THE REPUBLIC OF ADYGHEYA

The Republic of Adyghea is located on the scenic northern slopes of the Caucasus range descending to the fertile Kuban plain. It has an area of 7800 square kilometers and a population of 450.000 representing more than 80 nationalities. Two nationalities, Adyghe and Russians, form the basis of the republic's present-day ethnic makeup. At present, the republic has 2 cities administered at the republican level, 7 districts, 5 urban communities, and 55 rural and village districts. The capital of the Republic of Adyghea is Maykop. The Kuban, Laba, Belaya, and Adyghea rivers are historical sites steeped in legends, where the celebrated Great Silk Route to Asia passed in the Middle Ages. The ancestors of the Adyghe created the Maykop culture, well known in world archaeology.

The Adyghe, who gave their name to the republic, are the oldest inhabitants of the Northwest Caucasus and were known in Europe and the East as Circassians (or Cherkessians) from the 13th century onward. The Adyghean language belongs to the Abkhazo-Adyghean group of Caucasian languages and is an official language of the Republic of Adyghea along with Russian.

Adyghea became a republic of the Russian Federation in 1991. Its first president was Aslan Alievich Dzharimov. The Constitution of the Republic of Adyghea was adopted in 1995 and is based on the fundamental principles of voluntary membership in the Russian Federation, preservation of Russia's unity and integrity, defense of the interests of the multinational population of Adyghea, law and order, and civil peace and interethnic harmony in Adyghea. The Republic of Adyghea bases its relations with other subjects of the Russia Federation on agreements. Since 1992, friendship and cooperation agreements have been signed with Krasnodar Territory, the Kabardino-Balkara Republic, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, the Republic of Ingushetia, the Republic of North Ossetia (Alania), the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Abkhazia, the Moscow City Government, and the Government of Astrakhan Region. Cooperation with other subjects of the Russian Federation in various areas of science, culture, economics, public health, etc. is expanding. Adyghea is a member of the Association for Socioeconomic Cooperation of the Republics, Territories, and Regions of the Northern Caucasus. An Agreement forming an Interparliamentary Council consisting of the Republic of Adyghea, the Kabardino-Balkara Republic, and the Karachaevo-Cherkessian Republic has been in effect since July 1997.

About 100 social-political and religious associations are active in the Republic of Adyghea, along with just as many republican organizations of Russian parties and movements, Adyghean parties, and veterans', youth, women's, and other organizations.
Representatives of public associations of various orientations are united in a republican organization, the Peace League, which includes staff of businesses and members of institutions, public organizations, national and cultural associations, political parties, and religious faiths. The Peace League's objective is to help maintain peace and security, involve citizens in peace movements, and cooperate with government and public organizations in solving interethnic and interregional problems of an economic, cultural, and humanitarian nature.

Adyghea attaches great importance to developing culture and education. The Adyghean Pedagogical Institute has been turned into the Adyghean State University, and a new higher educational institution, the Maykop State Technological Institute, has been opened. Postgraduate and doctoral programs and academic councils have been established at the republic's higher educational institutions.

Preserving and developing national traditions is also a priority in Adyghea. National traditions that have historically defined the norms of interethnic relations act as social regulators in present-day conditions. Support of both professional and amateur groups popularizing the finest achievements of the national cultures of the Republic of Adyghea is also an important objective. At the Pushkin State Drama Theater, productions are staged in both official languages, i.e., Adyghean and Russian. The Nalmes State Academic Adyghean Folk Dance Ensemble and the Islamei State Adyghean Folk Song Ensemble are examples of successful professional groups. New professional groups have also been formed, for example, the symphony orchestra of the Adyghean Ministry of Culture, the Russkaya Udal State orchestra of Russian folk instruments, a choral ensemble, and the Oshten show ensemble, which popularizes the finest accomplishments of Russian popular culture. Great emphasis is also placed on reviving ancient customs and ceremonies. For example, the Leperyshu and Kesho Kuang, Adyghean dances that were lost in the historic homeland but were preserved by the diaspora, have returned to Adyghea. Traditional national trades and crafts have also been revived, and the Adyghean Center for Popular Culture is working productively. A database of the republic's skilled craftsmen containing the names of more than 240 craftsmen and amateur artists has been created. The works of these craftsmen have been exhibited in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Nalchik, Grozny, Krasnodar, and other cities. The finest articles made by national craftsmen are kept in the National Museum of the Republic of Adyghea. Amidst heightened interest in national origins, the revival of the national cultures of the Adyghe, Cossacks, and other Adyghean nationalities is being achieved without conflict thanks to national distinctiveness.

