Economy, population and cities of the Chechen Republic. Chechnya Square

Chechnya: area and geographical location

The republic is part of the North Caucasus Federal District. It is located within the Caucasian mountainous country. The total area of ​​Chechnya is 15.6 thousand square kilometers (76th place in the list of subjects of the Russian Federation). About 30% of its territory is occupied by mountain ranges and intermountain basins.

The capital of Chechnya is the city of Grozny. It is located in the geometric center of the republic. The head of the Chechen Republic is Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (since 2007).

The climate of Chechnya is continental and very diverse. The differences in the amount of atmospheric precipitation are especially striking: in the north of the republic no more than 300 mm falls, and in the south – about 1000 mm. There are quite a lot of lakes and rivers in Chechnya (the largest of them are Terek, Argun, Sunzha and Gekhi).

Despite its small area, Chechnya is distinguished by its extreme diversity of relief and landscapes. In physical-geographical terms, the republic can be divided into four zones: flat (in the north), foothills (in the center), mountainous and high-mountain (in the south).

History of the Chechen Republic

People have lived in the plains of Sunzha and Terek since time immemorial, but in the 13th century the ancestors of modern Chechens were forced to leave for the mountainous areas. The reason for this was the turmoil brought during the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Thus, until the 16th century, the bulk of Chechens lived in mountainous areas. Around the same period, in the society of representatives of the Vainakh ethnic group, the teip, or as it is also called, the tribal structure of society, began to emerge, in which the territory of a person’s residence and his family ties, which are very strong among this people to this day, were of great importance.

Since the 16th century, Chechens began to gradually move to the flatlands again. And at the same period, one Shikh-Murza Okotsky begins to establish connections with Moscow and sends his like-minded people to the capital of Russia, called upon to discuss the entry of Chechnya into Russia.

Around the same time, the first Cossack settlers appeared here, marking the beginning of the formation of the so-called Terek Cossacks. In the 18th century it ceased to be free, and the Cossacks officially became part of the Russian armed forces. The main task of the Terek Cossacks was to protect the southern borders of Russia.

In the 18th century, Russian military campaigns into the territory of Chechnya became regular. The cause of the conflict was the constant complaints of the Cossacks about the raids of the indigenous population on their settlements, which did not contribute to the security of the borders.

In the 19th century, Emperor Alexander II issued a decree according to which Chechnya officially became part of the Russian Empire, along with other districts. This territory began to be called the Terek region.

After the Russian civil war of 1917, an Islamic state was created on the territory of the republic. The head of the North Caucasus Emirate was Uzun Haji (emir). However, the emirate soon lost its independence and became known as the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as it became part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

Then, with the advent of Soviet power, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Terek region was divided into Ingush and Chechen districts. Then, in 1934 and 1936, it was alternately renamed the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Okrug and the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

During the Great Patriotic War, at the end of winter 1944, the entire population of Chechnya was deported to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The reason for these repressive measures was the unfair accusation of the Chechens and Ingush that they allegedly acted as accomplices of the fascist troops.

As a result, the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was disbanded. Its territories were partially annexed to other geographical entities, and partially included the Grozny region. Thus, the city of Grozny was preserved and became the administrative center of the newly formed region. In 1957, a decision was made to restore justice to the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the indigenous population returned to their native lands. However, the problem of the land issue still exists between some regions.

The main resource of Chechnya

The main natural resource of the republic is oil. Together with neighboring Ingushetia, Chechnya is one of the oldest oil and gas regions in Russia. Most of the oil fields are historically concentrated in the vicinity of Grozny.

Today, industrial oil reserves in Chechnya amount to about 60 million tons. And to a greater extent they are already exhausted. The total reserves of black gold within the republic are estimated by experts at 370 million tons. True, it is quite difficult to develop them due to the high depth of the horizons. Today, oil production in Chechnya is carried out at only 200 wells out of 1,300.

In addition to oil, the republic produces natural gas, gypsum, marl, limestone and sandstone. There are also several valuable mineral springs here.

General features of the regional economy

Perhaps the main and most famous feature of the Chechen economy is its subsidization. On average, the republic receives up to 60 billion rubles of annual financial assistance from the center. And according to this indicator, Chechnya is one of the three most subsidized regions of Russia.

