Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

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Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

Кабардино-Балкарская АССР  (Russian)
Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр АССР  (Kabardian)
Къабарты-Малкъар АССР  (Karachay-Balkar)
1936–1991
Flag of Kabarda-Balkaria ASSR 1978.svg
Flag
Coat of Arms of Kabardino-Balkar ASSR.png
Coat of arms
Russia - Kabardino-Balkar Republic (2008-01).svg
Location of the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR within the Russian SFSR.
Status Autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR
CapitalNalchik
Government Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
History 
 Established
1936
1944
 Name restored
1957
 Disestablished
1991
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag of Russia (1918-1920).svg Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast
Kabardino-Balkaria Flag of Kabardino-Balkaria.svg

The Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the former Soviet Union, and was originally a part of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. On 16 January 1922 the region was detached from the Mountain ASSR and the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast on 1 September 1921.[ vague ] It became an autonomous republic on 5 December 1936. On 30 January 1991, the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR declared state sovereignty. [1] It is now the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The Kabardino-Balkar ASSR bordered no other sovereign states during the existence of the Soviet Union.

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Republic in the USSR (1922–1991) and sovereign state (1917–1922 and 1990–1991)

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, previously known as the Russian Soviet Republic and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, as well as being unofficially known as the Russian Federation, Soviet Russia, or simply Russia, was an independent state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest, most populous and most economically developed of the 15 Soviet socialist republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1922 to 1990, then a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with priority of Russian laws over Union-level legislation in 1990 and 1991, during the last two years of the existence of the USSR. The Russian Republic comprised sixteen smaller constituent units of autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. The capital of the Russian SFSR was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara.

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic autonomous soviet socialist republic of a union republic of the Soviet Union

The Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or Mountain ASSR was a short-lived autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR in the Northern Caucasus that existed from January 20, 1921, to July 7, 1924. The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus was created from parts of the Kuban and Terek Oblasts by the indigenous nationalities after the Russian Revolution; however, Soviet rule was installed on this territory after the Red Army conquered the Northern Caucasus in the course of the Russian Civil War, and the former republic was transformed into a Soviet one. The area of the republic was over 73,000 square kilometres (28,000 sq mi), and the population was about 800,000. It comprised six okrugs: Balkar, Chechen, Kabardian, Karachay, Nazran (Ingushetia), and Vladikavkaz Okrug (Ossetia) and had two cities: Grozny and Vladikavkaz. In addition, a special autonomy was provided to the Terek Cossacks: Sunzha Cossack Okrug, which included a large enclave in northern Ingushetia, and a smaller one bordering Grozny. Its boundaries approximated those of classical Zyx.

Contents

Like the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR was shared by two nationalities. Both autonomous republics resided as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and featured Russians as the ethnic majority. [2] [ full citation needed ][ not in citation given ]

History

The Russian, Ottoman and Persian Empires fought for the region between the 17th and 19th centuries, during which the region was under Russian control. After the October revolution, the region joined the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921, during the Russian Civil War. The territories were detached from the Mountain ASSR to the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast in 1922, and on 5 December 1936 it was renamed the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. [2] [3]

Russian Empire former country, 1721–1917

The Russian Empire, also known as Imperial Russia or simply Russia, was an empire that existed across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.

Safavid dynasty Twelver Shiʻi dynasty of Iran

The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid shahs ruled over one of the Gunpowder Empires. They ruled one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Iran, and established the Twelver school of Shia Islam as the official religion of the empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history.

Russian Civil War multi-party war in the former Russian Empire, November 1917-October 1922

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the two Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. The two largest combatant groups were the Red Army, fighting for the Bolshevik form of socialism led by Vladimir Lenin, and the loosely allied forces known as the White Army, which included diverse interests favouring political monarchism, economic capitalism and alternative forms of socialism, each with democratic and anti-democratic variants. In addition, rival militant socialists and non-ideological Green armies fought against both the Bolsheviks and the Whites. Eight foreign nations intervened against the Red Army, notably the former Allied military forces from the World War and the pro-German armies. The Red Army eventually defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and the army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak to the east in Siberia in 1919. The remains of the White forces commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in Crimea and evacuated in late 1920. Lesser battles of the war continued on the periphery for two more years, and minor skirmishes with the remnants of the White forces in the Far East continued well into 1923. The war ended in 1923 in the sense that Bolshevik communist control of the newly formed Soviet Union was now assured, although armed national resistance in Central Asia was not completely crushed until 1934. There were an estimated 7,000,000–12,000,000 casualties during the war, mostly civilians. The Russian Civil War has been described by some as the greatest national catastrophe that Europe had yet seen.

