Komi Republic

The Komi Republic (Russian: Респу́блика Ко́ми, Respublika Komi; Komi: Коми Республика, Komi Respublika) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. Population: 901,189 (2010 Census).^[6]

Geography

The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain. Forests cover over 70% of the territory and swamps cover approximately 15%.

Area: 415,900 square kilometers (160,600 sq mi)
Borders (all internal): Nenets (NW/N), Yamalo-Nenets (NE/E), Khanty-Mansi (E), Sverdlovsk (SE), Perm Krai (S), Kirov (S/SW), and Arkhangelsk (W).
Highest point: Mount Narodnaya (1,894 m)
Maximum N→S distance: 785 kilometers (488 mi)
Maximum E→W distance: 695 kilometers (432 mi)

Rivers

Major rivers include:

Lakes

There are many lakes in the republic. Major lakes include:

Sindorskoye Lake
Yam-Ozero Lake

Natural resources

The republic's natural resources include coal, oil, natural gas, gold, diamonds and timber. Native reindeer are in abundance, and have been intentionally bred for human usage by the indigenous population from the beginning.

Around 32,800 km² of mostly boreal forest (as well as some alpine tundra and meadows) in the Republic's Northern Ural Mountains have been recognized in 1995 as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Virgin Komi Forests. It is the first natural UNESCO World Heritage site in Russia and the largest expanse of virgin forests in Europe. The site includes two pre-existing protected areas: Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve (created in 1930) and Yugyd Va National Park (created in 1994).

Climate

Winters in the republic are long and cold, and the summers, while short, are quite warm.

Average January temperature: −17 °C (1 °F) (southern parts) to −20 °C (−4 °F) (northern parts)
Average July temperature: 11 °C (52 °F) (northern parts) to 15 °C (59 °F) (southern parts)
Lowest recorded temperature: −58.1 °C (−72.6 °F) (village of Ust-Shchuger)
Average annual precipitation: 625 mm (24.6 in)

Manpupuner and the 7 Strong Men Rock Formations

Main article: Manpupuner rock formations

Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, Komi Republic is home to Manpupuner (Man-Pupu-Nyer), a mysterious site in the northern Ural mountains, in the Troitsko-Pechorsky District, made out of seven rock towers bursting out of the flat plateau known as the “7 strong men“. Manpupuner is a very popular attraction in Russia, but not on an international level and information regarding its origin is scarce. We know however that their height and abnormal shapes make the top of these rock giants inaccessible even to experienced rock-climbers.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of the Komi Republic

History

The Komi first appear in the records of the Novgorod Republic in the 12th century, when Novgorodian (East Slavic) traders travelled to the Perm region in search of furs and animal hides. The Komi territories came under the influence of Muscovy in the late Middle Ages (late 15th to early 16th centuries). The site of Syktyvkar has been settled since the 16th century. It was known as Sysolskoye (Сысольскoe). In 1780, under Catherine the Great, it was renamed to Ust-Sysolsk (Усть-Сысольск) and used as a penal colony.

Starting from the expedition led by Alexander von Keyserling in 1843, the Komi territory was most extensively explored in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries by the Russians, who found ample reservoirs of various minerals, as well as timber, to exploit. After the founding of the Soviet Union, the Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast was established on August 22, 1921,^[10] and on December 5, 1936, it was reorganized into the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with its administrative center located at the town of Syktyvkar.

Many of the "settlers" who came in the early 20th century were prisoners of the Gulag who were sent by the hundreds of thousands to perform forced labor in the Arctic regions of the USSR. Towns sprang up around labor-camp sites, which were initially carved out of the untouched tundra and taiga by gangs of prisoners. The first mine, "Rudnik No. 1," became the city of Vorkuta, and the other towns of the region have similar origins: "Prisoners planned and built all of the republic's major cities, not just Ukhta but also Syktyvkar, Pechora, Vorkuta, and Inta. Prisoners built Komi's railways and roads, as well as its original industrial infrastructure."^[11]

Demographics

Population: 901,189 (2010 Census results);^[6] 1,018,674 (2002 Census);^[12] 1,261,024 (1989 Census).^[13]

