Adygea - WikiHQ

Adygea ( ), officially the Republic of Adygea or the Adygean Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is a part of the Southern Federal District, and covers an area of , with a population of roughly 500,731 residents as of 2025.

It was renamed Adyghe Autonomous Oblast (AO) in July 1928. On January 10, 1934, the autonomous oblast became part of the new Azov-Black Sea Krai, which was removed from North Caucasus Krai. Maykop was made the administrative center of the autonomous oblast in 1936. Adyghe AO became part of Krasnodar Krai when it was established on September 13, 1937.

On July 3, 1991, the oblast was elevated to the status of a republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The first President of the republic was Aslan Dzharimov, elected on 5 January 1992.

Relations between the Adyghe and ethnic Russians in Adygea are currently good. Russians make up two-thirds of the population within Adygea. The current Head of Adygea is Murat Kumpilov.

Geography

Adygea lies in Russia's Southern Federal District of Eastern Europe, in the foothills of the Northwestern Caucasus in the Caucasus Mountains System, with plains in the northern areas and mountains in the southern area. Forests (mainly of European beech, oak, and maple) cover almost 40% of its territory.

Area — .
Borders — the Republic of Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai.
Highest point — Chugush Mountain: .

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Rivers

thumb|Khodz river headwaters, endemic region

The long Kuban River is one of the major navigable rivers in the Caucasus region. It forms part of the northern border between the Republic of Adygea and Krasnodar Krai.

Other rivers include:

Belaya River
Chokhrak River
Dakh River
Fars River
Khodz River
Kisha River
Bolshaya Laba River — (forming part of the eastern border between Adygea and Krasnodar Krai)
Psekups River
Pshish River
Sakhray River
Sukhoy Kurdzhips River — flows near the archaeological site at Mezmaiskaya cave.

Lakes

thumb|[[Lago-Naki plateau in Adygea]]

The republic has no large lakes. However, it has several reservoirs:

, the largest in North Caucasus
Oktyabrskoye Reservoir
Shapsug Reservoir
Tshchikskoye Reservoir (Тщикское)
Shendzhiyskoye Reservoir
Chetukskoye Reservoir
Kuzhorskoye Reservoir
Maykop Reservoir

Mountains

thumb|Mount Fisht

The republic's major mountains and peaks range in height from , and include:

Chugush Mountain —
Mount Fisht —
Oshten Mountain
Pseashkho Mountain
Shepsi Mountain

Natural resources

The republic is rich in oil and natural gas. Other natural resources include gold, silver, tungsten, and iron.

Climate

Average January temperature:
Average July temperature:
Average annual precipitation:

February 15, 2010, recorded the absolute maximum for the winter months—in the capital, the city of Maykop, the temperature was .

Politics

thumb|upright|right|Former Head of the Republic of Adygea, Aslan Tkhakushinov, in 2010

The chief executive of the government of the Republic of Adygea is the Head (called "President" until May 2011), who is appointed for a five-year term. Proficiency in the Adyghe language is a prerequisite for the candidate.

The current Head, Murat Kumpilov (since January 27, 2017), succeeded Aslan Tkhakushinov, initially as acting Head of the region. There is also a directly elected State Council (Khase or Xase—not to be confused with the Adyghe Khase, a union of Adyghe who supported Sovmen for a second term), which comprises the Council of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. Both councils are elected every five years and have 27 deputies each.

The Republic sends three representatives to the parliament of the Russian Federation; one to the State Duma and the other two to the Federation Council.

The Constitution of the Republic of Adygea was adopted on May 14, 1995.

Administrative divisions

thumb|Administrative divisions of the Republic of Adygea

The Republic of Adygea is administratively divided into seven districts (raions), two cities/towns, and (at a lower administrative level) five urban-type settlements. Municipally, the republic is divided into two urban okrugs, five urban settlements, and 46 rural settlements.