There are 8 state and 23 public museums in Adyghea. The National Museum of the Republic of Adyghea possesses unique archaeological, ethnographic, and natural collections. A special section on the Adyghe diaspora has been opened, resulting in a significant addition to the Museum's exhibits on the period of the Caucasian War and the life of Adyghe abroad. A branch of the State Museum of Eastern Peoples and a picture gallery have been opened in Maykop.

The epic known as the Nart is the oldest cultural memorial of the Adyge people. It depicts the people at an early stage of development of human society, their occupations, ethical standards and philosophical views, folk legends, and distinctive features of their life and character.

Adyghea's role in the cultural life of the Northern Caucasus region is increasing. This is shown by the fact that the republic has been designated as cultural coordinator for other regions of the Northern Caucasus and is increasingly becoming the site of federal and regional cultural events. These include the International Festival of Adyghe Culture; the Friendship Stage (Rampa druzhby) amateur theater festival of the Northern Caucasus and a number of regional competitions for young musicians; regional festivals of Cossack culture; and the Peace in the Caucasus (Mir Kavkazu) festival of master artists of Southern Russia.

The Republic is participating in special federal programs for economic and sociopolitical development in the Northern Caucasus region, including the projects Russian South (Yug Rossii), Peace in the Northern Caucasus through Economics, Education, and Culture (Mir na Severnom Kavkaze cherez ekonomiku, obrazovanie, i kulturu), Monuments of the Caucasus (Pamyatniki Kavkaza), and Interaction of Civilizations and Cultures in the Northern Caucasus (Vzaimodeistvie tsivilizatsii i kultur na Severnom Kavkaze).

Many generations of artists and cultural figures have made a priceless contribution to the creative heritage. Well-known names include classic Adyghean writers T.M. Kerashev, winner of the USSR State Prize, and I.Sh. Mashbash, national writer of Adyghea, winner of the USSR and Russian State Prizes, the Kuban Komsomol and A. Fadeyev Prizes, and the Sholokhov Literary Prize, and President of the Writers' Union of Adyghea; and founder of Adyghean professional musical arts, U.Kh Tkhabisimov, national artist of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Adyghea, honored artist of Russia, winner of the State Prize of the Republic of Adyghea, and member of the Russian Composers' Union.

The Republic takes pride in its Olympic champions and medallists, who include Vladimir Nevzorov and Aramby Emizh in judo, Tamara Kalyagina in basketball, Mukharby Kirzhinov in weight lifting, and Valdimir Maksimov in handball. Other athletes have won multiple world and European championships and medals, for example, Aramby Khapai, Vladimir Dutov, Vladimir Gurin, Gumer Kostokov, Sagid, Meretukov, Murat Khasanov, Mukhamed Kunizhev, Skhatby Alkhaov, and Alexsandr Konovalov in unarmed self-defense; Khazret Tletseri in judo; and Valery Talaev in weight lifting; marksman Aleksandr Fedorinov in shooting; Asker Tatlok in Greco-Roman wrestling; Andzhei Cholokyan in boxing. Sergei Alifirenko, a native of Maykop, won the championship in speed shooting at the XXVII Olympics in Sydney.

Sixty-six Adygheans are members of combined Russian teams in 18 sports. Since 1992, the Peoples' Friendship of the Northern Caucasus multiday bicycle race has been an annual event. The race follows the route Maykop-Krasnodar-Stavropol-Cherkessk-Pyatigorsk-Nalchik-Vladikavkaz and bears a token of peace and friendship in the regions of Southern Russia. Interrally-Belaya boating competitions dedicated to peace and friendship between the peoples of Russia are also held in Adyghea.

The republic is in an area of mixed tourism and has considerable resources for hunters.

Several conservation areas have been created in Adyghea, including the Caucasus State Biosphere Preserve spread over Adyghea and Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, a number of unique natural monuments, and Gornaya Adyghea National Park. Mountain hiking trails and a riding trail are also very popular.

