Doing Business in Russia. Котова К.П - 54 стр.

                                       54

      In 1897, 1.3 million people lived in the Russian empire who belonged to
nations of the Northern Caucasus. Today they number 4.1 million. According to
the 1989 census, the increase in the Russian ethnic group amounted to 5.6%
compared to 1979, while the increase of the North Caucasian ethnic group
ranged from 13% (Circassians) to 30% and more (Aguls and Rutuls). Accord-
ing to the data of the Russian Federation’s State Committee for Statistics, a
natural increase was maintained at the beginning of this year in all North Cau-
casian republics except Adyghe. There are several other such territories in Rus-
sia (Tuva and the Tyumen Region, for example).
      Twenty-five percent of citizens in the region are non-Russians, which in
higher than the average figure for Russia and figures of the other major regions.
The area of national republics in the North Caucasian region is 33%. Population
density is high here (47 people/km2); the average Russian figure is 8.6 peo-
ple/km2. The population density of the region as a whole is second only to the
Central region, while population density in Chechnya and North Ossetia (66
and 79 people/km2 respectively) is second only to the Moscow and Leningrad
regions.
      The share of the rural population in the region as a whole is a decreasing,
though it remains the highest in Russia (42.7%, the average figure for Russia
being 26.4%). Rural population did grow, however, in Chechnya to 58.5% in
1989. This poses a special threat since world experience indicates that rural
overpopulation often serves as a prelude to civil war.
      Moreover, the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories have been taking in
refugees from the republics of the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia, which
only adds to the tension.
      Experts forecast that the largest masses of unemployed will be concen-
trated precisely in the Caucasus in the near future. Though the indigenous peo-
ples of these regions have a comparatively low migration rate, this cannot last
forever.