1.
Republics of Russia
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According to the Constitution, the Russian Federation is divided into 85 federal subjects,22 of which are republics. Most of the republics represent areas of ethnicity, although there are several republics with Russian majority. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the titular nationality, due to decades of internal migration inside Russia, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republics population. Republics differ from other subjects of Russia in that they have the right to establish their own official language and have their own constitution. Other federal subjects, such as krais and oblasts, are not explicitly given this right, the level of actual autonomy granted to such political units varies but is generally quite extensive. The parliamentary assemblies of such republics have often enacted laws which are at odds with the federal constitution, the republics executives tend to be very powerful. However, this autonomy was lessened considerably under Russian President Vladimir Putin, in addition, Putin strengthened the position of the republics legislatures, while weakening their executives power. The Presidents nomination must be accepted by the republics parliament, there are secessionist movements in most republics, but these are generally not very strong. However, there was support for secession among Tatars, Bashkirs, Yakuts. On March 18,2014, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol were joined by treaty to the Russian Federation, much of the international community and the Ukrainian government do not recognize Crimeas accession to Russia and consider Crimea an integral part of Ukraine. After the dissolution of the USSR, each republic was succeeded by a republic with a similar name. Several autonomous oblasts have become republics as well, the expression autonomous republic is still sometimes used for the republics of Russia
2.
State Anthem of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic
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The National Anthem of Kabardino-Balkaria is the state anthem of Kabardino-Balkaria, composed by Khasan Kardanov on 1992. Гимн Кабардино-Балкарии - Нальчик - сайт города iNalchik. ru Гимн КБР - Nalchik. ru
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
5.
Federal districts of Russia
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The federal districts are groupings of the federal subjects of Russia. Plenipotentiary Representatives are appointed by the President and are employees of the Presidential Administration, source, President Vladimir Putin established seven federal districts in May 2000. On January 19,2010 the new North Caucasian Federal District split from the Southern Federal District, on March 2014, after the Russian military intervention in and annexation of Crimea, the Crimean Federal District was established. The legality of this annexation is disputed by most states as well as NATO, on July 28,2016 the Crimean Federal District was abolished and merged into the Southern Federal District in order to improve the governance
6.
North Caucasian Federal District
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North Caucasian Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest of Russia, in the area of the North Caucasus. The federal district was split from Southern Federal District on January 19,2010, the population of the federal subjects comprising the federal district was 9,428,826 according to the 2010 Census, living in an area of 170,400 square kilometers. The current Envoy is Oleg Belaventsev, a diverse assortment of mostly Muslim ethnic and tribal groups form the remainder, and the North Caucasus Federal District is Russias only Muslim-majority district
7.
Economic regions of Russia
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No federal subject can belong to more than one economic region. Economic regions are grouped into economic zones. An economic region or its parts can belong to more than one economic zone, establishment and abolition of economic regions and economic zones or any changes in their composition are decided upon by the federal government of Russia. The following is the list and composition of the economic regions, sorted by population
8.
North Caucasus economic region
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North Caucasus Economic Region is one of 12 economic regions of Russia. It comprises the whole of the North Caucasian Federal District and the federal subjects of the Southern Federal District. In this area, descending northward from the chain of the Caucasus Mountains to a level plain, are found rich deposits of oil, natural gas. The major cities are Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Grozny, Vladikavkaz, farm machinery, coal, petroleum, and natural gas are the chief products. The Kuban River region, a fertile area, is one of the chief granaries of Russia. Wheat, sugar beets, tobacco, rice, and sunflower seeds are grown, other rivers include the Don, the Kuma, and the Terek, and the Volga-Don Canal is a major transportation route. This region includes the most troubled part of the Russian Federation, the Chechen Republic, Economic capacities are far lower than the average for the country as a whole. GDP per capita is half that of the average for the Federation. Employment in agriculture is well above the national average. Life expectancy for men and women is at the average for the Federation as a whole. But other indicators are high are signs of trouble, for example, the migration of the population, the readiness of people to move to find a job elsewhere and high unemployment
9.
Nalchik
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It covers an area of 131 square kilometers. The territory of modern-day Nalchik was formerly known as Slabada and it was inhabited by native Kabardians, Balkars, Chechens, Adeki, and Cherkese until around 1743, groups occasionally clashed over and dispute their claims to the land. With the founding of the city of Nalchik, the disputes among the native groups calmed, the word Nalchik literally means small horseshoe in Kabardian and Karachay-Balkar. It is a diminutive of nal, a common Middle Eastern word for horseshoe, possibly from the ancient Scythian, nalak. The city of Nalchik was named this way because of how it is shaped as surrounded by the mountains of the land, during World War II, Nalchik was occupied by Nazi Germany and Romania between October 28,1942, and January 3,1943. The city was damaged during the conflict. Nalchiks Jewish population, mostly Mountain Jews, suffered brutal beatings, however, the Jewish People of Nalchik were able to survive the invasion because they were able to, somewhat, blend in with their neighbors. Nalchik was chosen the second cleanest city of Russia in 2003, on October 13,2005, Nalchik was attacked by a large group of Yarmuk Jamaat militants led by Shamil Basayev and Anzor Astemirov. Buildings associated with the Russian security forces were targeted, killing at least 14 civilians, thirty-five policemen were killed in the fighting and eighty-nine militants, including prominent leader Ilias Gorchkhanov, were killed while another fifty-nine were arrested. As a municipal division, the city of republic significance of Nalchik is incorporated as Nalchik Urban Okrug and it also serves as an industrial center of the republic. com, Nalchik has a humid continental climate with hot summers and no dry season. The warm season lasts from late May to mid-September and the season from December to March. Most forms of precipitation are light rain and thunderstorms, as well as, light snow, wind speeds are typically calm to a light breeze through the year. PFC Spartak Nalchik is an football club based in Nalchik. The 2008 World Womens Chess Championship has also held in Nalchik on August 28–September 18,2008. Закон №12-РЗ от27 февраля2005 г, «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Кабардино-Балкарской Республики», в ред. Закона №20-РЗ от23 апреля2014 г, «О внесении изменений в отдельные республиканские Законы». Вступил в силу на следующий день после опубликования, Опубликован, Кабардино-Балкарская правда, б/н,1 марта2005 г. Закон №13-РЗ от27 февраля2005 г, «Об статусе и границах муниципальных образований в Кабардино-Балкарской Республики», в ред
10.
