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Altai

The Altai Mountains form a vast mountain system in Central Asia, extending approximately 2,000 kilometers across the converging borders of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, with Mount Belukha rising to 4,506 meters as the range's highest peak.^[1]^[2]^[3] This rugged terrain encompasses diverse altitudinal zones, from steppe and taiga forests to alpine meadows, glaciers, and tundra, supporting rich biodiversity including rare species of mammals, birds, and endemic plants.^[4]^[5] The mountains serve as the headwaters for major Siberian rivers such as the Ob and Irtysh, influencing regional hydrology and ecosystems across western Siberia.^[4] Portions of the Russian Altai, particularly the Golden Mountains area, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 for their outstanding natural value, representing one of the most complete sequences of vegetation belts in central Siberia.^[4]^[6] The range's remote valleys and peaks have long been inhabited by indigenous groups practicing traditional nomadic pastoralism and shamanistic beliefs, while modern attractions include trekking, rafting, and ecological tourism amid ongoing conservation efforts to mitigate threats like climate change and resource extraction.^[3]^[7]

Geography

Altai Mountains

The Altai Mountains form a major mountain system in Central Asia, stretching approximately 2,000 kilometers northwest-southeast from the Gobi Desert to the West Siberian Plain across Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China.^[1] The range features rugged terrain with elevations rising sharply from surrounding plains, culminating in Belukha Mountain, the highest peak at 4,506 meters located in the Russian portion.^[8] This system serves as a critical watershed divide, separating drainage basins flowing to the Arctic Ocean from those toward Central Asia's inland seas. The Altai is divided into principal sectors including the Russian Altai (Altai proper), Mongolian Altai, Gobi Altai, and Eastern Altai, each exhibiting distinct topographic profiles from glaciated highlands to arid foothills.^[9] Tectonically, the mountains arose from Paleozoic accretionary processes along the Siberian Craton's margin, followed by Meso-Cenozoic intraplate reactivation that produced current relief through thrust faulting and crustal shortening, influenced remotely by the India-Eurasia plate collision.^[10] Numerous rivers originate in the Altai's glaciers and snowfields, including the Ob River, formed by the confluence of the Biya and Katun rivers in the Russian Altai, and the Irtysh River, which emerges from the southern slopes.^[11]^[12] The climate is sharply continental, dominated by the Siberian High anticyclone, yielding prolonged winters with extremes to -47°C, brief summers reaching +41°C, low precipitation concentrated in summer, and persistent permafrost at higher altitudes.^[13]

Administrative Regions

The Altai region spans multiple administrative divisions across four countries, primarily defined by their incorporation of Altai mountain extensions within national federal or provincial structures. In Russia, the Altai Republic operates as a federal subject and ethnic republic in the Siberian Federal District, with Gorno-Altaysk serving as its capital and administrative center since its establishment in 1830, encompassing 92,900 square kilometers.^[14] Adjacent to it, Altai Krai functions as a separate federal krai focused on agriculture, with Barnaul as its administrative hub; it ranks as Siberia's leading producer of grain, sugar, and meat, alongside significant livestock outputs in milk, wool, and cheese.^[15]^[16] In China, Altay Prefecture constitutes a subdivision of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, positioned in the northern frontier and integrating Uyghur and Kazakh communities into its administrative framework.^[17] Recent developments include the construction of six alpine ski resorts and related facilities, backed by 7 billion yuan in investments following the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to leverage winter sports infrastructure.^[18]^[19] Extensions of the Altai system appear peripherally in Kazakhstan's East Kazakhstan Region, which borders Russia and incorporates eastern Altai terrains as part of its provincial boundaries abutting Siberian districts.^[20] In Mongolia, Bayan-Ölgii Province marks the westernmost aimag, administering Altai mountain segments through its district-level sums like Altai sum, spanning remote highland areas.^[21] Key Russian infrastructure includes the R256 federal highway, known as the Chuysky Trakt, a 953-kilometer route traversing Altai Krai and the Altai Republic to connect Novosibirsk with Mongolia, facilitating regional transport since its modernization.^[22]^[23]