{| class="sortable wikitable"

! Name || Local Name || Area in km2 || Population Census 2010 || Population Census 2021 || Population Estimate 1 Jan 2025

| colspan="5" |Cities (republican municipal districts)

|Maykop

|Городской округ Майкоп

| align="right" | 58.6

| align="right" | 166,540

| align="right" | 167,658

| align="right" | 161,818

|Adygeysk

|Городской округ Адыгейск

| align="right" | 32.4

| align="right" | 14,659

| align="right" | 15,625

| align="right" | 15,659

| colspan="5" |Districts

|Giaginsky District|| Гиагинский м.р. || align="right" | 790.0 || align="right" | 31,766 || align="right" | 31,937 || align="right" | 31,735

|Koshekhablsky District|| Кошехабльский м.р. || align="right" | 606.7 || align="right" | 30,422 || align="right" | 30,047 || align="right" | 30,200

|Krasnogvardeysky District|| Красногвардейский м.р. || align="right" | 725.5 || align="right" | 30,868 || align="right" | 32,049 || align="right" | 31,858

|Maykopsky District|| Майкопский м.р. || align="right" | 3,667.4 || align="right" | 58,439 || align="right" | 58,477 || align="right" | 59,243

| Takhtamukaysky District || Тахтамукайский м.р. ||align="right"| 440.0 ||align="right"| 69,662 ||align="right"| 122,759 ||align="right"| 131,771

| Teuchezhsky District || Теучежский м.р. ||align="right"| 710.0 || align="right" | 20,643 ||align="right"| 22,155 || align="right" | 22,254

| Shovgenovsky District || Шовгеновский м.р. ||align="right"| 521.4 ||align="right"| 16,997 ||align="right"| 16,227 ||align="right"| 16,193

|Adygea Republic || Республика Адыгея || align="right" | 7,600.0 || align="right" | 439,996 || align="right" | 496,934 || align="right" | 500,731

Note "м.р." above is an abbreviation for "муниципальный район" (Municipal District)

Demographics

Population:

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align: center;"

! style="width:5em;"|2019

! style="width:5em;"|2021

| style="text-align: left;"|Average:

| 73.8 years

| 71.2 years

| style="text-align: left;"|Male:

| 69.1 years

| 66.6 years

| style="text-align: left;"|Female:

| 78.4 years

| 75.8 years

Life expectancy:

File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Adygea.png|Life expectancy at birth in Adygea

File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Adygea -diff.png|Life expectancy with calculated differences

File:Life expectancy in Russia -Krasnodar Krai.png|Life expectancy in Adygea, Krasnodar Krai and neighboring regions

File:Life expectancy in Russia -Krasnodar Krai (after 2014).png|Zoomed version of the chart since 2014

</gallery>

Vital statistics

:Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service

{| class="wikitable"

! style="width:70pt;"|Average population

! style="width:70pt;"|Live births

! style="width:70pt;"|Deaths

! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change

! style="width:70pt;"|Crude birth rate (per 1000)

! style="width:70pt;"|Crude death rate (per 1000)

! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change (per 1000)

! style="width:70pt;"|Fertility rates

| 1970

| style="text-align:right;"| 386,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,681

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,307

| style="text-align:right;"| 2,374

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 6.2

| 1975

| style="text-align:right;"| 396,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,900

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,907

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,993

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 5.0

| 1980

| style="text-align:right;"| 409,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,610

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,828

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,782

| style="text-align:right;"| 16.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.4

| 1985

| style="text-align:right;"| 423,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,966

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,283

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,683

| style="text-align:right;"| 16.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.0

| 1990

| style="text-align:right;"| 436,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,171

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,375

| style="text-align:right;"| 796

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.06

| 1991

| style="text-align:right;"| 439,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,912

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,905

| style="text-align:right;"| 7

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.96

| 1992

| style="text-align:right;"| 444,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,306

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,969

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 663

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.5

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.73

| 1993

| style="text-align:right;"| 447,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,774

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,662

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 888

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.9

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.54

| 1994

| style="text-align:right;"| 449,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,907

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,519

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 612

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.5

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-3.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.59

| 1995

| style="text-align:right;"| 450,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,798

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,475

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 677

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.4

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-3.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.55

| 1996

| style="text-align:right;"| 450,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,625

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,382

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 757

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.2

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-3.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.49

| 1997

| style="text-align:right;"| 450,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,430

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,302

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 872

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.0

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.42

| 1998

| style="text-align:right;"| 451,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,340

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,245

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 905

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.9

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.38

| 1999

| style="text-align:right;"| 450,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,879

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,215

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 336

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.8

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-5.2

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"| 1.22

| 2000

| style="text-align:right;"| 448,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,071

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,710

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 639

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.0

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-5.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.27

| 2001

| style="text-align:right;"| 447,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,212

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,566

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 354

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.7

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-5.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.31

| 2002

| style="text-align:right;"| 447,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,540

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,715

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 175

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.0

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.39

| 2003

| style="text-align:right;"| 446,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,634

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,929

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 295

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.6

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-5.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.40

| 2004

| style="text-align:right;"| 444,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,648