HISTORY

The Adygheans (the people's own name for themselves is Adyghe) are an ancient native people of the Northwest Caucasus, better known in historical annals as Circassians (also Cherkess). An agricultural and cattle-breeding culture arose in the Northwest Caucasus in the early Bronze age. By 3000 B.C., the Dolmen culture, whose name comes from the distinctive megaliths used as grave markers, had arisen here and reached its peak; it lasted until the last quarter of the second millennium B.C. The area where the Caucasian dolmens are found is the ancestral home of the Adyghe-Abkhaz tribes. Today, there are five dolmen fields in the republic with about 200 whole and partly ruined dolmens.

The Maykop culture of the Kuban valley coexisted with the Dolmen culture. The first classical monuments of the Maykop culture in the form of large burial mounds (kurgans) containing splendid articles made of precious metals were discovered in the Kuban before the Revolution. They include the well-known kurgan excavated in Maykop in 1897 by Professor N.I. Veselovsky, which gave its name to the culture as whole. The settlements of Meshoko, Skala, Khadzhokh, and Yasenovaya Polyana are other well-known monuments of this period.

The first iron appeared here in the second millennium B.C. and led to major economic and social advances at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 8th centuries B.C. The economic structure was represented by cattle-breeding, agriculture, metallurgy and metalworking, weaving, and spinning. This period is known in history as the Protomeotic.

The names of North Caucasian tribes, such as the Meots, Sinds, Akhei, Zikhs, and others that played a major role in the ethnogenesis of the Adyghe, first became known in about 1000 B.C. In Greek and Roman sources, they are referred to collectively as Meots, and in 1000 B.C., they occupied the eastern coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and the Kuban valley.

The 5th century B.C. began with the rise of cities that became craft and trading centers in the lands of one of the Meotic tribes of Sinds. Intercourse with the Greek world, accelerated the process of formation of classes and states 7among the Sinds. By the end of the 5th century B.C., Sindika had been transformed into a real kingdom. Close political and economic ties were formed with the Bosporus state. Many scientists believe that the Spartacid dynasty that ruled the Bosporus for more than 150 years was Meotic (M.I. Artamonov, E.I. Krupnov) rather than Greek.

The 7th-6th centuries B.C. saw the beginning of widespread use of iron in the Northwest Caucasus, which led to the rapid development of productive forces that transformed the entire material culture and social life. By this time, the Meotic culture was thriving on the right bank of the Kuban, on the left banks of its tributaries to the northern slopes of the Caucasian range, and along the eastern shore of Lake Meota (the Sea of Azov). The Meots lived in farming settlements, and along with farming, stock-breeding, fishing, metallurgy and metalworking, and crafts (pottery, weaving, jewelry-making, tanning, woodworking, etc.) were also well developed.

The Meots' high level of material and spiritual culture and the influence of neighboring peoples on it are confirmed by the unique discoveries made during the excavation of kurgans near the village of Ulyap in Krasnogvardeysky District, which were first known as the Ulsk kurgans, but after a brilliant analysis by Professor A.M. Peskov in 1981-1982, were renamed the Ulyap kurgans. At the beginning of the Common Era, one of the coastal tribes, the Zikhs, appeared on the historical scene. Being in a more advantageous position than the steppe-dwelling Meats for a number of reasons, the Zikhs began to play an important role in the unification process. By the 6th century A.D., the neighboring tribes had united around the Zikhs to form the Zikh Union. Eighth-century authors refer to Zikhia as a sizable country on the eastern shore of the Black Sea resulting from consolidation of the tribes into a single Adyghe people. Two other unions, namely, the Kasog in the Transkuban region and the Abazg in the southeast, formed along with the Zikh Union.

In the 6th century A.D., Byzantine influence was increasing in the Northwest Caucasus. By this time the coastal Adyghe had converted to Christianity and a Zikh diocese directly under the Byzantine patriarch had been formed. Contemporary references to the Adyghe as the Zikhs and Kasogs give reason to believe that the single Adyghe union had split into the western and eastern Adyghe (Kabardians).