Federal subjects of Russia
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Since March 18,2014, the Russian Federation constitutionally consists of 85 federal subjects, although the two most recently added subjects are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Three Russian cities of importance have a status of both city and separate federal subject which comprises other cities and towns within federal city keeping old structure of postal address. In 1993, there were 89 federal subjects listed, by 2008, the number of federal subjects had been decreased to 83 because of several mergers. In 2014, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea became the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia, every federal subject has its own head, a parliament, and a constitutional court. Federal subjects have their own constitution and legislation, subjects have equal rights in relations with federal government bodies. The federal subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council and they do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. Composition of post-Soviet Russia was formed during the history of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR, the Federation Treaty was included in the text of the 1978 Constitution of the Russian SFSR. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the system became de jure closer to other modern federal states with a republican form of government in the world. There are several groupings of Russian regions, Federal subjects should not be confused with the eight Federal districts which are not subdivisions of Russia, are much larger and each encompass many federal subjects. Federal districts were created by Executive Order of the President of Russia specially for presidential envoys, an official government translation of the Constitution of Russia in Article 5 states,1. Another translation of the Constitution of Russia gives for article 65, each federal subject belongs to one of the following types, b. ^ According to Article 13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, however, St. Petersburg is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast. ^ According to Article 24 of the Charter of Moscow Oblast, however, Moscow is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast. ^ Not recognized internationally as a part of Russia, the merging process was finished on March 1,2008. No new mergers have been planned since March 2008, Федерального конституционного закона №7-ФКЗ от30 декабря2008 г. Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования, Опубликован, Российская газета, №237,25 декабря1993 г
11.
Time in Russia
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There are eleven time zones in Russia, which currently observe times ranging from UTC+02,00 to UTC+12,00. Daylight saving time is not used in Russia, since 4 December 2016, the time zones are as follows, Daylight saving time in Russia was originally introduced on 30 June 1917 by a decree of the Russian Provisional Government. However, it was abandoned by a Decree of the Soviet government five months later, Daylight saving time was re-introduced in the USSR on 1 April 1981, by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The usage of daylight saving time continued after the Soviet collapse but ended in 2011, on 27 March 2011, clocks were advanced as usual, but they did not go back on 30 October 2011, effectively making Moscow Time UTC+4 permanently. In the Russian Empire, most of the observed solar time. During the late 19th century, Moscow Mean Time was introduced on 1 January 1880,2,30,17 corresponds to 37. 6166667°, the longitude of Moscow. Other parts of Russia kept solar time for several years. At this time, Russia had the Julian calendar with 12 or 13 days less date compared to Western Europe, so it is possible to say the Moscow actually had GMT-285,29,43, GMT-309,29,43 and GMT-309,28,41. Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar on Thursday,14 February 1918, after the Soviet Union was created, Moscow Time became UTC+2 and the various other time zones were introduced throughout Russia and the rest of the Soviet Union, for example Irkutsk Time GMT+7. Between 1917-1922 the time was ordered, with daylight savings time some of those years. On 21 June 1930, the Soviet Union advanced all clocks by one hour, Moscow Time was now GMT+3 and Irkutsk Time GMT+8. On 1 April 1981, daylight saving time was re-introduced, clocks were moved one hour forward on 1 April, on 1 April 1981,00,00,00, Oymyakonsky District changed its time zone from MSK+6 to MSK+8. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+9 to UTC+12, on 1 April 1982,00,00,00, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug changed its time zone from MSK+10 to MSK+9, thus eliminating Anadyr Time. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+14 to UTC+13, on 27 March 1988,02,00,00, Saratov and Volgograd oblasts changed its time zone from MSK+1 to MSK. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+5 to UTC+4, on 23 May 1993,00,00,00, Novosibirsk Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+8 to UTC+7, on 28 May 1995,00,00,00, Altai Krai and Altai Republic changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. On 30 March 1997,02,00,00, Sakhalin Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+8 to MSK+7, on 1 May 2002,03,00,00, Tomsk Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. On 1 January 2004,00,00,00, New Siberian Islands, Tomponsky District, the following time zone changes occurred on 28 March 2010, which, in particular, led to abolition of two of the eleven time zones
12.
Moscow Time
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Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, Belarus, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the time zones of Russia. It has been set to UTC+3 permanently on 26 October 2014, Moscow Time is used to schedule trains, ships, etc. throughout Russia, while airplane travel is scheduled using local time. Times in Russia are often announced throughout the country on radio stations as Moscow Time, descriptions of time zones in Russia are often based on Moscow Time rather than UTC. For example, Yakutsk is said to be MSK+6 within Russia, on 27 March 2011, Muscovites set their clocks forward for a final time, effectively observing MSD, or UTC+4, permanently. On 1 July 2014, the State Duma passed a bill repealing the 2011 change, most of the European Russia uses Moscow Time. In Kaliningrad Oblast, Kaliningrad time is used, Samara Oblast and Udmurtia use Samara time and Perm Krai, Bashkortostan and Orenburg Oblast use Yekaterinburg time. Prior to 27 March 2011, Moscow Time was UTC+3, daylight saving time was used in the summer, advancing it to UTC+4. UTC+3 was also used in European parts of what was then the USSR, Belarus, in 1930–1991. Estonia, in 1940–1989 Latvia, in 1940–1989 Lithuania, in 1940–1989 Moldova, in 1940–1991 Ukraine, in 1930–1990 Kaliningrad Oblast, in 1946–1991 Samara Oblast, in 1989–1991, and again from 2010–2011. Moscow Summer Time, was first applied in 1981 and was used, until 1988 in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania until 1989 in Belarus, Moldova, between 1989 and 1990 and in 2010 in Samara Oblast. In 1922–1930 and 1991–1992, Moscow observed EET, daylight saving time was observed in the summer of 1991, and the city and region reverted to UTC+3 by the summer of 1992. The time in Moscow has been as follows, Time in Russia East Africa Time, also in UTC+03,00 Current time in Moscow Moscow time
13.