Vital statistics

Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service

	Births	Deaths	Birth rate	Death rate
1920	4,760	4,353
1930	10,256	6,574
1940	14,976	12,134
1945	6,432	6,185
1950	20,087	6,002	37.6	11.2
1960	25,578	5,010	30.6	6.0
1965	18,956	5,241	20.2	5.6
1970	16,462	6,276	17.0	6.5
1975	18,899	7,284	18.1	7.0
1980	20,685	9,169	18.2	8.1
1981	21,244	9,103	18.4	7.9
1982	23,420	8,758	20.0	7.5
1983	23,806	9,250	20.1	7.8
1984	24,217	9,486	20.2	7.9
1985	23,303	9,334	19.2	7.7
1986	24,176	8,112	19.7	6.6
1987	23,616	8,544	19.0	6.9
1988	20,916	8,930	16.7	7.1
1989	18,481	8,857	14.7	7.1
1990	16,930	9,321	13.6	7.5
1991	15,589	9,665	12.7	7.9
1992	13,880	11,426	11.4	9.4
1993	12,158	14,642	10.1	12.2
1994	11,835	16,074	10.1	13.7
1995	11,105	15,057	9.7	13.2
1996	10,900	13,674	9.7	12.2
1997	10,388	12,244	9.4	11.1
1998	10,793	11,545	9.9	10.6
1999	9,680	12,253	9.1	11.5
2000	9,906	13,594	9.4	12.9
2001	10,325	13,968	10.0	13.5
2002	11,177	15,265	10.9	14.9
2003	11,462	15,810	11.3	15.6
2004	11,489	15,210	11.5	15.2
2005	10,975	15,074	11.1	15.2
2006	10,872	13,519	11.1	13.8
2007	11,523	12,304	11.9	12.7
2008	11,719	12,270	12.2	12.7
2009	11,868	12,182	12.7	13.0
2010	11,648	11,819	12.9	13.1

Vital statistics for 2007

Source: [1]

Vital Statistics	Births 2007	Deaths 2007	BR 2007	DR 2007	NGR 2007	BR Jan-aug 2007	BR J-A 08	DR J-A 07	DR J-A 08	NGR J-A 07	NGR J-A 08
Komi Republic	11,523	12,304	11.9	13.8	-0.19%	11.8	11.9	12.9	12.6	-0.11%	-0.07%
Urban	8,087	8,204	NA	NA	NA	11.4	11.3	11.7	11.2	-0.03%	0.01%
Rural	3,436	4,100	NA	NA	NA	13.0	13.8	16.4	17.0	-0.34%	-0.32%
Syktyvkar	3,013	2,733	12.3	12.1	0.02%	12.3	11.6	11.6	11.1	0.07%	0.05%
Vorkuta	1,126	1,064	9.5	10.3	-0.08%	9.3	9.7	8.8	8.2	0.05%	0.15%
Vuktyl	210	200	12.6	12.2	0.04%	12.9	11.2	12.1	14.7	0.08%	-0.35%
Inta	414	495	10.2	13.7	-0.35%	10	10.4	12.1	13.2	-0.21%	-0.28%
Pechora	714	916	11.3	16.2	-0.49%	11.3	11.4	14.8	14.5	-0.35%	-0.31%
Sosnogorsk	582	725	11.6	15.8	-0.42%	10.9	11.7	14.8	14	-0.39%	-0.23%
Usinsk	614	459	11.9	8.9	0.30%	11.5	12.1	8.8	8.8	0.27%	0.33%
Ukhta	1,414	1,612	11.1	12.7	-0.16%	11	11.4	13.1	11.4	-0.21%	0.00%
Izhemsky District	315	368	15.6	1.5	-0.09%	15.2	17.4	18.2	18.2	-0.30%	-0.08%
Knyazhpogostsky District	290	411	10.9	16.8	-0.59%	10.2	10.2	15.5	14.6	-0.53%	-0.44%
Koygorodsky District	129	140	13.9	18.6	-0.47%	14.1	14.1	15.1	19.1	-0.10%	-0.50%
Kortkerossky District	314	373	13.7	17.8	-0.41%	14	12.2	15.8	16.7	-0.18%	-0.45%
Priluzsky District	318	402	13.9	21.8	-0.79%	13	14.2	16.6	19.2	-0.36%	-0.50%
Syktyvdinsky District	308	341	12.8	14.6	-0.18%	13.2	15.6	15.1	14.8	-0.19%	0.08%
Sysolsky District	214	302	13.3	17.0	-0.37%	14.7	12	18.8	17.9	-0.41%	-0.59%
Troitsko-Pechorsky District	193	262	12.0	19.1	-0.71%	12.2	13.9	16.7	18.5	-0.45%	-0.46%
Udorsky District	280	305	11.9	14.3	-0.24%	11.7	13	12.5	13.3	-0.08%	-0.03%
Ust-Vymsky District	443	543	14.0	19.4	-0.54%	14.9	12.7	17.7	16	-0.28%	-0.33%
Ust-Kulomsky District	453	433	14.8	19.5	-0.47%	15.1	15.1	13.9	15.2	0.12%	-0.01%
Ust-Tsilemsky District	179	220	12.5	16.0	-0.35%	11.1	15.3	16.3	17.8	-0.52%	-0.25