In 944, after the defeat of the Khazar Khanate by the Kievan prince Svyatoslav, the city of Tamatarkha became part of Rus under the name of Tmutarakan. The territory of the Tmutarakan principality included the Eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula, and among the inhabitants were Slavs, Adyghe, Greeks, and Alans.

The Russian Lavrentev Chronicle first mentions the Adyghe under the name of Kasogs in the 10th century. Kasogs were included in the retinue of the Tmutarakan prince Mstislav, and took part in the 11th -century campaigns against Yaroslav the Wise. With the weakening of the Kievan state, the Russian princes lost Tmutarakan at the end of the 11th century. The Kipchaks (Polovtsy) took Tmutarakan from Rus, and the Slavic population of the Northwest Caucasus merged with the Adyghe.

From the second half of the 13th century to almost the end of the 15th century, the Genoese, who had their own colonies of Matrega, Kopa, and Mapa in Adyghe lands, had a decisive influence on the cultural and historical development of the Adyghe. The population consisted of Italians, Greeks, and Adyghe.

The celebrated Silk Route passed through the territory of historical Cherkessia (Circassia), as shown by archaeological finds from the Moshchevaya Balka burial ground (7th-9th centuries) on the Bolshaya Laba River, Psebai District, and the Belorechensk kurgans (13th-15th centuries). In the 10th century, the Adyghe had already become a single nation. Anthropologically, the Adyghe belonged to the northwestern group of Pontic Europeans, and linguistically, to the Northwest Caucasian (Abkhazo-Adyghean) group of Caucasian languages. The formation of the Adyghe people over the millennia took place in close contact with the tribes of Western Asia, Greeks, Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians. The main Adyghe settlements were located in the northwestern foothills and plains of the lower reaches of the Kuban and on the east coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Don to Abkhazia. Adyghe society of that time can be described as early feudal, and farming was the leading economic sector. Cattle- and horse-breeding, fishing, and crafts were well developed. The finds at the Kolosovka (8th century) and Psekups (8th-9th centuries) burial grounds and the Belorechensk kurgans, among others, are outstanding examples of premedieval and medieval Adyghe culture.

The Mongol invasion changed the map of tribal settlements in the eastern and central areas of the Northern Caucasus. In 1238-1239, the Mongols captured all of the pre-Caucasian plains, and in the early 1240s, the state known as the Golden Horde had formed, whose southern borders extended to the Crimea and the foothills of the Caucasus range. Under these conditions and political circumstances, some of the Adyghe (Kabardians) migrated east to the edge of the Central pre-Caucasian plain, which in turn led to the division of the common language into western (Adyghean) and eastern (Kabardian) dialects and later formed the basis of the modern Adyghean and Kabardian languages. From about the 1240s onward, the word "Cherkess" appears in sources. The name Cherkess, which comes from the Turkic designation for the Adyghe, was adopted by other nations and became fixed in European and Eastern literature.

In the 17th century, the Adyghe who had separated from the Kabardians moved back west and settled in the area of the Upper Kuban. These were the so-called Besleneevtsy. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, a second group joined them from Kabarda. As a result, the Adyghe were divided into three nations, the Adygheans, the Kabardians, and Circassians, although besides language, material and spiritual culture, and a common consciousness, the Adyghe shared a common territory.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, there was a thriving trade in Adyghe slaves on the slave markets of Middle Eastern countries, especially Egypt, where sultans acquired them as additions to their Mamluk guard. The influx of slaves allowed one of the Adyghe, Al-Malik-az-Zakhir Barkuk al Cherkesi, to seize power in Egypt and found the Circassian dynasty of Mamluks, which ruled Egypt and Syria from 1382 to 1517. The Mamluks finally disappeared from the Middle Eastern political arena in 1811. The Circassian Mamluks left a significant imprint on the history and culture of Egypt, Syria, and the entire Middle East. They repelled invasions of Crusaders, halted the onslaught of the conqueror Tamerlane, and greatly extended the boundaries of the Mamluk state. During the period of Circassian rule, architecture progressed significantly; irrigation systems were built; and poets, musicians, philosophers, and historians enjoyed special patronage.