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,645

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 997

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.0

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.37

| 2005

| style="text-align:right;"| 443,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,550

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,726

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 176

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.2

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.32

| 2006

| style="text-align:right;"| 441,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,606

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,686

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2 080

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.2

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-4.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.33

| 2007

| style="text-align:right;"| 440,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,210

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,454

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1 244

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.7

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.50

| 2008

| style="text-align:right;"| 440,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,601

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,558

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 957

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.9

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.60

| 2009

| style="text-align:right;"| 439,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,513

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,219

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 706

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.2

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.66

| 2010

| style="text-align:right;"| 439,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,721

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,065

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 476

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.1

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.70

| 2011

| style="text-align:right;"| 441,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,511

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,197

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 554

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.8

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-1.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.66

| 2012

| style="text-align:right;"| 444,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,700

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,924

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 224

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.4

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-0.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.71

| 2013

| style="text-align:right;"| 445,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,568

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,814

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 246

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.1

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-0.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.68

| 2014

| style="text-align:right;"| 448,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,699

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,938

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 239

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.3

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-0.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.73

| 2015

| style="text-align:right;"| 450,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,613

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,841

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 228

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.0

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-0.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.72

| 2016

| style="text-align:right;"| 453,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,451

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,818

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 367

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.9

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-0.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.69(e)

| 2017

| style="text-align:right;"| 453,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,758

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,734

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 976

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-2.2

| style="text-align:right;"|

| 2019

| style="text-align:right;"|

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,184

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,654

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 1,470

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-3.2

| style="text-align:right;"|

| 2020

| style="text-align:right;"|

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,419

| style="text-align:right;"| 6,154

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|- 1,735

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.3

| style="text-align:right; color:red;"|-3.8

| style="text-align:right;"|

Ethnic groups

According to the 2021 Census, ethnic Russians make up 64.4% of the republic's total population, while the ethnic Adyghe are 25.7%. Other groups include Armenians (3.3%), Kurds (1.2%), Romani people (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.6%).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"

|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"

! rowspan="2" | Ethnic group

! colspan="2" | 1926 Census

! colspan="2" | 1939 Census

! colspan="2" | 1959 Census

! colspan="2" | 1970 Census

! colspan="2" | 1979 Census

! colspan="2" | 1989 Census

! colspan="2" | 2002 Census

! colspan="2" | 2010 Census

! colspan="2" | 2021 Census1

|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

! Number

! %

| style="text-align:left;"| Russians

| 29,102

|25.6%

| 171,960

|71.1%

| 200,492

|70.4%

| 276,537

|71.7%

| 285,626

|70.6%

| 293,640

|68.0%

| 288,280

|64.5%

| 270,714

|63.6%

| 287,778

|64.4%

| style="text-align:left;"| Adyghe

| 50,821

| 44.8%

| 55,048

| 22.8%

| 65,908

| 23.2%

| 81,478

| 21.1%

| 86,388

| 21.4%

| 95,439

| 22.1%

| 108,115

| 24.2%

| 109,699

| 25.8%

| 114,688

| 25.7%2

| style="text-align:left;"| Armenians

| 738

|0.7%

| 2,348

|1.0%

| 3,013

|1.1%

| 5,217

|1.4%

| 6,359

|1.6%

| 10,460

|2.4%

| 15,268

|3.4%

| 15,561

|3.7%

| 14,810

|3.3%

| style="text-align:left;"| Kurds

| 2

|0.0%

| 262

|0.1%

| 3,631

|0.8%

| 4,528

|1.1%

| 5,233

|1.2%

| style="text-align:left;"| Romani

| 1,109

|0.3%

| 1,134

|0.3%

| 1,844

|0.4%

| 2,364

|0.6%

| 2,908

|0.7%

| style="text-align:left;"| Ukrainians

| 26,405

|23.3%

| 6,130

|2.5%

| 7,988

|2.8%

| 11,214

|2.9%

| 12,078

|3.0%

| 13,755

|3.2%

| 9,091

|2.0%

| 5,856

|1.4%

| 2,810

|0.6%

| style="text-align:left;"| Others

| 6,415

|5.7%

| 6,313

|2.6%

| 7,289

|2.6%

| 11,198

|2.9%

| 13,939

|3.4%

| 18,752

|4.3%

| 26,355

|5.9%

| 14,093

|3.3%

| 18,403

|4.1%

50,304 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.
Including 397 Kabardins and 16,133 Cherkess.

Religions

thumb|left|Maykop Central Mosque

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people