North Caucasus

The North Caucasus,[lower-alpha 1] or Ciscaucasia,[lower-alpha 2] is the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, located in Eurasia, on the division between Asia and Eastern Europe. It is entirely governed by Russia, bordered by the Sea of Azov and Black Sea to the west, the Caspian Sea to the east, and the Caucasus mountains to the south. The region shares land borders with the South Caucasus countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan.[lower-alpha 3] Krasnodar is the largest city within the North Caucasus.

For other uses, see North Caucasus (disambiguation).

North Caucasus is located in Southern Federal District
Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai
Adygea
Adygea
KC
KB
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai
Oss
Ing
Cya
Dag-est-an
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Volgograd Oblast
Volgograd Oblast
Kalmykia
Kalmykia
Ast-rakh-anOblast
Ast-
rakh-
an
Oblast
The North Caucasus region within Russia
  • Red: NC economic region, former NC krai, former NC military okrug
  • Green: former NC military okrug
  • Blue: NC economic region, NC federal okrug, former NC military okrug

Politically, the North Caucasus is made up of Russian republics and krais. It lies north of the Main Caucasian Range, which separates it from the South Caucasus. As part of Russia, the territory falls within the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts and consists of Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the constituent republics, approximately from west to east: the Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia–Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Republic of Dagestan and to the north: Kalmykia.[1]

Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the northern slope and western extremity of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, as well as a part of its southern slope to the West. The Pontic–Caspian steppe area is often also encompassed under the notion of "Ciscaucasus", thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe is generally considered to be the Manych River. Owing to its mild climate compared to much of Russia, the region has been described as Russia's "sunbelt".[2]

History
Northern Caucasus, Early Bronze Age artifacts, 3rd millennium BCE.

Ancient cultures of the Northern Caucasus are known as Klin-Yar community, with the most notable culture being the ancient Koban culture.

Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic–Caspian steppe, mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils, which has been almost completely tilled and grazed. It is bounded by the Sea of Azov on the west, and the Caspian Sea on the east. According to the Concise Atlas of the World, Second Edition (2008), the Ciscaucasus region lies on the European side of the "commonly-accepted division" that separates Europe from Asia.

The Northern Caucasus was conquered by Russia after the Russo-Circassian War. Much of the Northern Caucasus seceded from Russia in March 1917 as the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, taking advantage of the instability caused by the February Revolution and becoming a minor participant in the Russian Civil War. Mountainous Republic troops engaged in fierce clashes against the invading White General Anton Denikin's Volunteer Army, before the latter's defeat at the hands of the Red Army. The region was informally occupied by the Soviet Union shortly afterwards, and the republic was forced into accepting a nonviolent annexation in January 1921. It was reformed into the Mountainous ASSR, which was later dissolved in October 1924, replaced by a series of autonomous Okrugs and Oblasts.

The outer border of the Soviet Union's North Caucasus Krai was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region (Raion) which includes an oblast (Rostov Oblast), two krais (Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai), and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District (Okrug) also included Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, and the Republic of Kalmykia. Its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze (today Vladikavkaz) and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk (today Stavropol).

Unrest
Main article: Insurgency in the North Caucasus

The North Caucasus region experienced widespread unrest and insurgency after the fall of the Soviet Union, including a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, the Islamic State[3][4][5]

The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years.[4][5] During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, such as North Ossetia–Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia, Stavropol Krai, and Volgograd Oblast.

While the insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the insurgent underground in the North Caucasus,[6] counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus have not ended.[7] In June 2022, the US State Department advised citizens not to travel to the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, due to terrorism, kidnapping, and risk of civil unrest.[8]

Population
See also: List of federal subjects of Russia by life expectancy

The North Caucasus, especially in its mountainous territories, has the highest life expectancy in Russia.[9][10] The region is known for a large number of centenarians.[11][12][13]

Life expectancy at birth in the North Caucasus, 1990–2021[9][10]
  • Location of the North Caucasian Federal District
    Location of the North Caucasian Federal District
  • Map of former North Caucasus Military District (okrug)
    Map of former North Caucasus Military District (okrug)
  • Map of modern-day North Caucasus Economic Region (raion)
    Map of modern-day North Caucasus Economic Region (raion)
  • Sophia Valley, Karachay-Cherkessia
    Sophia Valley, Karachay-Cherkessia

See also

References
  1. "Russia: Protesters Ransack Government Building In Karachaevo-Cherkessia". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  2. Hill, Fiona; Gaddy, Clifford (2003). The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8157-9618-3. "The North Caucasus region extends across Rostov oblast and Stavropol and Krasnodar krays. It also encompasses the seven autonomous republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetiya, North Ossetiya, Kabardino-Balkariya, Karachayevo-Cherkessiya, and Adygeya. The region accounts for about 2 percent of the territory of the Russian Federation and in 1989 had a population of 13,183,860, or about 8 percent of the Russian population. The North Caucasus could qualify as Russia's "sunbelt."
  3. "Six Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya". BBC News. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2017. Russian troops in Chechnya have faced a low level insurgency for years ... They still face a low-level insurgency in the mainly Muslim region in Russia's volatile North Caucasus area.
  4. "Russia's North Caucasus Insurgency Widens as ISIS' Foothold Grows". www.worldpoliticsreview.com. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017. Russia's North Caucasus insurgency has gone relatively quiet, but reduced casualty numbers belie a still-worrying situation where long-standing grievances remain.
  5. Walker, Shaun (April 4, 2017). "Why suspicion over St Petersburg metro attack is likely to fall on Islamist groups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017. A renewed crackdown on any suspected militant activity in the run-up to the Sochi winter Olympics in 2014 and the departure of many militants to fight in Syria led to a weakening of the North Caucasus insurgency.
  6. Нечаев А., Зайнашев Ю. Россия выиграла еще одну важнейшую битву // Взгляд.ру, 19.12.2017
  7. Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995, "О ветеранах" (in Russian)
  8. "Russia Travel Advisory". travel.state.gov.
  9. "Демографический ежегодник России" [The Demographic Yearbook of Russia] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat). Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  10. "Ожидаемая продолжительность жизни при рождении" [Life expectancy at birth]. Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System of Russia (in Russian). Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  11. "Russia: Mountain Air Leads To Long Life In North Caucasus". June 1, 2007.
  12. Sam Bedford (February 13, 2018). "Why the Caucasus Has So Many 100-Year-Olds". TheCultureTrip.com.
  13. Science (January 29, 2021). "The Caucasus. The Oldest People In The World (Episode 3). Full Documentary" (video). YouTube.

Notes
  1. (Adyghe: Темыр Къафкъас, romanized: Temır Qafqas; Karachay-Balkar: Шимал Кавказ, romanized: Şimal Kavkaz; Chechen: Къилбаседа Кавказ, romanized: Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; Ingush: Даькъасте, romanized: Däq̇aste; Kabardian: Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, romanized: İṩxhərə Qauqaz; Ossetian: Цӕгат Кавказ, romanized: Cægat Kavkaz; Russian: Северный Кавказ)
  2. (Russian: Предкавказье, romanized: Predkavkazye)
  3. The North Caucasus also shares borders with the two partially recognized breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to its south, both of which are internationally recognised as part of Georgia.

Further reading
  • In Quest for God and Freedom: Sufi Responses to the Russian Advance in the North Caucasus by Anna Zelkina
  • Russia in the Modern World: A New Geography by Denis J. B. Shaw, Institute of British Geographers
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