The decline of Christianity among the Adyghe began at the end of the 15th century after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the disappearance of the Byzantine Empire from the world political map. Starting at the end of the 16th century, the Sunni branch of Islam was introduced among the Adyghe through the efforts of the Crimean Tatar khans and Turkish missionaries. This was accompanied by military expansion by the Crimean khans. (The Caucasian War of the 19th century and the way the Russian Empire conducted it had a decisive impact on the strengthening and final establishment of Islam in the Northwest Caucasus.) In the 16th century Russians representing imperial authority reached agreement with Kabardan princes who welcomed traders and military support against rivals. In 1561, Tsar Ivan the Terrible married Temryuk's daughter, a Kabardian princess Goshenai (baptized Maria). The marriage of Maria Temryukovna to Tsar Ivan the Terrible and her conversion to Orthodoxy symbolize the cooperative relations that existed at that time. Russian expansion always entailed some degree of missionary purpose--encouragement of the spread of Russian Orthodoxy, but religion was a secondary factor in Russian expansion into the North Caucasus. Kabarda, where the population was divided into clearly defined social classes, marked the beginning of a Russian technique of gaining predominance by co-opting the local aristocracy--the Kabardian princes, whose descendants became prominent among the Russian nobility. This approach was less effective with ethnic groups that had a more egalitarian social structure, such as the Chechens and the Ingush, many of the other Circassian tribes, and the peoples of Dagestan.

By the 18th century, the Adyghe occupied the territory from the mouth of the Kuban along the Black Sea coast to the Psou River and from the northern slopes of the Caucasian mountains to Ossetia; and in the first half of the 19th century, they inhabited extensive areas of the Black Sea coast and the Northern Caucasus. As Russia advanced southward, this territory shrank to 180.000 sq. km by the 1830s.

According to data of the Russian officer Novitsky, the Adyghe population in 1830 was 1.082.000, and ethnic subdivisions of the Adyghe were preserved, including the Shapsugh, Abadzekh, Natukhay, Temirgoy, Bzhedugh, Hatukay, Besleney, Egerukay, Makhosh, Adamie, Mamkheg, and Kabardey.

By the 1860s, as a result of the Caucasian War and forced deportation to the Ottoman Empire, only 5% of the Adyghe remained in their historical homeland. Ethnographers define the modern-day Adyghe people as a dispersed nation. More than 3 million Adyghe live in more than 50 countries, including Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the United States, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Germany. After the end of the Caucasian War, the Northwest Caucasus was under military occupation until 1867, and the Adyghe population came under the jurisdiction of military authorities. On January 1, 1867, the military occupation finally ended and the Adyghe population became part of the general population of the newly formed Maykop, Ekaterinodar, and Batalpashinsk districts. On March 21, 1888, Alexander III approved a new statute setting up the administrations of Kuban and Tersk regions and Chernomorskaya Province, which abolished civil institutions and established a narrow Cossack military governing caste without the participation of the mountain peoples. In 1914-1917, the Adyghe took part in World War I in the Circassian regiment known as the "Wild Division." The Civil War resulted in another sizable migration of Adyghe to Turkey and Middle Eastern countries. The revival of the ancient Adyghe people as a nation did not begin until after the October Revolution, with the formation of the Circassian (Adyghean) Autonomous Region on July 21, 1922. In 1936, by order of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the capital of Adyghea was moved from Krasnodar to Maykop.

On October 5, 1991, the Adyghean people achieved real statehood when the Republic of Adyghea was proclaimed. The legal document On State Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Adyghea defined the place and role of Adyghea in a renewed Russia. Adyghea's new status as an independent subject of the Russian Federation was legalized by the RSFSR Supreme Soviet's approval of RSFSR Law N 1535-1 of July 3, 1991, On the Transformation of the Adyghean Autonomous Region into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Adyghea. In December 1991, elections were held to elect deputies to the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Adyghea, and the first parliament in Adyghea's history was formed. Aslan Alievich Dzharimov, the Republic's first president, was elected in January 1992. In March 1992, Adam Khuseinovich Tleuzh was elected the first chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Adyghea. In five years, Adyghea acquired all the attributes of statehood, beginning with state symbols and ending with the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Adygea and the formation of state governing bodies. The Constitution of the Republic of Adyghea was approved by the Legislative Assembly (Khase) on March 10, 1995.

