16th century, was known as Sysolskoye (Сысольскoe). In 1780, under Catherine the Great, it was renamed to Ust-Sysolsk (Усть-Сысольск) and used as a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

. Russians explored the Komi territory most extensively in the 19th and early 20th centuries, starting with the expedition led by

Alexander von Keyserling Alexander Friedrich Michael Lebrecht Nikolaus Arthur Graf von Keyserling (15 August 1815 – 8 May 1891) was a Baltic German geologist and paleontologist from the Keyserlingk family of Baltic German nobility. Career Alexander von Keyserli ...

in 1843. They found ample reservoirs of various minerals, as well as timber, to exploit. After the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, the

Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast ( Komi: Коми (Зыряна) асвеськӧдлан обласьт, ''Komi (Zyryana) asves’ködlan oblas’t'') created on 22 August 1921. It is one of several autonomous oblasts that existed in the Russian SFS ...

was established on August 22, 1921, and on December 5, 1936, it was reorganized into the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with its administrative center located at the town of Syktyvkar. Many of the "settlers" who arrived in the early 20th century were prisoners of the

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

– sent by the hundreds of thousands to perform forced labor in the Arctic regions of the USSR. Towns sprang up around labor-camp sites, which gangs of prisoners initially carved out of the untouched

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

and

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

. The first mine, "Rudnik No. 1", became the city of

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin ...

, and other towns of the region have similar origins: "Prisoners planned and built all of the republic's major cities, not just Ukhta but also Syktyvkar, Pechora, Vorkuta, and Inta. Prisoners built Komi's railways and roads, as well as its original industrial infrastructure." On 21 March 1996, the Komi Republic signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy. The agreement was abolished on 20 May 2002.

Geography

The republic is situated to the west of the

Ural mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, in the north-east of the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountaina, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, an ...

. The

Polar Urals The Polar Urals (russian: Полярный Урал) are a mountain range in the western part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the northeastern part of Komi, Russian Federation. The border between Europe and Asia runs along the main ridg ...

rise in the northeastern part. Google Earth Forests cover over 70% of the territory, and swamps cover approximately 15%. The Komi Republic is the second-largest federal region by area in European Russia after Arkhangelsk Oblast. *''Area'': *''Borders'' (all internal): Nenets (NW/N),

Yamalo-Nenets The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO; russian: Яма́ло-Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг (ЯНАО), ; yrk, Ямалы-Ненёцие автономной ӈокрук, ) or Yamalia (russian: Ямалия) is a fed ...

(NE/E),

Khanty–Mansi Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra (Russian and Mansi: Ханты-Мансийский автономный округ — Югра, ''Khanty-Mansiysky avtonomny okrug — Yugra;'' Khanty: Хӑнты-Мансийской Aвтономной � ...

(E), Sverdlovsk (SE),

Perm Krai Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 re ...

(S), Kirov (S/SW), and

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

(W). *''Highest point'':

Mount Narodnaya Mount Narodnaya (also known as Naroda and Poenurr; russian: гора Народная, kv, Народа-Из ("People's Mountain"), Mansi: Поэнг-ур, Поэн-урр) is the highest peak of the Urals in Russia. Its elevation is . It is loc ...

(1,894 m) *''Maximum N→S distance'': *''Maximum E→W distance'':

Rivers

Major rivers include: *

Izhma River The Izhma (russian: И́жма) is a river in the Komi Republic of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Pechora. It is long, with a drainage basin of . At a point from its mouth, it has an average discharge of . The river freezes over in Novemb ...

Mezen River The Mezen (russian: Мезень) is a river in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic and in Leshukonsky and Mezensky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. Its mouth is located in the Mezen Bay of the White Sea. Mezen is one of the biggest r ...

* Pechora River *

Sysola River The Sysola (; ) is located mainly in Northwestern Russia's Komi Republic, although its two branches have their sources in the Kirov Oblast, and the Perm Oblast. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The Sysola is a tributary of the larger Vych ...

* Usa River *

Vashka River The Vashka (russian: Вашка) is a river in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic and Leshukonsky and Mezensky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its b ...

Vychegda River , image = VytchegdaRiver.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The lower course of the Vychegda , source1_location = , mouth = Northern Dvina , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , sub ...

Vym River The Vym (russian: Вымь, ''Vym; Komi: ) is a river in the Komi Republic, Russia. It is a tributary of the Vychegda in the basin of the Northern Dvina. It is long, and its drainage basin covers . Its average discharge is . The Vym has its sou ...

Lakes

There are many lakes in the republic. Major lakes include: * Sindorskoye Lake * Yam-Ozero Lake

Natural resources

The republic's natural resources include

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 ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

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 me ...

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

s, and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

. Native

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

are in abundance and have been intentionally bred for human usage by the indigenous population. Around 32,800 km² of mostly

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

(as well as some alpine tundra and meadows) in the Republic's Northern

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

have been recognized in 1995 as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, Virgin Komi Forests. It is the first natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia and the largest expanse of virgin forests in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The site includes two pre-existing protected areas:

Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve (russian: Печоро-Илычский заповедник, ''Pechoro-Ilychsky zapovednik'') is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the Komi Republic, Russia. It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometer ...

(created in 1930) and

Yugyd Va National Park Yugyd Va National Park ( Komi, russian: Югыд ва) is a national park in the Komi Republic, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. It is Europe's largest national park (ahead of Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland) and it was ...

(created in 1994).