Vehicle registration plates of Russia
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Vehicle registration plates are the mandatory number plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle, and have existed in Russia for many decades. Most motor vehicles which are used on roads are required by law to display them. The current format uses a letter followed by 3 digits and two more letters, to improve legibility of the numbers for Russian cars abroad, only a small subset of Cyrillic characters that look like Latin characters are used. Finally, the number and letters RUS are included, as well as the national flag. There is a different format for trailers, motorcycles, mopeds and scooters plates are made of square reflective plates and its format is 4 digits at the top and two letters at the bottom. Some autonomous regions are not required to have the flag on the licence plates, vehicles used by certain organisations or categories of persons carry special plates, Special plates in the above categories never carry the Russian flag, except for trailers. There are special reserved for government officials. The license plates for government officials originally had a larger flag instead of the regional code. Rich businessmen, prominent politicians and crime lords often use para-legally acquired special licence plates to get preferential treatment from the transport police, often, this is used in conjunction with a flashing siren. The Society of Blue Buckets is a protest movement that opposes this trend, as of 2014, there are new codes for Russian plates, number 82 for the Republic of Crimea and 92 for Sevastopol. The Russian Federation then officially annexed Crimea from Ukraine and now administers it as two federal subjects, the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Ukraine, backed by most of the community, refuses to accept the annexation. As per GOST provision, only 1,726,272 combinations may be issued within one administration unit, in certain regions, the amount of vehicles exceeds that number, and the combination may not be reused after a vehicle was taken off the registration. All this creates an issue of running out of numbers, a short-term solution was introducing more codes for those regions. Introduction of new license plate is being considered as a future solution. In the following years some codes were reassigned or discontinued, as the populous regions started running out of license plate combinations, new codes past code 89 were assigned to them as well. Additional triple-digit codes were created by adding a 1 or a 7 to the regional code. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs Order 282 from March 28,2002, 1Code 059 is a former code for Syria
14.
Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
15.
Kabardian language
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Kabardian, also known as Highland Adyghe or Kabardino-Cherkess or East Circassian, is one of the two literary dialects of the Adyghe language. It is closely related to Lowland Adyghe, the Kabardian Adyghe has two major sub-dialects, Kabardian and Besleney. Kabardians refer to their using the Kabardian term адыгэбзэ adygèbzè. It is spoken mainly in parts of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia as well as in the United States, Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Germany, amongst others. It has 47 or 48 consonant phonemes of which 22 or 23 are fricatives, depending upon whether one counts as phonemic and it is one of very few languages to possess a clear phonemic distinction between ejective affricates and ejective fricatives. As a member of the Abazgi–Adyghe dialectic continuum, Kabardian is ergative and has a complex verbal system. Kabardian is written using the Cyrillic script, and this serves as the language for the Adyghe people in both Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Since 2004, the Turkish state broadcasting corporation TRT has maintained a programme a week in the Terek sub-dialect of Kabardian. In 2016, Yury Kokov proposed to create a writing script which would unite both Lowland Adyghe and Kabardian Adyghe dialects. The inscriptions of a Kabardian warrior from modern-day Rostov Oblast was found during excavations of the Saltovo-Mayatskaya Culture, the Circassian Runic inscriptions are displayed at the Novocherkassk Museum of Russia. The Circassians had developed an alphabet in the 6–7th centuries. Runic inscriptions similar to the Kabardian inscriptions were discovered in Bessarabia. Kabardian has a voiceless velar fricative which correspond to Lowland Adyghe. In the Besleney sub-dialect, there exist an alveolar ejective affricate which corresponds to in literary Kabardian. Some Turkish Kabardians and Besleneys have a voiced velar stop. In Besleney sub-dialect and Uzunyayla Kabardian, there is a voiced velar stop. For example, the Baslaney words гьанэ shirt and кӏьапсэ rope are pronounced in other Kabardian dialects as джанэ, consonants that exist only in borrowed words. The glottalization of the stops can be quite weak, and has been reported to often be creaky voice
16.
Karachay-Balkar language
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The Karachay-Balkar language is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars. It is divided into two dialects, Karachay-Baksan-Chegem, which pronounces two phonemes as /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, and Balkar, which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as /ts/, the modern Karachay-Balkar written language is based on the Karachay-Baksan-Chegem dialect. The language is related to Kumyk. Steve Seegmiller Karachay Russian-Karachay-Balkar On-Line Dictionary Russian-Karachay-Balkar On-Line Dictionary Заман newspaper Къарачай newspaper Минги Тау magazine
17.
North Caucasus
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The North Caucasus or Ciscaucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the west and the Caspian Sea on the east, within European Russia. Geopolitically, the Northern Caucasus includes the Russian republics and krais of the North Caucasus, the outer border of the Soviet Unions North Caucasus Krai was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region which includes an oblast, two krais, and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District also included Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, and its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk. Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the slope and western extremity of the Caucasus Major mountain range. The Forecaucasus steppe area is also encompassed under the notion of Ciscaucasus, thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe is generally considered to be the Manych River. Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic steppe, mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils and 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, shaw, Institute of British Geographers Media related to North Caucasus at Wikimedia Commons North Caucasus travel guide from Wikivoyage Relations between The North and South Caucasus. Articles in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.27
18.
Russian Census (2010)
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The Russian Census of 2010 is the first census of the Russian Federation population since 2002 and the second after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Preparations for the census began in 2007 and it took place between October 14 and October 25, the census was originally scheduled for October 2010, but was moved to 2013 allegedly for financial reasons, although it was also speculated that political motives were influential in the decision. However, in late 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that the Government of Russia allocated 10.5 billion rubles in order to conduct the census as originally scheduled, Results showed the population to stand at 142.9 million. Since the previous 2002 census, population has decreased by 2.3 million, according to the 2010 census, urban population is 105.3 million, rural population is 37.5 million. The urbanisation rate is currently 73. 7%, the median age is 38 years. The ethnic composition is dominated by Russians, demographics of Russia Russian Census 2010 final results Results of 2010 All-Russia population census Official website of the 2010 Census
19.
