The Komi Republic, sometimes simply referred to as Komi,Komi is a republic of Russia situated in the northeast of European Russia. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar.
The population of the republic at the 2021 census was 737,853, down from 901,189 at the 2010 census.
History
The Komi people first feature in the records of the Novgorod Republic in the 11th century, when traders from Novgorod traveled to the Perm region in search of furs and animal hides. The Novgorodians called these lands Zavolochye ("beyond the portage"), from the Russian word volok ("portage"), and the Komi were referred to as "the Chud beyond the portage". The Novgorodians penetrated deep into these lands, and the methods used were typical of those used by later Russians in subsequent campaigns.
The Moscow principality also played an increasing role in the expansion into Komi territories, accompanied by a great increase in monastic activity in the 14th and 15th centuries under the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. The missionary Stephen of Perm, a native of Ustyug, created the first alphabet for the Komi, known by contemporary Russians as Zyrians (zyriane). He settled in Ust-Vym and became the first bishop of Perm. After Novgorod was annexed by Moscow, the Komi territories came under the influence of Moscow in the late 15th and early 16th century. The site of Syktyvkar, settled from the 16th century, 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.
Russians explored the Komi territory most extensively in the 19th and early 20th centuries, starting with the expedition led by Alexander von Keyserling in 1843. They found ample reservoirs of various minerals, as well as timber, to exploit. After the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, the Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast was established on August 22, 1921, 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 arrived in the early 20th century were prisoners of the Gulag – 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 gangs of prisoners initially carved out of the untouched tundra and taiga. The first mine, "Rudnik No. 1", became the city of Vorkuta, and 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."Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History (Random House, Inc., 2004: ), pp. 78, 82. On 21 March 1996, the Komi Republic signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy. The agreement was abolished on 20 May 2002.
Geography
The republic is situated to the west of the Ural Mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain. The Polar Urals rise in the northeastern part.Google Earth Forests cover over 70% of the territory, and swamps cover approximately 15%. The Komi Republic is the second-largest federal region by area in European Russia after Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Area: 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: Maximum E→W distance:
Rivers Major rivers include: Izhma River Mezen River Pechora River Sysola River Usa River Vashka River Vychegda River Vym River
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.Walker, T. R., Crittenden, P. D., Dauvalter, V. A., Jones, V., Kuhry, P., Loskutova, O., ... & Pystina, T. (2009). Multiple indicators of human impacts on the environment in the Pechora Basin, north-eastern European Russia. Ecological Indicators, 9(4), 765-779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2008.09.008Walker, T. R., Habeck, J. O., Karjalainen, T. P., Virtanen, T., Solovieva, N., Jones, V., ... & Patova, E. (2006). Perceived and measured levels of environmental pollution: interdisciplinary research in the subarctic lowlands of northeast European Russia. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 35(5), 220-228. https://doi.org/10.1579/06-A-127R.1 Native reindeer are in abundance and have been intentionally bred for human usage by the indigenous population.
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: (southern parts) to (northern parts) Average July temperature: (northern parts) to (southern parts) Lowest recorded temperature: (village of Ust-Shchuger) Average annual precipitation:
Manpupuner and the 7 Strong Men rock formations
Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, the Komi Republic is home to Manpupuner (Man-Pupu-Nyer), a 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. Information regarding its origin is scarce. However, it is known that their height and abnormal shapes make the top of these rock giants inaccessible even to experienced rock-climbers.