History

Prehistoric and Ancient Periods

The Altai Mountains served as a significant corridor for early human migrations and habitation, with archaeological evidence indicating occupation by archaic hominins dating back to the Middle Pleistocene. Denisova Cave, located in the northwestern Altai, contains the longest continuous archaeological sequence in northern Eurasia, spanning from approximately 300,000 years ago to the Holocene, including stone tools, animal remains, and hominin fossils associated with Denisovans and Neanderthals.^[24] Fossils and environmental DNA from the cave reveal Denisovan presence between 200,000 and 90,000 years ago, overlapping with Neanderthal activity, while the youngest Denisovan remains are dated to 52,000–76,000 years ago.^[25] Other Altai sites, such as Strashnaya Cave, provide additional Middle Paleolithic artifacts and faunal remains suggesting complex hominin behaviors, including hunting and tool production, between Denisovans and Neanderthals around 50,000 years ago.^[26] Transitioning to the Bronze Age (circa 3300–2000 BCE), the Afanasievo culture represents an early pastoralist society in the Altai, characterized by kurgan burials, copper metallurgy, and livestock herding, with radiocarbon dates placing its core phase in the Altai Mountains from the 38th to 25th century BCE.^[27] Archaeological evidence from sites in the region shows integration of pastoralism with millet cultivation by around 4000–3700 calibrated years BP, marking one of the earliest instances of crop domestication in the Eurasian steppes and facilitating eastward spread via Altai routes.^[28] This period links to broader steppe nomad adaptations, including precursors to Scythian-like groups, evidenced by horse remains and early agropastoral economies.^[29] Genetic analyses of Bronze and Iron Age remains from the Mongolian Altai indicate early East-West Eurasian admixture, with mitochondrial DNA lineages showing both Western (e.g., H, U, T) and Eastern (e.g., A, C, D) Eurasian haplogroups emerging by the Middle Bronze Age, reflecting migrations and intermixing along the Altai corridor.^[30] Recent studies confirm that such blending originated in the Altai region, with uniparental markers and ancestry-informative data supporting gene flow between western steppe pastoralists and eastern Asian populations during this era, predating later nomadic expansions.^[31] This admixture is empirically tied to archaeological contexts like Afanasievo-influenced burials, underscoring the Altai's role in prehistoric population dynamics without implying continuity to modern groups.^[32]

Russian Expansion and Modern Era

Russian forces began systematic exploration and penetration of the Altai region in the early 18th century, driven by interests in mineral resources such as silver and copper, as well as strategic control over Siberian frontiers amid conflicts with the Dzungar Khanate.^[33] Cossack detachments played a pivotal role in advancing southward, establishing fortified outposts and facilitating settlement while subduing local nomadic groups through military campaigns and tribute systems.^[34] Following the Qing Empire's defeat of the Dzungars in 1758, which weakened regional resistance, southwestern and central Mountain Altai territories fell under Russian administration by the late 18th century, marking the transition from loose protectorate status to direct imperial incorporation.^[35] By the 19th century, Russian control was consolidated through expanded mining operations and administrative reforms, with Altai emerging as Russia's leading producer of silver in the first half of the century, alongside significant copper output.^[36] Imperial policies emphasized resource extraction, attracting Russian and European specialists to develop metallurgical industries, while Cossack garrisons ensured security against potential incursions from Central Asian khanates. This era of expansion was causally linked to broader tsarist imperatives for territorial security and economic self-sufficiency, transforming Altai from a peripheral frontier into an integrated mining district. During the Soviet period, industrialization accelerated with state-directed projects in mining, forestry, and agriculture, but collectivization policies from the 1920s onward profoundly disrupted traditional nomadic herding practices among Altaic peoples, enforcing sedentarization and communal farming that reduced livestock numbers and altered land use patterns.^[37] Post-World War II reconstruction emphasized heavy industry, including non-ferrous metallurgy, which positioned Altai as a key supplier within the USSR's planned economy, though at the cost of environmental strain from unchecked extraction. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution, the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast was elevated to republic status on July 3, 1991, granting nominal autonomy within the Russian Federation while retaining economic dependence on federal subsidies.^[38] This post-1991 framework preserved cultural institutions for indigenous groups but faced challenges from economic transition, including high unemployment and reliance on tourism and subsistence activities. In recent decades, regional development has shifted toward ecotourism, exemplified by the 2025 master plan for Greater Altai, which coordinates infrastructure and promotional strategies across the Altai Republic, Altai Krai, and Kemerovo Oblast to leverage natural landscapes for sustainable growth.^[39] Concurrently, accelerated glacier retreat in the Altai Mountains since 2000, with mass losses averaging 0.74 meters water equivalent per year through 2020, reflects broader climatic shifts influencing water resources and tourism viability.^[40]