RESOURCES

The Republic of Adyghea is located on the scenic northern slopes of the Caucasus range descending to the fertile Kuban plain and covers an area of 7800 square kilometers. The main territory of Adyghea is located in the Kuban and Laba river valleys. In the mountainous parts of Adyghea, a series of peaks-Shepsi, Oshten, Fisht, Chugush, and Pseashkho-with heights from 2000 to 3255 meters stretches from south to east. The navigable Kuban River is one of the largest rivers in the Caucasus. The Belaya, Laba, Pshish, Psekups, Kisha, Dakh, Cakhrai, Khodz, Fars, and many other rivers have their sources among the glaciers and permanent snowfields.

Adyghea's resources are found in geological structures bearing a number of commercial minerals, the most important of which are oil and gas. Scientists have estimated the republic's reserves at 71 million tonnes of equivalent fuel. The so-called "white Maykop oil" is known around the world. The republic's thermal and mineral water resources are unique in their properties and contain a wide range of microelements, for example, iodine, bromine, boron, arsenic, zinc, cobalt, and barium, among others.

Melting ice from the mountain peaks is the source of the river with the beautiful and resonant name of Serebryanka. It flows through hard volcanic rocks 180 meters thick or more, which purify its waters. Then as it passes through untouched strata, its waters become saturated with mineral salts. The filtered water of the Serebryanka with its high content of microelements and low bacteria count is fresh and cold even in summer. Ten years ago, it began to be delivered to the apartments of many Maykop residents through a branch water supply line.

There are also sizable reserves of raw materials for manufacturing cement, lime, and glass, as well as colored marble and granite for interior decoration. Deposits of building, facing, and semiprecious stones are found in one of the mountainous parts of the republic; and clay materials and sand-gravel mixtures are concentrated on the plains. Most of the clay deposits have been developed for the production of bricks and expanded clay aggregate. However, the Maykop clays have excellent natural properties and are suitable for manufacturing tile, glazed tile, ceramic sewer pipe, floor tiles, and faience. Clay reserves are enormous. Natural agrochemical fertilizers based on phosphorites, glauconitic sandstones, and zeolites have also been extensively developed. Ore deposits include gold, silver, barite, tungsten, mercury, polymetals, iron, and manganese.

Adyghea's forests are a major source of hardwoods, such as oak, beech, hornbeam, and ash, for the furniture-making and woodworking industries of the Northern Caucasus. The forests are also rich in plants with important nutritional and medicinal properties. About 150 tonnes of crude drugs and more than 170 tonnes of wild plant materials are stockpiled each year. Investments that provide an effective return in the shortest possible time are required in order to fully develop this natural wealth.

ECONOMY

Adyghea is for the most part an agrarian republic with a well-developed industrial sector. The region's best growing crops are wheat, sugar-beet, tobacco-plant, vegetables, rice, water-melons and tea, which grows in the most northern parts of the globe and is rated highly among connoisseurs. Adyghea is also known for its horticulture, cattle breeding, industrial poultry keeping, beekeeping and horse breeding. Republic's industry is represented by its eleven branches. Food industry is the leader among them, it makes up 50% of republic's overall production volume. Republic's rich timber resources made it possible to create large-scale furniture, woodworking and pulp and paper industry, which occupy 16% of all industrial workers. Engineering and metal-working enterprises produce 11% of all industrial production of the republic. In 1991-2000 republic's economy as well as the economy of the whole country went through a time of harsh crisis but at present one can note the stable dynamics of production growth.

AUTHORITIES

State authority in the Republic of Adyghea is exercised on the basis of division of power into legislative, executive, and judicial authorities, as well as division of areas of jurisdiction and power between governing bodies of the Russian Federation and those of the Republic of Adyghea vested in the federative agreement, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the Constitution of the Republic of Adyghea.

The legislative, executive, and judicial bodies act independently within the limits of their power while cooperating with one another.

State authority in the republic is exercised by the President of the Republic of Adyghea as head of state and head of the executive body; by the State Council (Khase) of the Republic of Adyghea as the highest representative and legislative body; by the Cabinet of Ministers as the executive body; and by the courts of the Republic of Adyghea as judicial bodies.

