Komi

The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. Population: 901,189 (2010 Census).

Geography

The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain. Forests cover over 70% of the territory and swamps cover approximately 15%.

• Area: 415,900 square km
• 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: 785 km
• Maximum E→W distance: 695 km

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. 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).

Manpupuner and the 7 Strong Men Rock Formations

Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, 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. We know however that their height and abnormal shapes make the top of these rock giants inaccessible even to experienced rock-climbers.

History

The Komi first appear in the records of the Novgorod Republic in the 12th century, when Novgorodian (East Slavic) traders travelled to the Perm region in search of furs and animal hides. The Komi territories came under the influence of Muscovy in the late Middle Ages (late 15th to early 16th centuries). The site of Syktyvkar has been settled since the 16th century. It 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.

Starting from the expedition led by Alexander von Keyserling in 1843, the Komi territory was most extensively explored in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries by the Russians, who found ample reservoirs of various minerals, as well as timber, to exploit. After the founding of the Soviet Union, 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 came in the early 20th century were prisoners of the Gulag who were 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 were initially carved out of the untouched tundra and taiga by gangs of prisoners. The first mine, "Rudnik No. 1," became the city of Vorkuta, and the 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."