Stavropol Krai
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Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia in the North Caucasian Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol, the krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major. The krai was established as North Caucasus Krai on October 17,1924, after undergoing numerous administrative changes, it was renamed Ordzhonikidze Krai, after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, in March 1937, and Stavropol Krai on January 12,1943. In 1970-1978, Mikhail Gorbachev, a native of Stavropol Krai and he left the region for Moscow in 1978, when he was promoted to a Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, to become the Partys General Secretary and the nations leader 7 years later. Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Krai Administration, the Charter of Stavropol Krai is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Stavropol Krai is the regional standing legislative body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, the krai administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the krai Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 2,786,281, up from 2,735,139 recorded in the 2002 Census. The population of the krai is concentrated in the basins of the Kuban River and of the Kuma River. The Kuban Cossacks are now generally considered ethnic Russians, even though they are of Ukrainian origin, the 2010 Census counted thirty-three ethnic groups of more than 2,000 persons each, making this federal subject one of the most multiethnic in Russia. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. Birth Rate,11.22 per 1,000 Death Rate,13.32 per 1,000 Net Immigration, +3.5 per 1,000 NGR, -0. 21% per Year PGR, +0. 14% per Year Births,34,768 Deaths,33,356 According to a 2012 official survey 46. In addition, 19% of the population declares to be spiritual but not religious, 16% is atheist, Stavropol Krai is administratively divided into twenty-six districts and ten cities/towns. The districts are subdivided into nine towns of district subordinance, seven urban-type settlements. Irrigated agriculture is developed in the region. As of the beginning of 2001, Stavropol Krai had 3,361 km of irrigation canals, among the major irrigation canals are, Nevinnomyssk Canal, the trunk of the Kuban-Yegorlyk Irrigation System. The Great Stavropol Canal, transporting water from the Kuban River eastward across the entire krai, the Terek-Kuma Canal and Kuma-Manych Canal, transporting water from the Terek River via the Kuma River to the East Manych River. Закона №132-кз от2 декабря2015 г, «О поправках к Уставу Ставропольского края»
20.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east
21.
Mount Elbrus
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Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and in Europe, and the tenth most prominent peak in the world. A dormant volcano, Elbrus forms part of the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia, Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. With its slightly taller west summit, the stands at 5,642 metres. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel of St. Niklaus, the name Elbrus /ˈɛlbrəs/ is a metathesis of Alborz, which is also the name of a long mountain range in northern Iran. It is derived from Avestan Harā Bərəzaitī, which is a mountain in Iranian mythology. Harā Bərəzaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī, which was reformed into Middle Persian as Harborz, Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant, the reconstructed ancestor of Modern Persian barz, berāzande, and boland, and Modern Kurdish barz. Harā may be interpreted as watch or guard, from Indo-European *ser, Elbrus stands 20 km north of the main range of the Greater Caucasus and 65 km south-southwest of the Russian town of Kislovodsk. Its permanent icecap feeds 22 glaciers, which in turn give rise to the Baksan, Kuban, Elbrus sits on a moving tectonic area, and has been linked to a fault. A supply of magma lies deep beneath the dormant volcano, Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago. The volcano is considered inactive. Elbrus was active in the Holocene, and according to the Global Volcanism Program, evidence of recent volcanism includes several lava flows on the mountain, which look fresh, and roughly 260 square kilometres of volcanic debris. The longest flow extends 24 kilometres down the northeast summit, indicative of a large eruption, there are other signs of activity on the volcano, including solfataric activity and hot springs. The western summit has a volcanic crater about 250 metres in diameter. Myth held that here Zeus had chained Prometheus, the Titan who had stolen fire from the gods, crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel of St. Niklaus in the canton Valais. During the early years of the Soviet Union, mountaineering became a sport of the populace. On 17 March 1936, a group of 33 inexperienced Komsomol members attempted the mountain, during the Battle of the Caucasus in World War II, the Wehrmacht occupied the area surrounding the mountain from August 1942 to January 1943 with 10,000 Gebirgsjäger from the 1st Mountain Division. A possibly apocryphal story tells of a Soviet pilot being given a medal for bombing the main mountaineering hut, Priyut 11 and he was then later nominated for a medal for not hitting the hut, but instead the German fuel supply, leaving the hut standing for future generations. From 1959 through 1976, a cable car system was built in stages that can take visitors as high as 3,800 metres
22.
Terek River
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The Terek River, a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flows through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into the Caspian Sea, below the city of Kizlyar it forms a swampy river delta around 100 kilometres wide. The river is a key asset in the region, providing irrigation. The main cities on the Terek include Vladikavkaz, Mozdok, several minor hydroelectric power stations dam the Terek, Dzau electrostation, Bekanskaya and Pavlodolskaya. Construction has started of the Dariali Hydropower Plant, with an installed capacity of 108 MW. Leo Tolstoys novel The Cossacks is set on the Terek and amongst its Cossacks, the Terek drains most of the northeast Caucasus east into the Caspian just as its sister, the Kuban River, drains the northwest Caucasus west into the Black Sea. Its major tributaries are the following, in the west a fan of rivers flows east and northeast into the Terek. These are the east-flowing Malka River, the Baksan River, the Chergem River and these three join the Malka just before it reaches the Terek. Then there is the part of the Terek with the Darial Pass. The great northwest bend of the Terek is cut off by the northeast-flowing Sunzha River which catches most of the north-flowing rivers and these are the north-flowing upper Sunzha, the Assa River, the Argun and Khukhulau. East of these are the Aksay River and the Aktash River which formerly dried up in the lowlands between the Sulak and the Terek, in the east the Sulak River drains most of interior Dagestan and turns east to the Caspian before it reaches the Terek. The capital of Khazaria, Samandar, may have stood on the banks of the river Terek, also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395. The Terek Cossack Host had its base in the Terek basin, during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus it was part of the North Caucasus Line
23.
Baksan River
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Baksan River, also known as Azau is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia. It flows east northeast and joins the Malka River just before that river joins the northwest bend of the Terek River, the Baksan is 173 kilometres long, with a drainage basin of 6,800 square kilometres. The Baksan originates in the glaciers of the Elbrus, the towns of Tyrnyauz and Baksan are along the Baksan River, and there is a 25 MW hydropower plant on the river. Basksan is also the site of the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory and this article includes content derived from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978, which is partially in the public domain
24.
Dykh-Tau
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Dykh-Tau or Dykhtau, is a mountain located in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, its peak stands about 5 km north of the border with Georgia. Dykh-Tau is the second highest of the Caucasus Mountains, after Mount Elbrus, dykh-Tau is best accessed from the north. Bezingi village may be reached from Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria with infrequent public transport, thus Bezingi Alpine Camp is reached at 2180m. From here it takes a further 2 days to reach the base of the climb and this is one of the great Caucasian Peaks, facing the magnificent Bezingi Wall across the Bezingi Glacier. The first ascent in 1888 by Mummery and Zarfluh was an achievement at the time. Their route up the SW Ridge is no used as the normal route which is now the North Ridge graded 4B. Once a notch between Misses-Tau and Dykhtau is gained, the North Ridge is followed to the summit, allow 2 days from the Russian Bivouac, there are several good bivouac sites on the North Ridge. Details and map Various maps of Soviet military origin may be found on the internet
25.