Ethnic groups

According to the 2010 Census,^[6] ethnic Russians make up 65.1% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Komi are only 23.7%. Other groups include Ukrainians (4.2%), Tatars (1.3%), Belarusians (1%), Ethnic Germans (0.6%), Chuvash (0.6%), Azeris (0.6%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Ethnic group	1926 census¹		1939 census		1959 census		1970 census		1979 census		1989 census		2002 census		2010 census²
Ethnic group	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Komi	191,245	92.2%	231,301	72.5%	245,074	30.4%	276,178	28.6%	280,798	25.3%	291,542	23.3%	256,464	25.2%	202,348	23.7%
Russians	13,731	6.6%	70,226	22.0%	389,995	48.4%	512,203	53.1%	629,523	56.7%	721,780	57.7%	607,021	59.6%	555,963	65.1%
Ukrainians	34	0.0%	6,010	1.9%	80,132	9.9%	82,955	8.6%	94,154	8.5%	104,170	8.3%	62,115	6.1%	36,082	4.2%
Others	2,304	1.1%	11,459	3.6%	90,998	11.3%	93,466	9.7%	105,886	9.5%	133,355	10.7%	93,074	9.1%	59,910	5.9%
¹ The territory of the Komi AO was different from the Komi Republic. ² 46,886 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.^[14]

Politics

The head of government in the Komi Republic is the Head of the Republic. As of 2011, the head of the republic is Vyacheslav Gayzer.

The State Council is the legislature.

Economy

The Komi Republic's major industries include oil processing, timber, woodworking, natural gas and electric power industries. Major industrial centers are Syktyvkar, Inta, Pechora, Sosnogorsk, Ukhta, and Vorkuta.

Transportation

Railroad transportation is very well developed. The most important railroad line is Kotlas–Vorkuta–Salekhard, which is used to ship most goods in and out of the republic. The rivers Vychegda and Pechora are navigable. There are airports in Syktyvkar, Ukhta, and Vorkuta.

In 1997, total railroad trackage was 1,708 km, automobile roads 4,677 km.

Education

There are over 450 secondary schools in the republic (with ~180,000 students). The most important higher education facilities include Syktyvkar State University and Ukhta State Technical University.

Sports

Stroitel have played in the highest division of Russian Bandy League for a long time.

References

^ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000).
^ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
^ ^a ^b Constitution, Article 8
^ Official website of the Komi Republic. Vyacheslav Gayzer (Russian)
^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://perepis2002.ru/ct/html/TOM_01_03.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2011). "Информационные материалы об окончательных итогах Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года (Information on the final results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/perepis_itogi1612.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
^ Правительство Российской Федерации. Постановление №725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных Постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации». Вступил в силу по истечении 7 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №197, 6 сентября 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Resolution #725 of August 31, 2011 On the Composition of the Territories Included into Each Time Zone and on the Procedures of Timekeeping in the Time Zones, as Well as on Abrogation of Several Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Effective as of after 7 days following the day of the official publication).
^ Official the whole territory of Russia according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
^ Constitution, Article 67
^ Коми Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика. Great Soviet Encyclopedia. http://slovari.yandex.ru/~%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/%D0%91%D0%A1%D0%AD/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B8%20%D0%90%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0/.
^ Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History (Random House, Inc., 2004: ISBN 1400034094), pp. 78, 82.
^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. (All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg.php. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
^ http://www.perepis-2010.ru/news/detail.php?ID=6936

Sources

17 февраля 1994 г. «Конституция Республики Коми», в ред. Закона №44-РЗ от 4 мая 2008 г. (February 17, 1994 Constitution of the Komi Republic, as amended by the Law #44-RZ of May 4, 2008. ).

External links

(Russian) Official site of the Republic of Komi
(Russian) Website of Syktyvkar City - The Capital of the Republic of Komi
(Russian) Official website of the Vorkuta City
(English) Official site of the Syktyvkar State University)
(Russian) Official site of the Syktyvkar State University)
(Russian) Official site of the Ukhta State Technical University
(Russian) Snowboarding in Komi Republic
(Russian) History Komi
(English) Map of the Komi Republic
(English) Historic-demographic note on the Nenets of the Komi Republic
(English) Virgin Komi Forests at Natural Heritage Protection Fund

Subdivisions of Russia

Federal subjects

Republics	Adygea Altai Bashkortostan Buryatia Chechnya Chuvashia Dagestan Ingushetia Kabardino-Balkaria Kalmykia Karachay-Cherkessia Karelia Khakassia Komi Mari El Mordovia North Ossetia-Alania Sakha Tatarstan Tuva Udmurtia

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Autonomous oblasts	Jewish

Autonomous okrugs	Chukotka Khanty–Mansi¹ Nenets² Yamalo-Nenets¹

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