Peoples and Culture

Ethnic Groups

The Altai Republic's population, totaling 210,924 as of the 2021 Russian census, features ethnic Russians as the largest group at 53.7%, followed by Altaians at 37.0%. ^[41] ^[42] This Turkic indigenous group, numbering approximately 78,000 individuals primarily within the republic, encompasses several subgroups differentiated by historical territories and dialects, though unified under the "Altai" ethnonym in modern censuses. ^[42] Northern Altaians include the Chelkans, Kumandins, and Tubalars, who traditionally inhabited forested northern areas; southern subgroups comprise the Altai-kizhi and Telengits, associated with steppe and mountain zones. ^[9] Smaller minorities in the republic include Kazakhs (around 2.5%) and others such as Ukrainians and Germans. ^[42] In contrast, Altai Krai, with a 2021 census population of 2,163,693, is overwhelmingly ethnic Russian at 95.5%, reflecting extensive Russian settlement since the 19th century. ^[43] Indigenous Altaians form a negligible 0.1% here, while other minorities include Germans (1.3%), Ukrainians, and Kazakhs (0.3%), the latter concentrated in southern border districts adjacent to Kazakhstan. ^[43] Soviet-era policies of industrial development and population redistribution significantly altered ethnic compositions, promoting Russian in-migration and cultural assimilation that elevated Russians to over 60% in the Altai Republic by 1989 (from lower pre-revolutionary indigenous majorities in core areas). ^[9] Post-Soviet censuses show a relative rise in Altaian self-identification to 37%, potentially due to ethnic revival efforts and reduced intermarriage pressures, though total Altaian numbers remain stable at around 70,000–80,000 across Russia. ^[44] This shift underscores ongoing demographic tensions between indigenous consolidation and historical settler dominance.

Languages

The Altai languages comprise Northern Altai and Southern Altai, both classified within the Turkic branch of the proposed Altaic macro-family, though the latter's genetic unity remains disputed.^[45] Northern Altai encompasses dialects such as Kumandin, Tubalar, and Chelkakan, spoken by smaller communities, while Southern Altai serves as the basis for the standardized literary form.^[46] These languages are official alongside Russian in the Altai Republic of Russia, where they are primarily spoken by ethnic Altaians.^[45] Combined, they have approximately 70,000 speakers among the republic's population of over 200,000, reflecting limited daily use beyond ethnic enclaves.^[47] Usage of Altai languages has declined amid Russian linguistic dominance, with native tongues often confined to domestic or ritual contexts while Russian prevails in education, administration, and media.^[48] Soviet-era policies accelerated this shift through Russification, though standardization efforts began in the 1920s with the adoption of a Latin-based script from 1928 to 1938, followed by a transition to Cyrillic in 1938 to align with broader Soviet orthographic reforms.^[45] Post-Soviet initiatives have sought to revive literary norms via Cyrillic adaptations, including additional letters for unique phonemes like /ŋ/ and /ø/, but intergenerational transmission remains weak, contributing to endangerment status for Northern varieties.^[46]^[49] The Altaic hypothesis, positing a genetic link among Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, and sometimes Japonic-Koreanic languages, originated in typological similarities such as agglutinative morphology and vowel harmony but has been largely rejected by mainstream linguists for insufficient evidence of shared proto-language innovations, attributing resemblances to prolonged areal contact rather than common descent.^[50] Critics highlight that proposed cognates often reflect borrowings or convergences within Eurasian steppes, lacking the regular sound correspondences required for familyhood, as seen in established groups like Indo-European.^[51] A minority of scholars defend a core Altaic (Turkic-Mongolic-Tungusic) grouping based on lexicon and syntax, yet consensus favors treating these as a sprachbund influenced by geography over genealogy.^[50]^[51] This debate underscores Altai languages' Turkic core, with external affiliations remaining speculative absent rigorous comparative reconstruction.

