ABSTRACT
The Chechen (Nokchi) Republic is located on the northern slopes of the Caucasus. It forms part of the North Caucasus Federal Okrug and the North Caucasus Economic Area. To the east, the Republic abuts Dagestan. Stavropol Krai lies to the north-west and North Osetiya-Alaniya and Ingushetiya lie to the west. There is an international boundary with Georgia to the south-west. The Republic comprises lowlands along the River Terek, and around the capital, Groznyi, in the north; mixed fields, pastures and forests in the Chechen plain; and high mountains and glaciers in the south. The Republic has an area of 15,647 sq km (6,041 sqmiles). At the census ofOctober 2010 it had a population of 1,268,989 and a population density of 81.3 per sq km. Only 35.0% of the population lived in urban areas. Of those resident in theRepublicwho stated their ethnicity at the census, 95.3% were Chechen, 1.9% were Russian (a lower proportion than in any other federal subject) and 1.0% were Kumyk. The Chechens are closely related to the Ingush (both of whom are known collectively as Vainakhs). They are Sunni Muslims, and their language is one of the Nakh dialects of the Caucasian linguistic family. The capital of the Republic, Groznyi, was founded in 1818 and had a population of 271,596 inOctober 2010, comparedwith 405,000 in 1989. TheRepublic is in the time zone GMT+4.
