Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

located in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

. The area contains the highest mountain in Europe,

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus; ; is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the south ...

, at . Mount Elbrus has 22 glaciers that feed three rivers — Baksan, Malka and

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

. The mountain is covered with snow year-round.

Geography

The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part. The republic shares an international border with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. *''Area'': *''Borders'': **''internal'': Stavropol Krai (N/NE),

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

(E/SE/S),

Karachay–Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia (), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a popul ...

(W/NW) **''international'':

(

Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti ( ka, რაჭა-ლეჩხუმი და ქვემო სვანეთი, ''Rach’a-Lechkhumi da Kvemo Svaneti'' ) is a region (mkhare) in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia with a population o ...

, Zemo Svaneti) (S/SW) *''Highest point'':

(5,642 m) *''Maximum N->S distance'': *''Maximum E->W distance'': Kabardino-Balkaria is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Rivers

Major rivers include: *

Terek River The Terek () 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 rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus ...

(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 () 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 drainage basin of . Course The Baksan River is a 169 ...

(173 km) * Urukh River (104 km) * Chegem River (102 km) * Cherek River (76 km) * Argudan River * Kurkuzhin River * Lesken River

Lakes

There are about 100 lakes in the Republic, none of which is large. Just over half (55) are located between the Baksan and Malka rivers. Some of the lakes are: * Tserikkel Lake (area 26,000 m²; depth 368 m) *

Lower Goluboye Lake Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...

* Kel-Ketchen Lake (depth 177 m) * Upper Tserikkel Lake (depth 18 m) * Sekretnoye Lake * Tambukan Lake (area 1.77 km²; depth 1.5 to 2 m), partially within Stavropol Krai.

Mountains

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Other major mountains include: * Mount Dykhtau (5,402 m) * Mount Koshtantau (5,151 m) *

Mount Shkhara Shkhara ( ka, შხარა; ) is a mountain peak and the highest point in the country of Georgia. It is located on the Georgia–Russia border, in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region on the northern side, and the Svaneti region of Georgia in th ...

(5,068 m) * Pushkin Peak (5,033 m) * Mount Mizhergi (5,025 m)

Natural resources

Kabardino-Balkaria's natural resources include

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

, and

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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

Climate

The republic has a continental-type climate. *''Average January temperature'': (mountains) to (plains) *''Average July temperature'': (mountains) to (plains) *''Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

'': 500–2,000 mm.

History

It is known that modern-day Circassians also called Kassogs were inhabiting Kabardino Balkaria since at least the 6th century BC, then known as Zichia. On 1 July 1994 Kabardino-Balkaria became the second republic after

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

to sign a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.

Politics

The head of government in Kabardino-Balkaria is the

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. The current Head is

Kazbek Kokov Kazbek Valeryevich Kokov ( Kabardian: КӀуэкӀуэ Валерэ и къуэ Къазбэч; , ; born 20 July 1973) is a Russian politician. He is head of Kabardino-Balkaria since 3 October 2019 (acting head of KBR since September 2018). He ...

. The legislative body of the Republic is the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

comprising 70 deputies elected for a five-year term.Constitution, Article 94. The republic adopted a new constitution in 2001 which prevents the republic from existing independently of the Russian Federation.

Administrative divisions

File:Абай къала.jpg, Cherek-Balkarskaya gorge File:Dykhtau.jpg, Mount Dykh-Tau File:ГКХ во второй половине дня.jpg, Prielbrusye File:Тызыльская теснина.jpg, Tyzyl Gorge

Demographics

Population: Life expectancy in Russian subject -Kabardino-Balkaria

Life expectancy:

Vital statistics

:Source: Note: TFR 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 source.

Ethnic groups

Kabardino-Balkaria includes two major ethnic communities, the

Kabardins The Kabardians ( Kabardian: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; ) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Cir ...

(Circassians), who speak a North-West Caucasian language, and the

Balkars Balkars ( or аланла, romanized: alanla or таулула, , 'mountaineers') are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus region, one of the titular nation, titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-B ...

who speak a

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

. According to the 2021 Census, Kabardins make up 57.1% of the republic's population, followed by

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

(19.8%) and Balkars (13.7%). Other groups include

Cherkess The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe ( Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the C ...

(3.0%),

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

(1.9%),

Ossetians The Ossetians ( or ; ),Merriam-Webster (2021), s.v"Ossete" also known as Ossetes ( ), Ossets ( ), and Alans ( ), are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern side ...

(0.8%),

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

(0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. File:Верхняя Балкария. Мечеть..jpg, Mosque in Kabardino-Balkaria File:Catholic church in Blagoveschenka, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia.jpg, Catholic church in Kabardino-Balkaria ( Diocese of Saratov, Blagoveshchenka) File:1936 год. Жабоев М. из селения Нижний Хулам за игрой в "Сыбызгы", на празднике в честь 15 -летия Кабардино-Балкарии.jpg, Balkars in 1936 File:Beslan Mudranov 01.jpg, Kabardian wrestler

Beslan Mudranov Beslan Zaudinovich Mudranov (; born 7 July 1986) ( Circassian: Мудран Беслъэн) is a Russian judoka (since 2008) and former Sambo wrestler (2003–2008) of Circassian descent. He won the Olympic gold medal in the Men's 60 kg ju ...

won Russia's first gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Religion

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people, 70.8% of the population of Kabardino-Balkaria adhered to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 11.6% to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, 3.8% were non-Orthodox

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, and 1.8% followed Adyghe (Kabardian) folk religion and other indigenous faiths. In addition, 12% of the population declared to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), or less commonly "more spiritual than religious", is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not reg ...

" and 5.6% was

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

or followed other religions, including

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

es.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Official website of the Head of the Republic
*

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Kabardino-Balkaria Profile
{{Authority control North Caucasus States and territories established in 1936 1936 establishments in the Soviet Union Regions of Europe with multiple official languages North Caucasian Federal District Republics of Russia