Traditional Practices and Religion

The Altaian people have preserved distinctive oral traditions, including kai throat-singing, a guttural vocal technique employed by kaichi performers during ritual epic recitations to invoke spiritual resonance and narrative depth.^[52] This style, characterized by simultaneous low drone and high overtones produced via laryngeal vibration, is integral to communal storytelling events that recount heroic tales, cosmological myths, and ancestral histories, often accompanied by instruments like the khomus jaw harp or topshur lute.^[53] Epic performances historically served ritual functions, blending entertainment with spiritual invocation, though their frequency has declined amid modernization.^[54] Altaian religious life centers on shamanism as the indigenous framework, where kam shamans mediate between humans and spirits through trance-induced rituals, divination, and healing ceremonies involving drums, chants, and sacrificial offerings to appease natural forces and ancestors.^[55] Russian Orthodox missionaries began proselytizing in the Altai region during the 1830s, establishing missions and baptizing communities, yet shamanic practices persisted through syncretic adaptations, such as incorporating Christian icons into animist rites or shamans retaining pre-conversion roles under nominal Orthodox affiliation.^[56] Burkhanism, or Ak Jang ("White Faith"), emerged around 1904 as a millenarian reform movement among Altaians, drawing from shamanic roots while purging ancestor cults and integrating messianic elements influenced by Orthodox and Buddhist motifs; it positioned a supreme deity Burkhan as a white-clad savior figure, gaining adherents until suppressed by Russian authorities by 1914.^[57] In contemporary Altai, religious adherence reflects ongoing syncretism, with surveys indicating that approximately 13% of the Republic's population in 2012 identified with indigenous faiths encompassing shamanism and Burkhanism, alongside predominant Orthodox Christianity among ethnic Russians and partial Altaian converts.^[44] Shamanic elements endure in rural practices, such as spirit consultations and nature veneration, often coexisting with Orthodox sacraments without full doctrinal resolution, as evidenced by fieldwork documenting shamans performing hybrid rituals post-Christian baptism.^[58] Burkhanist revival efforts since the 1990s have reconstituted communities around ethical monotheism and anti-materialist tenets, though state registration challenges and Orthodox institutional dominance limit its institutional growth.^[59]

Environment and Economy

Natural Resources and Biodiversity

The Golden Mountains of Altai, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, encompass diverse montane ecosystems representing a complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones from steppe to tundra in central Siberia, including boreal forests and alpine meadows.^[4] This region hosts approximately 2,000 species of vascular plants, with more than 10% endemic to the Altai area, alongside over 600 moss species and 1,200 lichen species in the broader Altai-Sayan ecoregion.^[60]^[61] Faunal diversity includes around 72-80 mammal species, such as the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Altai argali (Ovis ammon), Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and moose (Alces alces), as well as roughly 300 bird species and 44 fish species.^[60]^[62] Geologically, the Altai Mountains contain significant mineral deposits, including iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, barite, and rare earth elements, alongside coal and polymetallic ores.^[63]^[64] The cryosphere features about 1,030 glaciers covering 805 km² with a total volume of 42.5 km³, extensive permafrost zones underlying alpine and forested areas, and river systems originating from glacial melt that contribute to Siberian hydrology, such as the Ob and Irtysh basins.^[65]^[66]^[67]

Development and Resource Extraction

In Altai Krai, mining operations extract cobalt and nickel from deposits such as Belininskoe, bolstering Russia's overall mineral reserves and supporting industrial supply chains for alloys and batteries.^[68] These activities generate employment in extraction and processing, contributing to regional economic diversification beyond agriculture and enabling infrastructure investments like access roads. Gold mining in the broader Altai region, including volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits near Rubtsovsk, further adds value through refining and exports, with operations sustaining thousands of jobs in remote areas.^[69] Agriculture in Altai Krai drives substantial GDP growth, with the krai ranking among Russia's top producers of grains like wheat, accounting for millions of tons annually and enhancing national food security.^[70] Crop cultivation and livestock rearing employ over 200,000 workers, funding rural development such as irrigation systems and mechanized farming equipment that boost yields and local prosperity. In the Altai Republic, maral deer antler farming sustains a traditional industry with approximately 190 operations harvesting velvet antlers yearly for pharmaceutical exports, primarily to China, yielding high-value products used in tonics and supplements.^[71] This non-extractive resource use provides steady income for indigenous and rural households, with antler yields supporting farm expansions and related processing facilities. Deep seismic reflection profiling conducted in 2024 across the Altai Mountains uncovered intraplate thrust structures in the lower crust, offering insights into tectonic evolution that guide targeted prospecting for minerals and hydrocarbons.^[72] Such geophysical data facilitate efficient resource mapping, reducing exploratory risks and accelerating development projects that enhance energy security and fiscal revenues. Tourism infrastructure, including upgraded highways like the Altai Road corridor and expanding ski resorts, has catalyzed economic activity, with visitor numbers rising amid regional connectivity improvements.^[73] In China's Altay Prefecture, investments exceeding 7 billion yuan have built six alpine ski resorts, driving tourism revenues to 5.1 billion yuan in the 2023-2024 season and aligning with national goals for a 150 billion yuan ice-and-snow sector by 2025.^[74]^[75] These gains create service-sector jobs and stimulate ancillary businesses, countering isolation in mountainous terrains through year-round economic multipliers.