Tambukan Lake
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Tambukan Lake is a lake with bitter-salt water on Northern Caucasus in Stavropol Krai and the Kabardino-Balkar Republic of Russia, located eight kilometers from Pyatigorsk. The lakes surface area is 1.87 square kilometers, the lake bed is a thick layer of silt, which has been used since 1886) in institutions for mud cures in Yessentuki and other therapeutic mud baths in the region of Caucasian Mineral Water. These mud baths have been used by individuals such as Feodor Chaliapin, Anton Chekhov. In 1395, the warlord Timur took a bath in Tambukan Lake, in 1709, Kabardian prince Murzarbek Tambiev defeated the Crimean-Turkish army near this lake. The word Tambukan comes from Turkic words Tambu qanı and means Tambiev’s blood or Tambiev’s asylum, in 1717, Peter The Great sent his physician Shober on expedition to Tambukan Lake to obtain medicinal water and mud. The first scientific descriprion of Tambukan Lake was by Guldenschtedt in 1773
26.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
27.
Caucasus
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The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europes highest mountain, politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. The southern parts consist of independent sovereign states, and the parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The region is known for its diversity, aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian. Pliny the Elders Natural History derives the name of the Caucasus from Scythian kroy-khasis, German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the Latvian word Kruvesis also means ice. According to German philologists Otto Schrader and Alfons A. Nehring, the South Caucasus region and southern Dagestan were the furthest points of Persian expansions, with areas to the north of Caucasus Mountains practically impregnable. The mythological mountain of Qaf, the worlds highest mountain that ancient lore shrouded in mystery, was said to be situated in this region, therefore, the Caucasus might be associated with the legendary mountain. The Ciscaucasus contains the majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands, all of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in South Caucasus. The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, the Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognised by the majority of independent states as part of Georgia, the Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. The region has many different languages and language families, there are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region. Russian is used as a common language, today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the part of the region. Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world
28.
Shkhara
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Shkhara, is the highest point in the nation of Georgia. Located in the Svaneti region along the Russian frontier, Shkhara lies 88 kilometres north of the city of Kutaisi, the summit lies in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, to the south-east of Mount Elbrus, Europes highest mountain. Shkhara is the third highest peak in the Caucasus, just behind Dykh-Tau, Shkhara is the high point and the eastern anchor of a massif known as the Bezingi Wall, a 12 kilometres long ridge. It is a large, steep peak in a glaciated region. Its north face is 1,500 metres high and contains several classic difficult routes, the peak was first climbed in 1888 via the North East Ridge route, by the British/Swiss team of U. Almer, J. Cockin and C. Roth and this route is still one of the easier and more popular routes on the mountain. The first complete traverse of the Bezingi Wall was in 1931, by the Austrians K. Poppinger, K. Moldan, and S. Schintlmeister
29.
Molybdenum
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Molybdenum is a chemical element with symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek Μόλυβδος molybdos, meaning lead, molybdenum minerals have been known throughout history, but the element was discovered in 1778 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. The metal was first isolated in 1781 by Peter Jacob Hjelm, molybdenum does not occur naturally as a free metal on Earth, it is found only in various oxidation states in minerals. The free element, a metal with a gray cast, has the sixth-highest melting point of any element. It readily forms hard, stable carbides in alloys, and for this reason most of production of the element is used in steel alloys. Most molybdenum compounds have low solubility in water, but when molybdenum-bearing minerals contact oxygen and water, industrially, molybdenum compounds are used in high-pressure and high-temperature applications as pigments and catalysts. Molybdenum-bearing enzymes are by far the most common catalysts for breaking the chemical bond in atmospheric molecular nitrogen in the process of biological nitrogen fixation. At least 50 molybdenum enzymes are now known in bacteria and animals and these nitrogenases contain molybdenum in a form different from other molybdenum enzymes, which all contain fully oxidized molybdenum in a molybdenum cofactor. These various molybdenum cofactor enzymes are vital to the organisms, and molybdenum is an element for life in all higher eukaryote organisms. In its pure form, molybdenum is a metal with a Mohs hardness of 5.5. It has a point of 2,623 °C, of the naturally occurring elements, only tantalum, osmium, rhenium, tungsten. Weak oxidation of molybdenum starts at 300 °C and it has one of the lowest coefficients of thermal expansion among commercially used metals. The tensile strength of molybdenum wires increases about 3 times, from about 10 to 30 GPa, there are 35 known isotopes of molybdenum, ranging in atomic mass from 83 to 117, as well as four metastable nuclear isomers. Seven isotopes occur naturally, with masses of 92,94,95,96,97,98. Of these naturally occurring isotopes, only molybdenum-100 is unstable, molybdenum-98 is the most abundant isotope, comprising 24. 14% of all molybdenum. Molybdenum-100 has a half-life of about 1019 y and undergoes double beta decay into ruthenium-100, molybdenum isotopes with mass numbers from 111 to 117 all have half-lives of approximately 150 ns. All unstable isotopes of molybdenum decay into isotopes of niobium, technetium, as also noted below, the most common isotopic molybdenum application involves molybdenum-99, which is a fission product. It is a parent radioisotope to the short-lived gamma-emitting daughter radioisotope technetium-99m, in 2008, the Delft University of Technology applied for a patent on the molybdenum-98-based production of molybdenum-99
30.
