The Chechen Republic is a tiny region in the southwestern part of Russia. By its area, Chechnya occupies less than 0.1% of the country's territory. What is this region interesting for? What does he produce? How many cities are there within Chechnya? Our article will tell about all this.
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 constituent entities of the Russian Federation). About 30% of its territory is occupied by mountain ranges and intermontane 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. Particularly striking are the differences in the amount of precipitation: in the north of the republic, they fall no more than 300 mm, 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 characterized by an extraordinary variety of topography and landscapes. Physically and geographically, the republic can be divided into four zones: plain (in the north), foothill (in the center), mountain and highland (in the south).
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, mastering them is quite difficult due to the high depth of the horizons. Today, oil production in Chechnya is conducted at only 200 wells out of 1300.
In addition to oil, natural gas, gypsum, marl, limestone and sandstone are mined in the republic. 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 material 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 per 100 inhabitants there are only 2 to 10 workers. Paradoxically, the total incomes of the population of Chechnya are growing every year. The reasons for this growth are various social benefits, benefits, “shadow earnings”, as well as the money of labor migrants earned in Moscow and other countries.
In terms of gross product, the Chechen economy occupies only 85th place among the subjects of the Russian Federation. The oil and gas sector still dominates in the structure of the economy of the republic. In addition, the construction industry, the chemical and food industries are developed here. In Grozny, the construction of a thermal power plant continues.
The lion's share of agricultural production is provided by animal husbandry (in particular, sheep and poultry farming). Crops, sugar beets, potatoes and vegetables are grown on the lands of Chechnya.
The population and cities of Chechnya
Chechnya is a young and actively giving birth republic in the demographic plan, and deeply religious in the religious plane. It boasts the country's highest natural population growth. Today, 1.4 million people live in Chechnya. 65% of them are rural residents. And Chechnya has the lowest divorce rates in Russia.
The most numerous ethnic group of the republic are Chechens (95%), the dominant religion is Sunni Islam. By the way, according to studies for 2012, Chechnya is one of the twenty regions of the planet where the rights of Christians are most infringed (according to the Open Doors organization). There are two official 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 of Chechnya is Grozny. Almost 300 thousand people live here. The oldest is Shawls. This city was founded in the XIV century.
The city of Grozny is the capital of the republic
Grozny is the capital of Chechnya and the center of the administrative district of the same name. The city is located on the banks of the Sunzha River. He dates back to 1818, when a fortress was laid 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 rather well-groomed city with dozens of industrial enterprises and a solid number of new buildings. The main attractions of Grozny are the grandiose mosque "Heart of Chechnya" and the equally impressive complex of high-rise buildings "Grozny City". The latter is located in the very center of the city and includes five residential buildings, an office building and a five-star hotel.