Environmental Challenges

Glaciers across the Altai Mountains have undergone accelerated retreat and thinning since 2000, with the Chinese Altai recording an average annual area loss of 0.55% from 1990 to 2021, driven primarily by summer temperature increases of up to 1.5–2°C in southeastern sectors.^[76]^[77] In the Russian Altai, glacier area reductions reached 10–15% in select basins between 2000 and 2010, coinciding with reduced precipitation and warmer conditions that heightened mass loss rates to -0.5 to -1.0 m water equivalent annually in vulnerable zones.^[78] These shifts pose risks of habitat fragmentation for high-altitude species, such as snow leopards and argali sheep, by altering water availability and alpine meadows through downstream flooding and sediment mobilization.^[79] Permafrost thaw has intensified since 2000, with active layer thickness in northern Altai permafrost expanding by approximately 0.65 cm per year across the broader Northern Hemisphere context, exacerbating ground instability and thermokarst formation in the region's discontinuous permafrost zones.^[80] Mean ground temperatures at depths of 10–20 m have risen by 0.5–1°C in monitored boreholes, linked to air temperature anomalies but modulated by local topography and vegetation cover, leading to localized slumping that disrupts microbial habitats and carbon stores estimated at 100–200 Gt regionally.^[66]^[79] Tree-ring chronologies from larch and pine at upper treelines in the Russian and Mongolian Altai reveal multi-centennial summer temperature variability, including warm episodes during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (circa 900–1300 CE) comparable in magnitude to 20th-century rises, underscoring natural forcings like solar irradiance and volcanic activity alongside recent anthropogenic contributions.^[81]^[82] These proxies indicate that while post-1950 warming—averaging 1.2–1.8°C—exceeds Holocene norms in rate, regional aridity trends since 2000 stem partly from a 49% summer precipitation decline, independent of global CO2 forcing.^[83] Transboundary conservation initiatives propose ecological corridors linking protected areas across Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China to mitigate fragmentation, with modeled networks prioritizing 20–30% of the Altai's unglaciated highlands for connectivity to sustain gene flow amid thaw-induced barriers.^[84] Such frameworks, informed by habitat suitability mapping, emphasize empirical monitoring over predictive models to balance variability from orogenic uplift and seasonal monsoons, which have historically shaped biodiversity resilience without sole reliance on anthropogenic attribution.^[85]^[86]

Controversies

Political Conflicts

In June 2025, residents of the Altai Republic staged widespread protests against Kremlin-backed municipal reforms that effectively abolished local self-government by consolidating authority under regional executives, sparking clashes over centralization versus regional autonomy.^[87] On June 12, demonstrators partially blocked the Chike-Taman pass highway, while thousands rallied in Gorno-Altaisk on June 21, demanding the resignation of Kremlin-appointed Governor Andrey Turchak and restoration of prior constitutional protections for local councils.^[88] ^[89] Eight protesters were arrested on June 13 for unauthorized gatherings, with authorities framing the unrest as opposition to efficiency-driven reforms aimed at streamlining administration amid fiscal pressures, rather than yielding to fragmentation risks.^[87] The reforms, signed into law by President Vladimir Putin in spring 2025, prioritize centralized control to enhance governance uniformity, though critics argue they erode republican self-rule in Siberia's remote ethnic enclaves.^[90] The Altaigate scandal of January 9, 2009, exemplified entrenched corruption among regional elites, fueling long-term distrust in centralized oversight. A Mi-171 helicopter carrying high-ranking officials, including State Duma deputy Aleksandr Kosopkin, crashed in southern Altai while allegedly poaching endangered argali rams, killing seven and exposing illegal VIP hunting practices subsidized by public funds.^[91] Investigations revealed the flight's deviation from approved routes for trophy pursuits, prompting public outrage and a 2012 reopening of the case by Altai authorities, though key figures evaded full accountability, highlighting weak enforcement against politically connected actors.^[92] Underlying these events persist low-level separatist sentiments in Siberian republics like Altai, where autonomy demands intersect with protests against Moscow's extractive policies, though no organized secessionist groups have gained traction beyond sporadic activism.^[93] Movements such as Altai-Sayun advocate for greater ethnic self-determination, framing centralization as imperial overreach that exacerbates economic dependencies and isolation, yet Kremlin countermeasures emphasize unified federalism to mitigate disintegration threats.^[94]

