Chuvashia (Russian: Чувашская Республика; Chuvash: Чăваш Республики) is a regional subdivision of Russia and the homeland of Bulgar Turkic Chuvash people. Chuvashia is located in central Russia, and was officially established in June 1920.

The capital is Cheboksary, a city located in the north of the republic on the banks of the Volga River. Roughly 600,000 people live in Cheboksary and its nearby satellite city Novocheboksarsk . Chuvashia has educated population, a pro-business government, and a well-developed infrastructure.

History

The Chuvash ancestors were tribes of ancient Bulgars and Suars that resided in the Northern Caucasus in the 5th to the 8th centuries. In the 7th and 8th centuries one part of the Bulgars left for the Balkans, where they dissolved among the Slavs. Another part moved to the middle Volga region (see Volga Bulgaria), where they later formed the ethnic foundation for the Chuvash people. The Chuvash nationality was formed from the part of the Bulgar population that did not adopt Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries. Chuvashia joined the Russia Empire in 1551, after years of being belonged by the Kazan khanate to the east.

In tsarist Russia the territory of modern Chuvashia belonged to two administrative districts – Kazan and Simbirsk. On June 24, 1920 the Chuvash autonomous region was formed, and in 1992, the Chuvash Republic was formed.

Politics

The Chuvash Republic is a sovereign republic forming a part of the Russian Federation. As a republic, the region has greater sovereignty than other areas of Russia in determining local policies and procedures. Nikolai Vasilyevich Fyodorov, a former minister of justice of the Russian Federation, was elected as the first president of the Chuvash Republic in 1994 and is still in office. He has a reputation as a pro-market reformer and has pressed the region to establish closer economic ties with foreign countries. He has also pushed to encourage the growth of small businesses. The mayor of Cheboksary,Anatoly Igumnov , is also eager to work with international companies. Both the republic and the city governments have departments of foreign economic relations that are eager to support foreign business visitors.

Administrative division

Chuvashia Republic consists of the following districts (Russian: районы):

• Alatyrsky (Алатырский)
• Alikovsky (Аликовский)
• Batyrevsky (Батыревский)
• Cheboksarsky (Чебоксарский)
• Ibresinsky (Ибресинский)
• Kanashsky (Канашский)
• Komsomolsky (Комсомольский)
• Kozlovsky (Козловский)
• Krasnoarmeysky (Красноармейский)
• Krasnochetaysky (Красночетайский)
• Mariinsko-Posadsky (Мариинско-Посадский)
• Morgaushsky (Моргаушский)
• Poretsky (Порецкий)
• Shemurshinsky (Шемуршинский)
• Shumerlinsky (Шумерлинский)
• Tsivilsky (Цивильский)
• Urmarsky (Урмарский)
• Vurnarsky (Вурнарский)
• Yadrinsky (Ядринский)
• Yalchiksky (Яльчикский)
• Yantikovsky (Янтиковский)

Geography

Chuvashia is located in the center of the European part of Russia, in the heart of the Volga-Vyatka region, midway between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. The republic is not large, at 18,000 square kilometers, but is one of the most densely populated regions in the Russian Federation, with a total population of 1.4 million people. It is bordered to the north and west by the Volga River, to the west by the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, and to the south by the Mordovia and Ulyanovsk regions. The capital city of Cheboksary is the republic’s major industrial center. Cheboksary is situated on the banks of the Volga River, approximately 650 km east of Moscow.

Chuvashia’s central location gives companies located here easy access to some of the most industrially developed regions of the country. The majority of the republic is rural in character, with Cheboksary (population 453,700 in 2004) and Novocheboksarsk (population 125,600 in 2004) in the north along the Volga River being the major industrialized cities. There are also a number of sizeable towns in the region, including Kanash (population 56,000), Alatir (population 47,000), and Shumerla (43,000). Forests, mostly in the south along the Sura River, cover approximately 30 percent of the land.