In 1944, Supreme Soviet Joseph Stalin accused the Balkars of cooperating with Nazi Germany and deported the entire population to Central Asia. [3] [4] Stalin ceded the Baksan valley to the Georgian SSR. [5] "Balkar" was dropped from the state's name, which was renamed to the Kabardin ASSR. The Balkar population was only allowed to return in 1957 during Khrushchev's leadership, at which point its pre-war name was restored. [5]

Joseph Stalin Soviet leader

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union from the mid–1920s until 1953 as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1953) and Premier (1941–1953). While initially presiding over a collective leadership as first among equals, he ultimately consolidated enough power to become the country's de facto dictator by the 1930s. A communist ideologically committed to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, Stalin helped to formalise these ideas as Marxism–Leninism, while his own policies became known as Stalinism.

Nazi Germany The German state from 1933 to 1945, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state that controlled nearly all aspects of life via the Gleichschaltung legal process. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

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 (Kipchak) group of Turkic languages.

Geography

The Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was located in the North Caucasus mountains. It covered an area of 12,500 km2 (4,800 sq mi).

North Caucasus Geographic region

The North Caucasus or Ciscaucasia 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, in Russia. Geographically, the Northern Caucasus includes the Russian republics and krais of the North Caucasus. As part of the Russian Federation, the Northern Caucasus region is included in the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts and consists of Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the constituent republics, approximately from west to east: the Republic of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia–Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and the Republic of Dagestan.

Rivers

The main rivers include the Terek River (623 km), Malka River (216 km), Baksan River (173 km), Urukh River (104 km), and Cherek River (76 km). [4]

Terek River river

The Terek River, a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flows through South Ossetia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in South Ossetia near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, winding north in a white torrent between the town of Stepantsminda and the village of Gergeti toward the Russian region North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz. 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 (62 mi) wide. The river is a key natural asset in the region, providing irrigation and hydroelectric power in its upper reaches.

Malka River river in Russia

Malka River, also known as Balyksu River, is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, which forms the northwest part of the Terek River basin. It is 210 kilometres (130 mi) long, and its drainage basin covers 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi). The Malka originates in the glaciers on the northern slopes of Mount Elbrus, flows north and then east. Near the point where it joins the great northwest bend of the Terek River it receives several northeast-flowing rivers such as the Baksan River. The town of Prokhladny is along the Malka.

Baksan River river in Russia

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 (107 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 6,800 square kilometres (2,600 sq mi). 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. Baksan is also the site of the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope (BUST) of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory.

Lakes

An area of 18,740 km2 (7,240 sq mi) is covered solely by river basins. More than 100 lakes are located in the borders, although none of them has very large surface area. [4] Most of the lakes are located in the mountains, formed by glacial processes. [4] Lakes located on a plain include Tambukan Lake.

Mountains

Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) is volcanic and the highest peak in the Caucasus. [3]

Other major mountains include Mount Dykhtau (5,402 m), Mount Koshkhatau (5,151 m), and Mount Shkhara (5,068 m).

Resources

Along with timber, the mining of minerals such as iron, molybdenum, gold, coal, tungsten, and lead were a main industry in the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR. [3] The region also has a great abundance of mineral water. [4]

See also

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References

  1. "Russian S.F.S.R. Autonomous Republics" . Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material  from the  Library of Congress document:  "Soviet Union: A country study". Federal Research Division.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "BBC News - Kabardino-Balkaria profile". BBC Online . 19 January 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kommersant - Russia's Daily Online". Kommersant Publishing House. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 "An article from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia". Columbia University Press . Retrieved 13 July 2011.