The population of Udmurtia: number and density. The indigenous population of Udmurtia

Behind the Urals is a unique region with an original culture and history - Udmurtia. The population of the region is shrinking today, which means that there is a threat of losing such an unusual anthropological phenomenon as Udmurts. Let's talk about the conditions in which the population of the region live, what are its features and what are the demographic indicators of the republic.

Geographical position

In the eastern part of Eurasia, behind the massif of the Ural Mountains, the Udmurt Republic is located. The region borders on Bashkiria, Tatarstan, the Kirov region and the Perm region. The area of the republic is 42 thousand square meters. Km, this is the 57th place in Russia by the size of the region. Udmurtia is located on the East European Plain, and this is determined by its relief, mostly flat with a slight hilly. The region is very rich in water resources, there are about 30 thousand kilometers of rivers of the Kamsky and Vyatsky basins. Sod-podzolic soils prevail in the republic , which, due to washing out of the fertile layer, require fertilizers for productive agricultural use. The population of Udmurtia for centuries has adapted to its geographical location and has learned to extract the maximum benefits from it. Being located almost in the center of Russia allowed the republic to find its place in the trade and transport relations of the regions.

Climate

The Udmurt Republic is located in the center of the continent, at a great distance from the seas and oceans, and this determined its climate - moderately continental. The average annual temperature in the region is 1.5 degrees Celsius. Here, the seasonality is classical for the central part of Russia. With a cold winter, which lasts about 5 months, and with a mild three-month summer. The warmest month is July, when the column of the thermometer rises to an average of 19 degrees Celsius. Winter comes in mid-November, at the same time a snow cover is established. In winter, the minus temperature is constantly held, the thermometer at night can show minus 25. Summer begins in late May and ends in early September. In July, air can warm up to 23 degrees. In the republic there will be a lot of precipitation - about 600 mm per year. The wettest periods are summer and autumn. The population of Udmurtia believes that there is an excellent climate here - there are no severe frosts and exhausting heat, the duration of summer allows to grow necessary for the subsistence of agricultural crops.

Administrative division

The population of Udmurtia lives in 25 administrative districts and in 5 cities of republican subordination. The capital of the republic is Izhevsk. In the regions of the country there are 310 rural settlements and one city is Kambarka. Each region's subject has its own manager, who reports to the head of the republic.

The population of Udmurtia and its dynamics

Since 1926 there has been constant monitoring of the number of inhabitants. Then in Udmurtia lived 756 thousand people. In Soviet times the republic was developing steadily, which led to a positive dynamics of the number of inhabitants. In 1941 there were already 1.1 million people living here. The years of war have led to a decline in the population to one million. But in the following years, Udmurtia is actively growing with new residents. In 1993 there were 1.624 million inhabitants in the region. The years of change and restructuring have brought many difficulties, and Udmurtia is beginning to lose its population. Until now, the republic has not been able to change the tendency to reduce the number of inhabitants. At the moment, Udmurtia has 1.5 million people.

Features of the population

Udmurtia is a rare region for Russia, where the percentage of residents who consider themselves Russians is lower than in other subjects. The number of Russians here is 62%, Udmurt - 28%, the Tatars - about 7% (according to 2010 data). The remaining nationalities are represented by groups of less than 1%.

The population of Udmurtia is different from many regions and by its religion. The indigenous inhabitants of the region were pagans. In the 13th and 14th centuries, they were strongly influenced by Islam. Since the 16th century, the first attempts to spread Christianity on these lands began. In the 18-19 centuries Orthodoxy was implanted literally with police measures. The population did not show visible resistance, but still continued to profess paganism. With the advent of Soviet power, the persecution of all forms of religion begins, which leads to the withdrawal of religion on the periphery of the inhabitants of the region. With the onset of perestroika, a wave of national self-awareness rises, and with it a complex era of religious search begins. Today 33% of the population of the republic speak of themselves as Orthodox, 29% consider themselves believers, but they can not decide on religion, 19% do not believe in God at all.

Numbers tell about the stability of the prospects for the development of the region. First of all, this is the birth and death rate. In Udmurtia, the birth rate is slow but growing, and the mortality rate is almost unchanged. Life expectancy grows a little and is on average 70 years. In the region there is a negative migration, that is, it gradually loses its inhabitants.

Native people

The ancient people of Udmurts - the indigenous population of Udmurtia - are first mentioned in the annals of the 5th century BC. The tribes living on the territory between the Volga and Kama spoke the language of the Finno-Ugric language family and united the genes of many peoples. But the base for the formation of the ethnos became ares, other nationalities supplemented the genotype and culture of the Udmurts. Today in the republic there is a lot of work to maintain and preserve the traditional national culture. The people had to endure a lot of the hardships of attacks, it helped to form a national character, the main features of which are diligence, modesty, patience, hospitality. Udmurts preserved their language, unique traditions and folklore. Udmurts is a singing nation. Baggage of folk songs is huge, they reflect the history and worldview of this ethnos.

Density and distribution of population

The region has an area of 42 thousand square meters. Km, and the density of the population of Udmurtia is 36 people per square meter. Km. Most of the Udmurts live in cities - 68%. The largest city is the capital of Izhevsk, its agglomeration is inhabited by more than 700 thousand people, it is more than 40% of the total population of the region. In the republic there is a tendency to reduce the number of rural residents, which is an alarming signal for the economy.