Local government in the Republic of Adyghea operates in districts and major cities. The activities of local administrations and executive bodies are managed by the head of the administration elected by the people of the respective territory according to the law. Local representative government bodies in the Republic of Adyghea consist of city and district Councils of People's Deputies elected by the people in the respective territory.

Local self-government is recognized and guaranteed in the Republic of Adyghea. Local self-government is exercised by citizens of the Republic of Adyghea in rural communities, neighborhoods, and other territories in the form of direct declaration of intention and through elected self-government bodies.

The President of the Republic of Adyghea

The President of the Republic of Adyghea is head of state and head of the executive body. The President acts as guarantor of rights and individual freedoms in the republic and of observance of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Adyghea, as well as contractual obligations, and ensures the security and territorial integrity of the republic.

The President determines the main orientation of the republic's domestic and foreign policy, signs and proclaims the laws of the republic, and has the right to initiate legislation and veto laws of the Republic of Adyghea. The President determines the structure of executive bodies; forms the Cabinet of Ministers and is in charge of its activities; appoints the Prime Minister and the ministers responsible for finance, social security, national policy, and foreign relations with the consent of the State Council (Khase) of the Republic of Adyghea; appoints and dismisses the heads of the republic's executive bodies; gives consent jointly with the Khase to the Attorney General of the Russian Federation to appoint the Attorney General of the Republic of Adyghea; and proposes the candidacies of judges to the Khase.

The President confers state awards and honorary titles of the Republic of Adyghea.

The President of the Republic of Adyghea is elected for a five-year term on the basis of equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Representative Authority

The State Council (Khase) is the highest representative and legislative body in the Republic of Adyghea. The Khase consists of two houses: the Council of Representatives (upper house) and the Council of the Republic (lower house). The Council of Representatives is made up of 27 deputies elected in three-member constituencies, with three representatives from each republican city and district on the basis of direct suffrage by secret ballot. The Council of the Republic is made up of 27 deputies elected in single-member constituencies with approximately equal numbers of voters on the basis of direct suffrage by secret ballot.

The two houses act jointly in giving consent to the appointment of the Prime Minister, some members of the Cabinet of Ministers, and federal court judges; in consenting to the appointment of the Attorney General of the Republic of Adyghea jointly with the President; in approving agreements to change the republic's boundaries; and in deciding on matters of no confidence (confidence) in the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and members of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Council of Representatives makes decisions concerning approval of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Adyghea passed by the Council of the Republic. The upper house sets elections for President, deputies of the Khase, and local government bodies, as well as referendums in the republic. It also elects judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Adyghea and appoints magistrates.

Executive Authority

Executive authority in the Republic of Adyghea is exercised by the Cabinet of Ministers, which consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. The President of the republic forms the Cabinet of Ministers and directs its activities. The Prime Minister, who coordinates the activities of ministries and other government bodies, is appointed by the President with the consent of the State Council (Khase). In the absence of the President and on his instructions, the Prime Minister replaces the President as head of the executive body.

The Cabinet of Ministers draws up the republic's budget, drafts of socioeconomic development plans and programs, and reports on their implementation and presents them to the Khase. It manages and disposes of state property of the Republic of Adyghea and takes measures to ensure the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, protect property, maintain public order, and combat crime. The Cabinet of Ministers directs the work of ministries, state committees, and other agencies within its jurisdiction.

Ministries, committees, and other government bodies in the republic are in charge of the sectors and spheres of management entrusted to them.

Judicial Authority

Judicial authority in the republic is exercised in the form of constitutional, civil, criminal, and administrative court proceedings.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Adyghea exercises constitutional control in the republic. The Constitutional Court settles cases in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Adyghea; the laws of the republic; the regulatory and legal and other acts of the State Council (Khase), the President of the Republic of Adyghea, the Cabinet of Ministers and other government bodies of the republic; interrepublican and interregional agreements; and agreements of the Republic of Adyghea. The Court also settles issues of jurisdiction, provides interpretations of the Constitution of the Republic of Adyghea, rules on the presence of grounds for dismissing the President from office, and presents legislative initiatives on questions of its jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Adyghea, district courts, and magistrates administer justice in the areas of civil, criminal, and administrative court proceedings in the republic.

The Arbitration Court of the Republic of Adyghea settles economic disputes and other cases considered by courts of arbitration.