Chuvashia has a moderate continental climate. Average temperatures range from -13° C (-9° F) in January to 19° C (66° F) in July. Annual precipitation can reach 500 mm. The varied continental climate offers opportunities for both summer and winter recreational activities.

Demographics

In 2002, Chuvashia had a total population of 1,346,300. 794,800 or 60.9 percent of the population were living in urban areas. 510,200 or 39.1 percent of the population were living in rural areas.

The largest city is the capital, Cheboksary, followed by nearby Novocheboksarsk . Within Chuvashia, the Chuvash and Russian nationalities make up about 67 and 27 percent of the population, respectively, giving the region a rich multi-ethnic character.

Culture

The republic has a fascinating cultural heritage, a result of the ethnic Chuvash presence in the region.

While Russian is the predominant business language, the Chuvash language is still spoken by many, especially in the country. The Chuvash language belongs to the Bulgar subgroup of the Turkic language group. In ancient times a runic system of writing was used. Chuvashi now uses a modified Cyrillic script that was adopted in 1871.

Today, people living in Chuvashia are very proud of their region and take care of their city. As a result, Cheboksary is known as one of the cleanest cities in Russia. There is also a resurgence of native Chuvash pride and many people are looking back to their Chuvash roots and exploring the culture and heritage and relearning the language. Most building signs, road signs, and announcements are in both Russian and Chuvashi.

See also: Chuvash language, Music of Chuvashia

Economy

Main article: Economy of Chuvashia

Chuvashia is Russia’s center for hops growing and is famous throughout the country for its long history of beer brewing. It is also a major center for electrical engineering, especially in the area of power transmission and control systems. Other leading industries are metalworking, electricity generation, and chemical manufacturing.

Transportation

The transport network in Chuvashia is one of the most developed in all of Russia. The republic’s system of roads, railroads, waterways, and airports closely ties the region with others in and outside of Russia.

Road

Autos, trucks, and buses carry the majority of transportation, as the republic ranks forth in highway density in all of Russia. Cheboksary is situated on one of the main highways of the Russian Federation leading from Moscow to the industrial areas of Tartarstan , the Southern Urals, and Siberia. Furthermore, a recently completed bridge across the Volga to the north connects the republic to the developed Ural-Provolzhye and Kirov regions. To the south, highways connect Chuvashia with Saratov and Volgograd. Extensive public and private bus systems connect all towns within the republic with each other and with surrounding regions.

Standard speed for transportation of containers by road is 400 km per day. Average time of delivery from Cheboksary to Moscow is 1.5 days; to St. Petersburg, 2.5 days; and to Western Europe, 10 to 15 days.

Railroad

The railway network is also very developed, convenient, and accessible year-round. One of the largest railway junctions of Russia – Kanash – is in the center of the republic. Via Kanash, the rail system connects the major towns in Chuvashia with the big industrial centers of Eastern Siberia, the Urals, and Moscow. Express trains are reliable and almost always on time, presenting a low-cost, comfortable way to travel. Express trains to and from Moscow are available everyday, and the easy overnight journey is approximately 14 hours each way.

River, sea and air

Thanks to the Volga and Sura Rivers, Chuvashia is connected to a national and international water network. To the south, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Astrakhan, the Caspian Sea, and Black Sea are directly reachable. To the west, the Volga River connects Cheboksary with Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Moscow, and the northern regions of Russia. By using river-sea vessels, it is possible to take a cargo from Chuvash riverports all the way to St. Petersburg, Novorossiysk (on the Black Sea), Astrakhan, and ports situated on the Danube River. However, the river is frozen from December through April. Because the Volga River runs through Chuvashia, Cheboksary is a frequent stop on the many boat tours that travel up and down the Volga. A boat tour to the major cities along the Volga is highly recommended.

Finally, the Cheboksary airport receives both cargo and passenger aircraft of practically all types and sizes. There are regularly scheduled flights to Moscow and other destinations. Cheboksary is also about a two-hour drive from Nizhny Novgorod, a city with international air connections through Lufthansa.

External links

• About flag and coat of arms of Chuvashia