Cultural and Indigenous Issues

Soviet policies in the Altai region, including livestock confiscations, bans on religious practices, and destruction of sacred sites, contributed to Altaian assertions of cultural erosion, as these measures disrupted traditional nomadic herding and shamanistic rituals central to indigenous identity.^[95] Burkhanism, emerging in 1904 among the Altai people as the "White Faith" (Ak Jang), represented a form of historical resistance by blending indigenous animism with messianic elements, promoting nonviolent national-political mobilization against encroaching Russian Orthodox influence and administrative control, though it faced suppression by the 1930s.^[93] Proponents of cultural preservation argue these legacies necessitate demands for safeguarding Altaian traditions amid ongoing Russification pressures, such as the dominance of Russian in education and media, which some view as eroding distinct ethnic practices.^[44] Conversely, integration through Russian settlement has been cited as a stabilizing economic force, with early 19th-century mining colonies and Orthodox missions fostering infrastructure development and resource extraction that integrated remote Altaian communities into broader markets, arguably enhancing long-term viability over isolated traditionalism.^[95] Assimilation benefits include access to modern education and healthcare, which empirical data on improved life expectancy and literacy rates in the Altai Republic—rising from Soviet-era lows to near-national averages by 2010—suggest have outweighed pure cultural retention in causal terms for many indigenous families.^[96] Contemporary controversies highlight tensions between animal welfare and traditional economies, particularly in maral deer (Cervus elaphus sibiricus) antler harvesting, a practice yielding velvet antlers sold at over $300 per kilogram for medicinal uses, sustaining rural livelihoods but drawing ethical scrutiny for the stress induced during non-lethal removal under local regulations.^[97] In the Russian Federation, Altaians—numbering 74,238 per the 2010 census and comprising 37% of the Altai Republic's population—benefit from the republic's status as an ethnic autonomy with constitutional guarantees under Article 67 for preserving cultural heritage, countering claims of systemic oppression by enabling indigenous representation in local governance and cultural institutions without formal "indigenous" designation.^[44] ^[98] This framework supports balanced rights, as evidenced by ongoing Burkhanist revivals and state tolerance of native practices, though activists demand stronger enforcement against perceived dilution.^[59]

