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The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, Даькъасте, Däq̇aste, krc, Шимал Кавказ, Şimal Kavkaz, russian: Северный Кавказ, r=Severnyy Kavkaz, p=ˈsʲevʲɪrnɨj kɐfˈkas) or Ciscaucasia (russian: Предкавказье, Predkavkazye), is a subregion of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
in the
Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipela ...
continent. It is the northern part of the wider
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
region, and is entirely a part of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, sandwiched between the Sea of Azov and
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
to the west, and the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
to the east. The region shares land borders with Georgia and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
to the south.
Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...
is the largest city within the North Caucasus. Politically, the North Caucasus is made up of Russian republics and krais. It lies north of the Main Caucasian Range, which separates it from the South Caucasus. As part of Russia, the territory falls within the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts and consists of
Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and ...
,
Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and i ...
, and the constituent republics, approximately from west to east: the Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia–Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Republic of Dagestan and to the north: Kalmykia. Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the northern slope and western extremity of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, as well as a part of its southern slope to the West. The Pontic–Caspian steppe area is often also encompassed under the notion of "Ciscaucasus", thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe is generally considered to be the
Manych River The Manych (russian: Маныч) is a river in the Black Sea–Caspian Steppe of Southern Russia. It flows through the western and central part of the Kuma–Manych Depression. In ancient times, it was known as the Lik. A tributary of the Don, it ...
. Owing to its mild climate compared to much of Russia, the region has been described as Russia's "
sunbelt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel. Several climates can be found in the region — des ...
".


History

Ancient cultures of the Northern Caucasus are known as Klin-Yar community, with the most notable culture being the ancient Koban culture. Other haplogroups were
Haplogroup J1 Haplogroup J-M267, also commonly known as Haplogroup J1, is a subclade (branch) of Y-DNA haplogroup J-P209 (commonly known as haplogroup J) along with its sibling clade haplogroup J-M172 (commonly known as haplogroup J2). (All these haplogr ...
and
Haplogroup G-M285 In human genetics, Haplogroup G-M285, also known as Haplogroup G1, is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. Haplogroup G1 is a primary subclade of haplogroup G. G1 is possibly believed to have originated in Iran. It has an extremely low frequency in modern ...
. Ciscaucasus was historically covered by the Pontic–Caspian steppe, mostly on fertile calcareous chernozyom soils, which has been almost completely tilled and grazed. It is bounded by the Sea of Azov on the west, and the Caspian Sea on the east. According to the ''Concise Atlas of the World, Second Edition'' (2008), the Ciscaucasus region lies on the European side of the "commonly-accepted division" that separates Europe from Asia. The Northern Caucasus was conquered by Russia after the Russo-Circassian War. Much of the Northern Caucasus seceded from Russia in March 1917 as the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, taking advantage of the instability caused by the February Revolution and becoming a minor participant in the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
. Mountainous Republic troops engaged in fierce clashes against the invading
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
General
Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...
's Volunteer Army, before the latter's defeat at the hands of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. The region was informally occupied by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
shortly afterwards, and the republic was forced into accepting a nonviolent annexation in January 1921. It was reformed into the Mountainous ASSR, which was later dissolved in October 1924, replaced by a series of autonomous Okrugs and Oblasts. The outer border of the Soviet Union's North Caucasus Krai was the same as that of present-day North Caucasus Economic Region (Raion) which includes an oblast ( Rostov Oblast), two krais (
Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and ...
and
Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and i ...
), and seven republics. The former North Caucasus Military District (Okrug) also included Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, and the Republic of Kalmykia. Its administrative center was Rostov-on-Don until 10 January 1934, Pyatigorsk until January 1936, then Ordzhonikidze (today Vladikavkaz) and, from 15 December 1936, Voroshilovsk (today Stavropol). In June 2022, the US State Department advised citizens not to travel to the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, due to terrorism, kidnapping, and risk of civil unrest.


Life expectancy

The North Caucasus, especially in its mountainous territories, has the highest
life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
in Russia. The region is known for a large number of centenarians.


Gallery

File:Map of Russia - North Caucasian Federal District.svg, Location of the North Caucasian Federal District File:Russian Ground Forces - North Caucasus Military District Map.svg, Map of former North Caucasus Military District (okrug) File:Map of Russia - North Caucasus economic region.svg, Map of modern-day North Caucasus Economic Region (raion) File:Карачаево-Черкесия, Западный Кавказ, Софийская долина, горный массив и перевал София, Karachay-Cherkessia, Caucasus Mountains.jpg, Sophia Valley, Karachay-Cherkessia


See also

*
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
*
Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus The Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (russian: Конфедерация горских народов Кавказа) (until 1991 known as Assembly of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus) was a militarised political organisation i ...
* Dolmens of the North Caucasus * Insurgency in the North Caucasus * Kuban People's Republic * Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic * Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus *
North Caucasian Federal District North Caucasian Federal District (russian: Се́веро-Кавка́зский федера́льный о́круг, ''Severo-Kavkazsky federalny okrug'') is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It is located in extreme southern Ru ...
*
North Caucasian Soviet Republic North Caucasian Soviet Republic (, ''Severo-Kavkazskaya Sovetskaya Respublika'') (July 7–December, 1918) was a territory in the North Caucasus established to consolidate Soviet power during the Russian Civil War. A republic of the Russian ...
* North Caucasus economic region * North Caucasian Federal University * North Caucasian Krai * North Caucasian Military District * North Caucasian Railway * Southern Federal District


References


Notes


Further reading

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


External links


History of the Caucasus
* * * Relations between The North and South Caucasus. Articles in th
Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 27
{{Authority control North Caucasus Caucasus Eastern Europe Southern Russia Regions of Russia Regions of Eurasia