Karachaevo-Cherkesiya - Атлас этнических региональных автономий

Description of the autonomy

One of the 22 republics of the Russian Federation. It is located in the foothills of the northwestern Caucasus. In the south it borders on Georgia.

Since 1921 it was part of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Republic. In 1922 the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast was formed within the South-Eastern region. In 1926, the Karachay Autonomous Oblast and Cherkess National Okrug were divided (since 1928 - an autonomous oblast). Karachay Autonomous Oblast was liquidated in 1943, and some of the Karachais were deported to Central Asia and Kazakhstan. After the rehabilitation of repressed peoples in 1957, the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast was established within the Stavropol Krai. In 1990, she left the Stavropol Krai, and two years later was transformed into the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KCR) within the Russian Federation.

There are two titular ethnic groups in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic - Karachays and Circassians. The defining markers of their differences from the titular nation of the country are language and religion. Karachay people speak the Karachay-Balkar language of the Turkic family. Circassians speak the Kabardian-Circassian language of the Abkhaz-Adyghe language family. Thus, the titular peoples belong to two different language groups that do not have a genetic relationship. However, religiously, they are similar, as the majority of them profess Islam of the Sunni type.

The KCR has a complex ethnic composition. According to the results of the 2010 All-Russia Population Census, Karachay comprise 41% of the population, Circassians - 11.9%. Moreover, Russians make up a significant part of the region's population - 31.6%. Apart from that, Abazines make up 7.8%, Nogais - 3.3%.

The situation in interethnic relations in the region is generally assessed as stable, but there is tension associated with the distribution of power positions among ethnic groups from time to time. In addition, there are social movements, which activists are in favor of dividing the republic on an ethnic basis both in the Karachay and in the Circassian part of the population.

Autonomy's characteristics

Year of the creation of the autonomy:

Geographic

Where is the autonomy situated:
Autonomy area: km²
Share of the autonomy in the area of the country: %
Autonomy population:the latest census thousands of people
Share of the autonomy in the population of the country: %

Country's characteristics

Level of economic development of the country:GDP per capita in 2015 in current price in $ in $
Political regime in the country:It is based on the Freedom House Index, 2015. All countries of the world are located on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Countries whose ratings fall between 1.0 and 2.5 are “Free”, between 3.0 and 5.0 are "Partly Free," and those between 5.5 and 7.0 are "Not Free."

Economic

Share of the autonomy in the economy of the country:GRP of the autonomy divided to GDP of the country (%) %
Level of economic development of the autonomy:relative to the country (%): GRP per capita of the autonomy divided to GDP per capita of the country %

Ethnic

Share of the dominant in the country ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the dominant in the country ethnic group divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Share of the titular ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Ethnic peculiarity:It indicates a key characteristic of autonomy's ethnic identity - language or religion or both
Diversity of ethnic composition:The presence of other (in addition to the titular group in the autonomy and the dominant group in the country) significant ethnic groups in the population of the autonomy

Political

Degree of self-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_selfrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of self-rule: institutional depth; policy scope; fiscal autonomy; borrowing autonomy; and the extent to which a region has an independent legislature and executive. The index takes value from 0 to 18
Degree of shared-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_sharedrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of shared-rule: participation of a region in national law-making; intergovernmental meetings; the distribution of national tax revenues; borrowing; and constitutional change. The index takes value from 0 to 12
The presence of the "kin-state":"Kin-state" is a state whose main population shares the ethnic characteristics of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy
Linguistic preferences:It indicates how the language of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy is learned in secondary schools in the autonomy
Ethnic conflicts:It indicates whether the serious conflicts between the autonomy and the central government as well as between ethnic groups within the authority take place in 2001-2015. The level of conflict is determined on the basis of the annual reports of Conflict Barometer