Administrative divisions
Komi Republic is divided into 12 raions or districts.
Komi Republic, Russia Capital: SyktyvkarAs of 2014: Number of districts(районы) 12 Number of cities/towns(города) 10 Number of urban-type settlements(посёлки городского типа) 29 Number of administrative territories(административные территории) 173As of 2002:Results of the 2002 Russian Population Census—Territory, number of districts, inhabited localities, and rural administrations of the Russian Federation by federal subject Number of rural localities(сельские населённые пункты) 729 Number of uninhabited rural localities(сельские населённые пункты без населения) 17
Demographics
Population: 17-12-1926 17-01-1939 17-01-1959 15-01-1970 17-01-1979 17-01-1989 09-10-2002 14-10-2010 Total population 207,314 318,996 806,199 964,802 1,110,361 1,250,847 1,018,674 901,189 Average annual population growth +1.7% +1.6% +1.3% -1.6% -1.5% Males 46% 49% 52% 50% 51% 50% 48% Females 54% 51% 48% 50% 49% 50% 52% Females per 1000 males Proportion urban 4.4% 9.1% 59.4% 61.9% 70.8% 75.5% 75.3% Territory (km2) 434,150 415,900 415,900 415,900 415,900 415,900 415,900 415,900 Population density/km2 0.5 0.8 1.9 2.3 2.7 3.0 2.4 2.2
Settlements
Vital statistics Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service
Average population (x 1000)Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Total fertility rate 1920 4 760 4 353 407 1930 10 256 6 574 3 682 1940 14 976 12 134 2 842 1945 6 432 6 185 247 1950 534 20 087 6 002 14 085 37.6 11.2 26.4 1960 836 25 578 5 010 20 568 30.6 6.0 24.6 1965 938 18 956 5 241 13 715 20.2 5.6 14.6 1970 970 16 462 6 276 10 186 17.0 6.5 10.5 1975 1 044 18 899 7 284 11 615 18.1 7.0 11.1 1980 1 137 20 685 9 169 11 516 18.2 8.1 10.1 1981 1 153 21 244 9 103 12 141 18.4 7.9 10.5 1982 1 169 23 420 8 758 14 662 20.0 7.5 12.5 1983 1 185 23 806 9 250 14 556 20.1 7.8 12.3 1984 1 199 24 217 9 486 14 731 20.2 7.9 12.3 1985 1 213 23 303 9 334 13 969 19.2 7.7 11.5 1986 1 228 24 176 8 112 16 064 19.7 6.6 13.1 1987 1 242 23 616 8 544 15 072 19.0 6.9 12.1 1988 1 256 20 916 8 930 11 986 16.7 7.1 9.5 1989 1 256 18 481 8 857 9 624 14.7 7.1 7.7 1990 1 244 16 930 9 321 7 609 13.6 7.5 6.1 1.873 1991 1 231 15 589 9 665 5 924 12.7 7.9 4.8 1992 1 214 13 880 11 426 2 454 11.4 9.4 2.0 1993 1 199 12 158 14 642- 2 484 10.1 12.2- 2.1 1994 1 174 11 835 16 074- 4 239 10.1 13.7- 3.6 1995 1 145 11 105 15 057- 3 952 9.7 13.2- 3.5 1.317 1996 1 124 10 900 13 674- 2 774 9.7 12.2- 2.5 1997 1 106 10 388 12 244- 1 856 9.4 11.1- 1.7 1998 1 087 10 793 11 545- 752 9.9 10.6- 0.7 1999 1 068 9 680 12 253- 2 573 9.1 11.5- 2.4 2000 1 050 9 906 13 594- 3 688 9.4 12.9- 3.5 1.219 2001 1 036 10 325 13 968- 3 643 10.0 13.5- 3.5 1.272 2002 1 021 11 177 15 265- 4 088 10.9 15.0- 4.0 1.374 2003 1 004 11 462 15 810- 4 348 11.4 15.8- 4.3 1.401 2004 987 11 489 15 210- 3 721 11.6 15.4- 3.8 1.397 2005 971 10 975 15 074- 4 099 11.3 15.5- 4.2 1.332 2006 955 10 872 13 519- 2 647 11.4 14.1- 2.8 1.318 2007 941 11 523 12 304- 781 12.2 13.1- 0.8 1.406 2008 928 11 719 12 270- 551 12.6 13.2- 0.6 1.452 2009 916 11 868 12 182- 314 13.0 13.3- 0.3 1.62 2010 903 11 648 11 819- 171 12.9 13.1- 0.2 1.63 2011 11 715 11 097+ 443 13.0 12.4+ 0.6 1.71 2012 890 12 418 10 830+ 1 588 14.0 12.2+ 1.8 1.88 2013 876 12 436 10 484+ 1 952 14.2 12.0+ 2.2 1.96 2014 868 12 291 10 621+ 1 670 14.2 12.2+ 2.0 2.01 2015 861 11 797 10 666+ 1 131 13.6 12.3+ 1.3 2.00 2016 854 11 239 10 523+ 716 13.1 12.3+ 0.8 1.97 2017 845 9 766 9 958- 192 11.5 11.8- 0.3 1.78
Regional vital statistics for 2011 Source:
DistrictBirth RateDeath RateNatural Growth RateRussians as % of PopNative Komi and Nenets as % of PopKomi Republic 13.0 12.40.06%96.05%3.95%Syktyvkar 12.5 10.20.23%97.61%2.39%Vorkuta 11.8 9.70.21%92.33%7.67%Vuktyl 11.2 12.6-0.14%95.27%4.73%Inta 11.1 12.6-0.15%95.40%4.60%Pechora 13.0 13.6-0.06%96.89%3.11%Sosnogorsk 12.6 14.4-0.18%97.02%2.98%Usinsk 14.7 9.00.57%86.04%13.96%Ukhta 11.0 10.70.03%96.20%3.80%Izhemsky 19.1 18.80.03%99.62%0.38%Knyazhpogostsky 11.6 15.9-0.43%95.50%4.50%Koygorodsky 16.2 18.3-0.21%97.89%2.11%Kortkerossky 16.9 18.6-0.17%98.86%1.14%Priluzsky 15.6 18.4-0.28%98.98%1.02%Syktyvdinsky 17.3 13.30.40%98.11%1.89%Sysolsky 16.4 17.6-0.12%98.37%1.63%Troitsko-Pechorsky 14.0 17.9-0.39%97.80%2.20%Udorsky 15.6 13.10.25%95.33%4.67%Ust-Vymsky 12.0 15.8-0.38%96.48%3.52%Ust-Kulomsky 19.2 18.90.03%98.96%1.04%Ust-Tsilemsky 16.1 15.40.07%99.62%0.38%
Ethnic groups According to the 2010 Census, ethnic Russians make up 65.1% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Komi make up 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.