Kabardino-Balkariya, republic in southwestern Russia, on the northern flank of the Greater Caucasus range. It is divided into three main relief regions. In the south is the Greater Caucasus, the crest of which forms the boundary. Four mountain ranges—Glavny, Peredovoy, Skalisty, and Chornye—run parallel. The highest peaks are Elbrus (18,510 feet [5,642 metres]) and Dykh-Tau (17,073 feet [5,204 metres]). There are many, often extensive, glaciers, from which rise swift-flowing rivers. In the second region, descending below the ice fields, are alpine meadows, coniferous forests, and deciduous forests (beech, oak, alder, hornbeam, maple, ash, and poplar). North of the ranges are foothills that reach 1,650–2,300 feet (500–700 metres) in height. These have deciduous forests, with meadows occupying the wider parts of the valleys. The third region (north and northeast) is the level Kabardin Plain, across which the Terek River system converges to include the Cherek, Chegem, Baksan, and Malka tributaries. West and east of the Terek are the Bolshaya and Malaya Kabardin plains. The plains’ natural vegetation consists of meadow and feather-grass steppe on rich soils, which are mostly under cultivation. The generally continental climate is varied by the relief. The Kabardin Plain is dry, with about 20 inches (500 mm) of rain a year. Summers are warm, with an average temperature in July of 75 °F (24 °C), while the average in January is 25 °F (−4 °C).
Three-fifths of the population is urban; Nalchik is the capital. Most of the rural population is concentrated in the Kabardin Plain and in the main valleys. The Kabardin are a Caucasian nationality, related to the Circassian (Russian: Cherkess) ethnic group. Their language belongs to the Abkhazo-Adyghian group of the Ibero-Caucasian languages; their religion is usually Islam. The Balkar are a Turkic people related to the neighbouring Karachay.
The Kabardin, who are mostly plains people, allied themselves with the Russians as early as 1557, and Kabarda formed part of the Terek Cossack district. A Russian fortress was built at Terek on the river, and another, in 1818, at Nalchik. Many of the Russians now living in the republic are of Cossack descent. The Balkar of the high mountains long resisted Russian incursion. The area was organized as the Kabardin autonomous oblast (region) in 1921 and extended in 1922 through amalgamation with Balkariya to form the Kabardino-Balkar autonomous oblast, which was constituted as an autonomous republic in 1936. In 1943 the Balkar, accused of collaborating with the Germans, were deported; their area, the upper Baksan River valley, was ceded to the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the remaining area was renamed Kabardinian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1956 the Balkar were returned, and in 1957 the area was reconstituted the Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R.
Mining is widespread in the republic. The area around Tyrnyauz in the Baksan River valley yields molybdenum and tungsten, and rich deposits of gold, chromium, and nickel are found in the Malka River valley. Manufacturing is concentrated in Nalchik (oil-drilling equipment, timber, furniture, textiles, clothing, shoes, and cement and glass products) and Prokhladny (engineering). Agricultural products are processed in most of the cities. One of the largest hydroelectric stations in the Caucasus was completed on the Sulak River in the 1970s. The republic’s farming, mostly irrigated, is concentrated in the Kabardin Plain. Crops include wheat, corn (maize), sunflowers, hemp, and such fruits as apricots, peaches, pears, and apples. Sheep and cattle are raised in the mountains, and the breeding of Kabardin horses is still carried on.
Transportation includes the main Rostov-Baku railway across the northern part of the republic through Prokhladny, whence a branchline runs to Vladikavkaz, with a feeder to Nalchik. A main motor road runs from Pyatigorsk to Nalchik, and most other roads follow the valleys. Area 4,800 square miles (12,500 square km). Pop. (2008 est.) 891,338.