Climate

Winters in the republic are long and cold, and the summers, while short, are quite warm. *Average January temperature: (southern parts) to (northern parts) *Average July temperature: (northern parts) to (southern parts) *Lowest recorded temperature: (

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

of Ust-Shchuger) *Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

Manpupuner and the 7 Strong Men rock formations

Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, the Komi Republic is home to Manpupuner (Man-Pupu-Nyer), a mysterious site in the northern

, in the Troitsko-Pechorsky District, made out of seven rock towers bursting out of the flat plateau known as the "7 Strong Men". Manpupuner is a very popular attraction in Russia, but not on an international level. Information regarding its origin is scarce. However, it is known that their height and abnormal shapes make the top of these rock giants inaccessible even to experienced rock-climbers.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

Population

Population:

Settlements

Vital statistics

:Source
Russian Federal State Statistics Service

Regional vital statistics for 2011

Source:

Ethnic groups

According to the 2010 Census, ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

make up 65.1% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Komi make up 23.7%. Other groups include

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

(4.2%),

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

(1.3%), Belarusians (1%),

Ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

s (0.6%), Chuvash (0.6%),

Azeris Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...

(0.6%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Religion

According to a 2012 survey, 30.2% of the population of Komi adheres to the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, 4% are unaffiliated generic

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, 1% are

Rodnovers The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

or Komi native religious believers, 1% are Muslims, 1% are Orthodox Christians not belonging to churches or members of non-Russian

Orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (di ...

es, 1% are Old Believers, and 0.4% are members of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In addition, 41% of the population declared to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...

", 14% is atheist, and 6.4% follows other religions or failed to answer the question.

Education

There are over 450 secondary schools in the republic (with ~180,000 students). The most important higher education facilities include Komi Republican Academy of State Service and Administration,

Syktyvkar State University Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University (russian: Сыктывкарский государственный университет имени Питирима Сорокина; kv, Коми Республика, Сыктывкарса канм ...

and

Ukhta State Technical University Ukhta State Technical University is a unique representative of Russian oil and gas universities and one of the largest technical higher education institutions of the European North of Russia. The University was founded on the basis of the Ukhta ...

Politics

The head of government in the Komi Republic is the Head of the Republic. As of 2021, the current Head is

Vladimir Uyba Vladimir Viktorovich Uyba (russian: Владимир Викторович Уйба), born in 1958, is a Russian statesman, scientist, and doctor, who is the acting Head of the Komi Republic since April 2, 2020. Before being appointed to that pos ...

who took office after his predecessor Sergey Gaplikov resigned. The

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

is the legislature.

Economy

The Komi Republic's major industries include oil processing, timber, woodworking, natural gas and electric power industries. Major industrial centers are Syktyvkar,

Inta Inta (russian: Инта́, kv, Инта) is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia. Population: History Inta was founded circa 1940 as a settlement to support a geological expedition to explore coal deposits and projecting of mines. The city's n ...

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

Sosnogorsk Sosnogorsk (russian: Сосного́рск; kv, Сӧснагорт, ''Sösnagort'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Izhma River. Population: History The settlement was first established in 1939 as a railway station. It w ...

Ukhta Ukhta (russian: Ухта́; kv, Уква, ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939). History Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known i ...

, and

. Komigaz conducts natural gas transportation and distribution.

Transportation

Railroad transportation is very well developed. The most important railroad line is

Kotlas Kotlas (russian: Ко́тлас) is a town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population: Kotlas is the third largest town of Arkhangelsk Oblast in terms of population (after A ...

–

Salekhard Salekhard (russian: Салеха́рд; Khanty: , ''Pułñawat''; yrk, Саляʼ харад, ''Saljaꜧ harad'') is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, serving as the okrug's administrative centre. It crosses the Arctic Circle, th ...

, which is used to ship most goods in and out of the republic. The rivers

Vychegda , image = VytchegdaRiver.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The lower course of the Vychegda , source1_location = , mouth = Northern Dvina , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , sub ...

and

are navigable. There are airports in Syktyvkar,

, and

. In 1997, total railroad trackage was 1,708 km, automobile roads 4,677 km.

Sports

Stroitel plays again in the

Russian Bandy Super League The Russian Bandy Super League (russian: Чемпионат России по хоккею с мячом — Суперлига), is a men's professional bandy league in Russia, the top division of Russian bandy. There is no definite rule which t ...

in the 2017–18 season, after several years in

Russian Bandy Supreme League Russian Bandy Supreme League (russian: Первенство России среди команд Высшей лиги) is the second tier of Russian bandy, below Russian Bandy Super League. In the 2016–17 season, 23 teams competed in three gro ...

, the second highest division. In 2015 a bandy federation for the republic was founded. In 2016 the authorities presented a five-year plan to develop bandy in the republi

There is an application in place to host the 2021

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the W ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * *"Коми АССР. Административно-территориальное деление на 1 июля 1968 г." Коми книжное издательство. Сыктывкар, 1968. (''Komi ASSR. Administrative-Territorial Structure as of July 1, 1968'')

External links

Official site of the Republic of Komi

All news of the Republic of Komi

Website of Syktyvkar City - The Capital of the Republic of Komi

Official website of the Vorkuta CityOfficial site of the Syktyvkar State University)

Official site of the Syktyvkar State University)

Official site of the Ukhta State Technical University

Snowboarding in Komi Republic

a
Natural Heritage Protection Fund
{{Use mdy dates, date=January 2014 States and territories established in 1936 Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Russian-speaking countries and territories Regions of Europe with multiple official languages