Tungsten
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Tungsten, also known as wolfram, is a chemical element with symbol W and atomic number 74. The word tungsten comes from the Swedish language tung sten, which translates to heavy stone. Its name in Swedish is volfram, however, in order to distinguish it from scheelite, a hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as a metal in 1783 and its important ores include wolframite and scheelite. The free element is remarkable for its robustness, especially the fact that it has the highest melting point of all the elements discovered, melting at 3,422 °C,6,192 °F. Its high density is 19.3 times that of water, comparable to that of uranium and gold, polycrystalline tungsten is an intrinsically brittle and hard material, making it difficult to work. However, pure single-crystalline tungsten is more ductile, and can be cut with a hard-steel hacksaw, tungstens many alloys have numerous applications, including incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, electrodes in TIG welding, superalloys, and radiation shielding. Tungstens hardness and high density give it military applications in penetrating projectiles, tungsten compounds are also often used as industrial catalysts. Tungsten is the metal from the third transition series that is known to occur in biomolecules. It is the heaviest element known to be essential to any living organism, tungsten interferes with molybdenum and copper metabolism and is somewhat toxic to animal life. In its raw form, tungsten is a hard metal that is often brittle. If made very pure, tungsten retains its hardness, and becomes malleable enough that it can be worked easily and it is worked by forging, drawing, or extruding. Tungsten objects are commonly formed by sintering. Of all metals in pure form, tungsten has the highest melting point, lowest vapor pressure, although carbon remains solid at higher temperatures than tungsten, carbon sublimes, rather than melts, so tungsten is considered to have a higher melting point. Tungsten has the lowest coefficient of expansion of any pure metal. The low thermal expansion and high melting point and tensile strength of tungsten originate from strong covalent bonds formed between tungsten atoms by the 5d electrons, alloying small quantities of tungsten with steel greatly increases its toughness. Tungsten exists in two crystalline forms, α and β. The former has a cubic structure and is the more stable form
31.
Coal
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Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon, along with quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen. A fossil fuel, coal forms when plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite, then sub-bituminous coal, after that bituminous coal. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over time, throughout history, coal has been used as an energy resource, primarily burned for the production of electricity and heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals. Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, the extraction of coal, its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, since 1983, the worlds top coal producer has been China. In 2015 China produced 3,747 million tonnes of coal –47. 7% of 7,861 million tonnes world coal production, in 2015 other large producers were United States, India, European Union and Australia. The word originally took the col in Old English, from Proto-Germanic *kula. In Old Turkic languages, kül is ash, cinders, öčür is quench, the compound charcoal in Turkic is öčür kül, literally quenched ashes, cinders, coals with elided anlaut ö- and inflection affixes -ülmüş. At various times in the geologic past, the Earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland areas, due to natural processes such as flooding, these forests were buried underneath soil. As more and more soil deposited over them, they were compressed, the temperature also rose as they sank deeper and deeper. As the process continued the plant matter was protected from biodegradation and oxidation and this trapped the carbon in immense peat bogs that were eventually covered and deeply buried by sediments. Under high pressure and high temperature, dead vegetation was slowly converted to coal, as coal contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. The wide, shallow seas of the Carboniferous Period provided ideal conditions for coal formation, the exception is the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants — this coal is presumed to have originated from residues of algae, in its dehydrated form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills on land and water. It is also used as a conditioner for soil to make it able to retain. Lignite, or brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal, jet, a compact form of lignite, is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone since the Upper Palaeolithic
32.
Precipitation
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In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
33.
History of Kabardino-Balkaria
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The Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria is a federal subject of Russia, located in the Caucasus region. As with other parts of the Caucasus, the area that is now known as Kabardino-Balkaria has been inhabited for thousands of years, the origins of its inhabitants are somewhat obscure. It is known that proto-Kabardians called Kassogs were inhabited that area already in the 9th century, Balkars were part of Alania and one of the Vainakh tribes who were influenced by Turkic culture after the Mongol invasions split of the lowlands of Nakh tribes and adopted the language. Also genetically they are related to Chechens and Ingush. The region came under the control of the Mongols between 1242-1295 and it passed into the hands of the Georgians from 1295 to 1505 before falling, briefly, into the orbit of the Persian Empire between 1502-1516. It was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516-1557, from 1557, it became a protectorate of the expanding Russian state – first Muscovy, then the Russian Empire. Kabardia gained independence briefly between 1739–1774, before being annexed by Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji, the Russians established a number of forts in the region, notably at Nalchik, to secure their control over it. A significant number of Russians – many of Cossack descent – also settled there, during the Russian Civil War, the region became part of the anti-communist South-Eastern League, then joined the Mountain Peoples’ Autonomous Republic in 1921. On September 1,1921, with the emergence of the Soviet Union, in 1944, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin falsely accused the Balkars of collaborating with Nazi Germany and deported the entire population. Their name was deleted from the territory, which was renamed the Kabardin ASSR, the Balkar population was only allowed to return in 1957 at which point its pre-war name was restored. Kabardino-Balkaria became a republic in 1991 and in March 1992 became one of the constituent republics of the Russian Federation. The republics economy was hard hit by the fall of the Soviet Union. The instability produced by the conflicts led to a collapse in tourism in the region, the republics mainly Muslim population has become increasingly radicalised by the regions instability. In October 2005, Kabardino-Balkarias capital Nalchik was the site of fighting after an attack on the city by Chechen militants
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Russian Census (2002)
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Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, carried out on October 9 through October 16,2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics, the census data were collected as of midnight October 9,2002. The census was intended to collect statistical information about the resident population of Russian Federation. All detailed census tables are for the resident population, a sample of the participants were also asked more detailed questions about their economic and housing situation. Also, the census also counted two more groups of people, Russian citizens currently living abroad for more one year in connection with the employment with the federal government. Persons permanently residing abroad, but temporarily present in Russia, Foreign citizens present in Russia as employees of foreign diplomatic missions or international organizations, and members of their household, were excluded from the census altogether. The Census recorded the resident population of 145,166,731 persons and that included urban population of 106,429,000 and rural population of 38,738,000. The non-resident populations included, Russian citizens living abroad in connection with the government service,107,288. Census participants were asked what country they were citizens of,142,442,000 respondents reported being Russian citizens, among them,44,000 also had citizenship of another country. Among Russias resident population,1,025,413 foreign citizens and 429,881 stateless persons were counted,1,269,023 persons did not report their citizenship. Among the questions asked were Are you competent in the Russian language, and What other languages are you competent in. As the census manual explained, competence meant either the ability to speak, read and write a language, the questions did not distinguish native and non-native speakers, nor did they try to measure the degree of language competence. For small children, presumably, the answer was based on the language spoken by the parents. 142.6 million of the responders claimed competence in Russian, other widely reported languages are listed in the table below. 1.42 million responders did not provide language information, for a more detailed list, see List of languages of Russia. Demographics of Russia Russian Empire Census Soviet Census Official census home page Population of Chechnya, was the Census correct
