Khakass
Republic of the Russian Federation, in southern Siberia, adjacent to Krasnoyarsk krai (territory); area 61,900 sq km/23,900 sq mi; population (1996) 586,000 (72% urban) (80% Russians, 11% Khakass). The capital is Abakan and Chernogorsk is another town. The republic is situated between the Kuznetsky Alatau Mountains in the west and the Sayan Mountains in the southeast. It is located in the Minusinsk Basin west of the upper River Yenisey. Coal, iron-ore, and gold deposits are found here. Industries include mining and lumbering; hydroelectric power generation (at Sayanogorsk on the Yenisey); and breeding of sheep, goats, and cattle.
History
Russian encroachment on this area, which was inhabited by the Turkic-Mongol Khakass peoples, began with gold and copper prospecting in the 17th and 18th centuries. Khakassia became an autonomous region of the USSR in 1930; following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became a republic of the Russian Federation.
Khakass
| Member of a Turkic-speaking people living in the Khakass Republic of Russia in southern Siberia. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, and now stockbreeders, they have occupied the area since 2000 BC. They practise shamanism. |
| The Khakass did not form a single people until the 1920s; they were known by tribal names or under the geographical names of Minusinsk or Abakan Tatars. The name Khakass was adopted as a revival of the medieval name of the Kirghiz who inhabited the Minusinsk Basin at that time. |
