KABARDINOBALKARIYA

Kabardino-Balkariya: translation

Anethnic republicof the Russian Federation. Initially part of the Mountain Peoples’ Autonomous Republic of Soviet Russia, the region was organized into the KabardinBalkar Autonomous Oblast in the early 1920s, becoming anAutonomous Soviet Socialist Republic(ASSR) in 1936. After being accused of collaboration with the Nazis in World War II, theBalkarswere deported to SovietCentral Asia, and the region was renamed the Kabardin ASSR. Its prewar name was restored in 1957 after the post-Stalinist rehabilitation of the Balkars, who then began remigrating to their ethnic homelands. Kabardino-Balkariya declared itself a sovereign republic in 1991, becoming afederal subjectof the Russian Federation in 1992.

The republic is part of the SouthernFederal Districtand theNorth Caucasus Economic Region. Its geography is divided between the northern flank of the Greater Caucasus, foothills, and the Kabardin Plain, the latter being divided by the Terek River. It is bordered byKarachay-Cherkessiya,Stavropol Krai,North Ossetiya, and northernGeorgia. A small republic, Kabardino-Balkariya covers 12,500 square kilometers and has a population of about 900,000. The capital, Nalchik, is a city of some 273,000 people. Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, is located in the region’s western periphery. The republic is an ethnic condominium representing the Kabardins and Balkars, who account for 55 percent and 12 percent of the population, respectively.The Turkic Balkars live in the mountainous western zones, while the Caucasian Kabardins live in the central lowlands. Dominating the northeastern district of Prokhladnensky,ethnic Russians— including TerekCossacks—represent a quarter of the population, and there are small communities ofOssetiansandUkrainiansas well. Support for independence among the region’s titulars is moderate (roughly 40 percent favor separation from Russia).

The regionaleconomyis focused onagriculture, forestry, mineral extraction (oil,natural gas, and iron ore), and mechanical engineering.Foreign tradeis low compared to other regions, though it does export raw materials toFinland,Germany, andTurkey, among other countries.Unemploymentruns high in the republic, especially among rural Balkars.

The current president is Arsen Kanokov, a businessman and member of theState Duma. Since taking office in 2005, he has taken oncorruptofficials, reduced the region’s dependency on subsidies fromMoscow, and made significant improvements in the republic’s economic status by focusing ontourism, agriculture, and smallbusiness development. Prior to the appointment of Kanokov, Valery Kokov served three terms as president before stepping down for health reasons in 2005 (he died from cancer later that year). Kokov maintained stability in the republic despite the troubling situations in neighboring Georgia andChechnya. In 2002, he oversaw an increase in political and civil rights in the region, including a restriction of the authorities’ ability to block public demonstrations.

After theBeslantragedy in 2004, Kabardino-Balkariya began to experience greater levels of violence associated withIslamistextremism, which up until that point had found barren ground in the republic. In the wake of Beslan, the government began cracking down on suspected Islamic militants and closing some mosques and regulating others. In October 2005, militants, reportedly under the banner of theterroristgroup Yarmuk, besieged government buildings in Nalchik. Dozens were subsequently killed in the fighting with security forces.