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Soviet Census (1989)
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The census found the total population to be 286,730,819 inhabitants. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked as the third most populous in the world, above the United States, although it was well behind China and India. In 1989, about half of the Soviet Unions total population lived in the Russian SFSR, almost two-thirds of the population was urban, leaving the rural population with some 34. 3%. In this way, its gradual increase continued, as shown by the represented by 47. 9%,56. 3% and 62. 3% of 1959,1970 and 1979 respectively. The previous postwar censuses, conducted in 1959,1970 and 1979, had enumerated 208,826,650,241,720,134, and 262,436,227 inhabitants respectively. In 1990, the Soviet Union was more populated than both the United States and Canada together, having some 40 million more inhabitants than the U. S. alone. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the next census was possibly planned for 1999. Research Guide to Russian and Soviet Censuses, Ithaca, Cornell University Press,1986, dewdney, Population change in the Soviet Union, 1979-1989, Geography, Vol.75, Pt.3, No. Subjects of Russia, on the www. statoids. com website
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Kabarday
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The Kabardians, or Kabardinians, are the largest one of the twelve Adyghe tribes. They are also known by the plural terms Kabardin, Kebertei. Along with the Besleney tribe, they speak a dialect of the Adyghe language. The Kabardian people represent one of the 12 stars on the green, the Kabardian tribe are also the largest Circassian branch in the world in general. In 2002, they numbered around 520,000 in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, significant populations of Kabardians are also found in Georgia. There are also communities in the United States, there are also still some adherents to traditional Habze beliefs, although most Kabardin are now Hanafi Sunni Muslims. A majority had converted to Islam by the early 19th century, Kabardians also constituted one of the earliest Christian communities in Europe, converting in the late 2nd and early 3rd Centuries. There are also some Roman Catholic Kabardians, Cherkassky – Cousin of Michael I of Russia Ivan E. Cherkassky I Michael A. Cherkassky II Michael T. Cherkassky Michael Y. Cherkassky Mutsal Cherkassky Nikita Egupov-Cherkassky Peter Amashukov-Cherkassky Peter B
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Northwest Caucasian languages
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The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abazgi–Adyghe or North Pontic, are an isolate family of languages native to historical Circassia and Abkhazia. The entire family is characterised by a paucity of phonemic vowels coupled with rich consonantal systems that many forms of secondary articulation. Ubykh, for example, had both the number of vowels, and probably the largest inventory of consonants outside Southern Africa. For example, ancestral */ki/ may have become /kʲə/ and */ku/ may have become /kʷə/, losing the old vowels */i/ and */u/ but gaining the new consonants /kʲ/ and this same process is claimed by some to lie behind the development of labiovelars in Proto-Indo-European which once neighboured Proto-NWC. All finite verbs are marked for agreement with three arguments, absolutive, ergative, and indirect object, and there are also a range of applicative constructions. There is a split between dynamic and stative verbs, with verbs having an especially complex morphology. A verbs morphemes indicate the subjects and objects person, place, time, manner of action, negative, all Northwest Caucasian languages are left-branching, so that the verb comes at the end of the sentence and modifiers such as relative clauses precede a noun. Northwest Caucasian languages do not generally permit more than one verb in a sentence. It has been a language from the beginning of the 20th century. Abkhaz and Abaza may be said to be dialects of the same language, Abkhaz is characterised by unusual consonant clusters and one of the worlds smallest vowel inventories, It has only two distinctive vowels, an open vowel /a/ and a mid vowel /ə/. Next to palatalized or labialized consonants, /a/ is realized as or, there are three major dialects, Abzhuy and Bzyp in Abkhazia and Sadz in Turkey. Abaza has some 45,000 speakers,35,000 in Russia and 10,000 in Turkey and it is a literary language, but nowhere official. It shares with Abkhaz the distinction of having just two phonemic vowels, Abaza is phonologically more complex than Abkhaz, and is characterised by large consonant clusters, similar to those that can be found in Georgian. There are three dialects, Tapant and Ashkhar. Some are partially intelligible with Abkhaz, Circassian has a series of sub-dialects that include the literary Kabardian Adyghe and Lowland Adyghe. Kabardian Adyghe has over one and a million speakers who live mainly in the diaspora. In Russia, it is a language of the republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachayevo-Cherkessia. Kabardian has the least number of consonants of any Northwest Caucasian language, with 48, including some rather unusual ejective fricatives, Kabardian itself has several sub-dialects, including Terek, the literary standard, and Besleney, which is intelligible with both Terek and Lowland Adyghe
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Balkars
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The Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern group of Turkic languages, the modern Balkars identify as a Turkic people, who share their language with the Karachays from Karachay-Cherkessia and Kumyks from Dagestan. The ethnogenesis of the Balkars resulted, in part, from an invasion of Alania during the 11th century, by Kipchak Turks, during the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur. Many of the Alans, Cumans, and Kipchaks migrated westward into Europe, timurs incursion into the North Caucasus introduced the remainder to Islam. In the 19th century, Russia annexed the area during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, on October 20,1828 the Battle of Khasauka took place, in which the Russian troops were under the command of General Georgy Emanuel. In 1944, the Soviet government forcibly deported almost the entire Balkar population to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, starting on 8 March 1944 and finishing the following day, the NKVD loaded 37,713 Balkars onto 14 train echelons bound for Central Asia and Siberia. The Stalin regime placed the exiled Balkars under special settlement restrictions identical to those that it had imposed upon the deported Russian-Germans, Kalmyks, Karachais, Chechens, by October 1946 the Balkar population had been reduced to 32,817 due to deaths from malnutrition and disease. The Balkars remained confined by the special settlement restrictions until 28 April 1956, only in 1957, however, could they return to their mountainous homeland in the Caucasus. During 1957 and 1958,34,749 Balkars returned home In the Cyrillic alphabet as used by the Balkars there are eight vowels, in the past the official written languages were Arabic for religious services and Turkish for business matters. From 1920 on Balkar has been the language of instruction in primary schools, until 1928 Arabic letters were used to write the Balkar language, after 1937 Cyrillic was used. Ninety-six percent of the population is bilingual in Balkar and Russian, organs of mass culture, secondary school texts, newspapers, and magazines in both Balkar and Russian continue to increase in number. Children are more likely to be taught in Russian, an example of a Balkar author is Kaisyn Kuliev who is emphasising the love towards the Balkarya land and Balkar traditions
