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".[16] The Novgorodians penetrated deep into these lands, and the methods used were typical of those used by later Russians in subsequent campaigns.[16]
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.[16] The missionary Stephen of Perm, a native of Ustyug, created the first alphabet for the Komi, known by contemporary Russians as Zyrians (zyriane).[16] He settled in Ust-Vym and became the first bishop of Perm.[16] 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,[17] 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."[18] On 21 March 1996, the Komi Republic signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.[19] The agreement was abolished on 20 May 2002.[20]
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.[21] 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.
Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, the 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. 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.
According to the 2010 Census,[15] 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.
1 The territory of the Komi AO was different from the Komi Republic.
2 Excluding 46,886 people who 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.[30]
Religion
Religion in Komi Republic as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[31][32]
There are over 450 secondary schools in the republic (with ~180,000 students). The most important higher education facilities include Komi Republican Academy of State Service and Administration, Syktyvkar State University and Ukhta State Technical University.
Politics
The head of government in the Komi Republic is the Head of the Republic. As of 2024, the current Head is Rostislav Goldshteyn.
The Komi Republic's major industries include oil processing, timber, woodworking, paper, natural gas and electric power industries. Major industrial centers are Syktyvkar, Inta, Pechora, Sosnogorsk, Ukhta, and Vorkuta.
Komigaz conducts natural gas transportation and distribution. The Yaregskoye oil field is developed by Lukoil.[33]
The petroleum, wood and paper industries made up 94.5% of the Republic’s exports in 2021.
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.
^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", No. 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. ).
^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.2008.09.008
^Walker, 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
17 февраля 1994 г. «Конституция Республики Коми», в ред. Закона №67-РЗ от 23 октября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Конституцию Республики Коми». Вступил в силу 10 марта 1994 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Красное знамя", №45, 10 марта 1994 г. (February 17, 1994 Constitution of the Komi Republic, as amended by the Law #67-RZ of October 23, 2015 On Amending the Constitution of the Komi Republic. Effective as of March 10, 1994 (with the exception of several clauses).).
Государственный Совет Республики Коми. Закон №XII-20/5 от 6 июня 1994 г. «О государственном гимне Республики Коми», в ред. Закона №44-РЗ от 4 июля 2006 г «О внесении изменений и дополнения в Закон Республики Коми "О Государственном гимне Республики Коми"pp». Вступил в силу 11 июня 1994 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Красное Знамя", No.109, 11 июня 1994 г. (State Council of the Komi Republic. Law #XII-20/5 of June 6, 1994 On the State Anthem of the Komi Republic, as amended by the Law #44-RZ of July 4, 2006 On Amending and Supplementing the Law of the Komi Republic "On the State Anthem of the Komi Republic". Effective as of June 11, 1994 (with the exception of certain clauses).).
"Коми АССР. Административно-территориальное деление на 1 июля 1968 г." Коми книжное издательство. Сыктывкар, 1968. (Komi ASSR. Administrative-Territorial Structure as of July 1, 1968)
Further reading
Pearson, M., Ojanen, P., Havimo, M., Kuuluvainen, T. & Vasander, H. (eds.) 2007. On the European Edge: Journey through Komi Nature and Culture. University of Helsinki Department of Forest Ecology Publications 36. 216 pp. ISBN978-952-10-3898-3.
Strogoff, M., Brochet, P. & Auzias, D. 2005. Guidebook Komi Republic. Avant-Garde Publishers, Moscow. 176 pp. ISBN5-86394-255-X.
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