Another anti-record: the Chechen Republic ranks fourth in the country in terms of unemployment (almost 17%). The most difficult situation is observed in villages, where there are only 2 to 10 workers per 100 residents. Paradoxically, the total income of the population of Chechnya is growing every year. The reasons for this growth are various social payments, benefits, “shadow earnings,” as well as money from labor migrants earned in Moscow and other countries.

In terms of gross product, the economy of Chechnya ranks only 85th among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The oil and gas sector still dominates in the structure of the republic's economy. In addition, the construction industry, chemical and food industries are developed here. Construction of a thermal power plant continues in Grozny.

The lion's share of agricultural products is provided by livestock farming (in particular, sheep and poultry farming). Cereals, sugar beets, potatoes and vegetables are grown on the lands of Chechnya.

Population and cities of Chechnya

Demographically, Chechnya is a young and actively giving birth republic, and religiously, it is deeply religious. It boasts the highest natural population growth in the country. Today 1.4 million people live in Chechnya. 65% of them are rural residents. Chechnya also has the lowest divorce rates in Russia.

The largest ethnic group in the republic are Chechens (95%), the dominant religion is Sunni Islam. By the way, according to research for 2012, Chechnya is one of the twenty regions of the planet where the rights of Christians are most violated (according to the Open Doors organization). There are two state languages ​​in the republic – Chechen and Russian.

There are few cities in Chechnya. There are only five of them: Grozny, Urus-Martan, Gudermes, Shali and Argun. The largest city in Chechnya is Grozny. Almost 300 thousand people live here. The oldest is Shali. This city was founded back in the 14th century.

Districts[ | ]

Achkhoy-Martanovsky[ | ]

Vedensky[ | ]

Groznensky[ | ]

Gudermes[ | ]

Itum-Kalinsky[ | ]

Kurchaloevsky[ | ]

Nadterechny [ | ]

Naursky[ | ]

Nozhai-Yurtovsky[ | ]

Sernovodsky[ | ]

Urus-Martanovsky[ | ]

Shalinsky[ | ]

Sharoysky[ | ]

Shatoisky[ | ]

Shelkovskaya[ | ]

The city of Grozny is the capital of the republic

Grozny is the capital of Chechnya and the center of the administrative region of the same name. The city is located on the banks of the Sunzha River. It dates back to 1818, when the fortress was founded here. Russian soldiers erected it in just four months. Since at that time this area was a “hot spot” on the map of the North Caucasus, the fortress was nicknamed Grozny.

Modern Grozny is a fairly well-kept city with several dozen industrial enterprises and a significant number of new buildings. The main attractions of Grozny are the grandiose “Heart of Chechnya” mosque and the no less impressive complex of high-rise buildings “Grozny City”. The latter is located in the heart of the city and includes five residential buildings, an office building and a five-star hotel.

Rivers

The rivers on the territory of Chechnya are scattered. There are 20 main rivers in total, these are: Terek, Argun, Gekhi, Sunzha, Sharoargun, Aksai, Baas, Khulkhulau, Martan, Yamansu, Shalazha, Gums, Yaryk-su, Roshnya, Fortanga, Michik, Netkhoi, Shalazha, Chemulga, Assa.

There are 14 lakes, the largest and deepest of them is Lake Kezenoyam, located in the North Caucasus and is mountainous (belongs to the Vedeno region).

• Lakes of the Achkhoy-Martan region: Galayn-Am, Gekhi-Am.
• Lakes of the Shelkovsky region: Bolshoye, Solenoye, Cherkasskoye.
• Lakes of the Shatoi region: Urgyukhoy-am, Bezik-Ome.
• Lakes of the Naursky district: Kapustino, Mayorskoye, Generalskoye and Chechenskoye. One lake belongs to the Sharoysky district - Amga, as well as to Itum-Kalinsky - Chentiy-am.

There are only five waterfalls, these are: Argun, Genikh, Sharo-Argun, Khulkhuloi and Aksai waterfalls.

The highest peaks of the mountains were called “Four-thousander peaks”, befitting their height: Maistismta (4082 m), Donosmta (4174 m), Komito (4262 m), Diklosmta (4285 m), Tebulosmta (4493 m).