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Turkic language
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The Turkic languages are a language family of at least thirty-five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China. Turkic languages are spoken as a language by some 170 million people. The Turkic language with the greatest number of speakers is Turkish, spoken mainly in Anatolia and the Balkans, characteristic features of Turkish, such as vowel harmony, agglutination, and lack of grammatical gender, are universal within the Turkic family. Apparent similarities with the Uralic languages family even caused these families to be regarded as one for a time under the hypothesis of Ural-Altaic languages. Turkic languages are languages, have vowel harmony, extensive agglutination by means of suffixes, and lack of grammatical articles, noun classes. Subject–object–verb word order is universal within the family, the geographical distribution of Turkic-speaking peoples across Eurasia ranges from the North-East of Siberia to Turkey in the West, since the Ottoman era. The two groups shared a religion, Tengrism, and there exists a multitude of evident loanwords between Turkic languages and Mongolic languages, although the loans were bidirectional, today Turkic loanwords constitute the largest foreign component in Mongolian vocabulary. The most famous of these loanwords include lion, gold, the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects, written during the 11th century AD by Kaşgarlı Mahmud of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, constitutes an early linguistic treatment of the family. The Compendium is the first comprehensive dictionary of the Turkic languages and it mainly pertains to the Southwestern branch of the family. The earliest records of the language spoken by Volga Bulgars, the parent to todays Chuvash language, are dated to the 13th–14th centuries AD. With the Turkic expansion during the Early Middle Ages, Turkic languages, in the course of just a few centuries, spread across Central Asia, various terminologies from the Turkic languages have passed into Persian, Hindustani, Russian, Chinese, and to a lesser extent, Arabic. This has obscured the historical developments within each language and/or language group, the modern genetic classification schemes for Turkic are still largely indebted to Samoilovich. It is not clear when two major types of Turkic can be assumed to have actually diverged. With less certainty, the Southwestern, Northwestern, Southeastern and Oghur groups may further be summarized as West Turkic, the following isoglosses are traditionally used in the classification of the Turkic languages, Rhoticisation, e. g. in the last consonant of the word for nine *toqqız. This separates the Oghur branch, which exhibits /r/, from the rest of Turkic, in this case, rhoticisation refers to the development of *-/r/, *-/z/, and *-/d/ to /r/, *-/k/, *-/kh/ in this branch. See Antonov and Jacques on the debate concerning rhotacism and lambdacism in Turkic and this separates Khalaj as a peripheral language. The following table is based upon the classification presented by Lars Johanson The following is a brief comparison of cognates among the basic vocabulary across the Turkic language family. Also, there may be shifts in the meaning from one language to another, in some cases the form given is found only in some dialects of the language, or a loanword is much more common
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Russians
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Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. The majority of Russians inhabit the state of Russia, while notable minorities exist in Ukraine, Kazakhstan. A large Russian diaspora exists all over the world, with numbers in the United States, Germany, Israel. Russians are the most numerous group in Europe. They are predominantly Orthodox Christians by religion, the Russian language is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and also spoken as a secondary language in many former Soviet states. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians. One is русские, which most often means ethnic Russians, another is россияне, which means citizens of Russia. The former word refers to ethnic Russians, regardless of what country they live in, under certain circumstances this term may or may not extend to denote members of other Russian-speaking ethnic groups from Russia, or from the former Soviet Union. The latter word refers to all people holding citizenship of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity, translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups. The name of the Russians derives from the Rus people, the name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi. According to other theories the name Rus is derived from Proto-Slavic *roud-s-ь, the modern Russians formed from two groups of East Slavic tribes, Northern and Southern. The tribes involved included the Krivichs, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches, genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Belarusians and Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians, such Uralic peoples included the Merya and the Muromians. Outside archaeological remains, little is known about the predecessors to Russians in general prior to 859 AD when the Primary Chronicle starts its records and it is thought that by 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. Later, both Belarusians and South Russians formed on this ethnic linguistic ground, the same Slavic ethnic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. With the Uralic substratum, they formed the tribes of the Krivichs, in 2010, the worlds Russian population was 129 million people of which 86% were in Russia,11. 5% in the CIS and Baltic countries, with a further 2. 5% living in other countries. Roughly 111 million ethnic Russians live in Russia, 80% of whom live in the European part of Russia, ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union, sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by the Tsarist and later Soviet government. On some occasions ethnic Russian communities, such as Lipovans who settled in the Danube delta or Doukhobors in Canada, after the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the Bolshevik regime, and millions became refugees
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Ossetians
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The Ossetians or Ossetes are an Iranian ethnic group of the Caucasus Mountains, indigenous to the region known as Ossetia in Eastern Europe. They speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European languages family, the Ossetian language is neither closely related to nor mutually intelligible with any other language of the family today. Ossetic, a remnant of the Scytho-Sarmatian dialect group which was spoken across the Steppe, is the only Iranian language native to Europe. The Ossetians are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christian, with a minority Muslim or Ossetian Traditional beliefs and their closest relatives, the Jász, live in the Jászság region within the north-western part of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County in Hungary. Iron in the east and south form a group of Ossetians. Irons are divided into subgroups, Alagirs, Kurtats, Tagaurs, Kudar, Tual, Urstual. Kudar, the group of Ossetians. Tual in the part of Ossetia. Chsan in the east of South Ossetia, digors live in Digora district, Iraf district and in some settlements in Kabardino-Balkaria and Mozdok district. Digors in Digora district are Christian, while living in Iraf district are Muslim. The folk beliefs of the Ossetian people are rooted in their Sarmatian origin and Christian religion, the Nart saga serves the basic pagan mythology of the region. The Ossetians descend from the Alans, a Sarmatian tribe, between AD.350 and 374, the Huns destroyed the Alan kingdom, and a few survive to this day in the Caucasus as the Ossetes. At its height, Alania was a monarchy with a strong military force and had a strong economy which benefited from the Silk Road. However, after the Mongol invasions of the 1200s the Alans were forced out of their homeland south of the River Don in present-day Russia. Due to this, the Alans migrated towards the Caucasus mountains, the Jassic people were a fourth group that migrated in the 13th century to Hungary. In recent history, the Ossetians participated in Ossetian–Ingush conflict and Georgian–Ossetian conflicts, key events,1774 — North Ossetia becomes part of the Russian Empire. 1801 — Following the Treaty of Georgievsk, the modern-day South Ossetia territory becomes part of the Russian Empire, along with Georgia. 1922 — Ossetia is divided into two parts, North Ossetia remains a part of Russian SFSR, South Ossetia remains a part of Georgian SSR.20 September 1990 – independent Republic of South Ossetia, the republic remained unrecognized, yet it detached itself from Georgia de facto