Other Uses

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Altaics - The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire
History. Until the 18th century the Altaic tribes belonged to the khanate of Dzhungaria (1635--1758). Later the southwestern and central part of Mountain Altai ...
[36]
Altai History, Russia - Advantour
In the first half of the ХIХ century Altai took first place on the silver production in Russia, second place on the production of copper, third one on the ...
[37]
Problems of Industrial Development and Possible Risks for the ...
In this article are examined possible risks for the preservation of the natural environment of the Altai Republic in the process of industrial development ...
[38]
Republic of Altai (Passport of the region)
Jun 7, 2024 · The only city and administrative center of the Republic of Altai is Gorno-Altaysk, founded in 1830. The population is 64.5 thousand people, ...
[39]
Greater Altai: A Systemic Development Plan - Архи Ру
May 15, 2025 · The master plan for tourism development in Greater Altai encompasses three regions: Kuzbass, the Altai Republic, and Altai Krai.
[40]
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022FrEaS..10.9051C/abstract
[41]
https://www.council.gov.ru/en/structure/regions/AL/
[42]
Republic of Altai | 79 | v25 | The Territories of the Russian Federati
Of residents who stated their ethnicity at the 2021 census, 53.7% were Russian, 37.0% were Altai (including 1.7% who were Tubalar and 1.3% who were Telengit), ...Missing: composition Rosstat
[43]
Altai Krai | 82 | v25 | The Territories of the Russian Federation 2024
Of residents who stated their ethnicity at the 2021 census, 95.5% were Russian, and 1.3% were German. (Only 0.1% were Altai.) Altai Krai is in the time zone UTC ...Missing: Rosstat | Show results with:Rosstat
[44]
Altai in the Russian Federation - Minority Rights Group
The region declared its sovereignty in 1990 and became a full republic in May 1992, renamed the Altai Republic. In spring 1992, conflict broke out between Altai ...
[45]
Altay language, alphabet and pronunciation - Omniglot
Jul 23, 2025 · Altay is a Turkic language spoken mainly in the Altai republic and Altai ... Altai Republic, where it has official status along with Russian.
[46]
Linguistic Varieties of the Russian Altai: Issues of Standardization ...
This dissertation examines in close detail a number of small Turkic linguistic varieties spoken in South Siberia, in the present-day Russian Federation. The ...
[47]
Notes from the Altai Republic - CREECA
Nov 16, 2015 · Altai is a Turkic language spoken in South Siberia, primarily in Russia's Altai Republic. Only about 70,000 of the roughly 200,000 citizens of ...Missing: Northern | Show results with:Northern
[48]
[PDF] INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION - IWGIA
In these settlements, the native languages may survive in some particular niche, while the dominant means of communication in public life is typically Russian.
[49]
Altai, Northern Language (ATV) - Ethnologue
Northern Altai is an endangered indigenous language of the Russian Federation. It belongs to the Turkic language family.Missing: Southern Republic
[50]
The Unity and Diversity of Altaic - Annual Reviews
Jan 17, 2023 · The present review summarizes the basic facts concerning the Altaic language families, their common features, their patterns of interaction with ...
[51]
(PDF) Telling general linguists about Altaic - ResearchGate
Aug 6, 2025 · The Altaic theory holds that the Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic and Korean (and in most recent versions, also Japanese) languages are genetically related.
[52]
Re-sounding the Spirits of Altaian Oral Epic Performance: Kai throat ...
The style of deep guttural Altaian kai throat-singing, essential to ritual oral epic performance, is less well-known. Here, I argue that kai is performative ...Missing: practices storytelling
[53]
[PDF] Altai Oral Epic
1. In the Upper Altai region one singing style called Kai (Qaï) is of special interest. Some singers using this peculiar technique of laryngeal epic singing.
[54]
Altai Epics: Stories of the past shaping ethnic identity today
Altai oral epics were performed as communal events in a natural environment. The epic stories themselves include alliteration, addition, repetition, parallelism ...Missing: practices | Show results with:practices
[55]
Shamanism and Christianity on the Russian Siberian Borderland ...
Aug 8, 2025 · An overview of Altaian history would therefore be incomplete without mentioning the ethno-nationalist religious movement Burkhanism, also ...
[56]
Shamanism and Christianity on the Russian Siberian Borderland ...
Despite missionary efforts, Altaian shamanism endured and adapted, integrating elements of Orthodox Christianity into indigenous beliefs. By 1897, northern ...
[57]
Burkhanism, Toleration and the Russian Orthodox Church in the ...
Mar 3, 2019 · Burkhanism was a reform movement aimed at purging local shamanism of elements associated with the cult of the dead.
[58]
Shamanism and Christianity: Models of Religious Encounters in ...
After converting to Christianity, the shamans' religious affiliation transferred to Christianity. However, in practice, they continued to perform shamanistic ...
[59]
Russia: Now They Came for Ak-Jaŋ. The Destruction of a New-Old ...
Apr 23, 2024 · “Burkhan” is the Russian transliteration of a Mongolian term for “Buddha.” However, what Russian Czarist bureaucrats and Orthodox missionaries ...
[60]
Golden Mountains of Altai - Natural World Heritage Sites
The landscapes include forest-steppe; coniferous, open and mixed forest types; sub-alpine meadows; alpine tundra; rock and ice; a multitude of glacial lakes; ...
[61]
Altai-Sayan Ecoregion | WWF Asiapacific
Despite its harsh continental climate, the region contains more than 600 species of mosses, 1,200 species of lichen and 3,700 species of vascular plants. Of ...
[62]
Foxes, Leopards and Sheep: Visit Russia's Altai Mountains!
The wildlife of Russia's Altai Republic in southern Siberia is represented by 80 mammal species, 300 bird and 44 fish species.Missing: flora fauna<|separator|>
[63]
Geological History of the Great Altai: Implications for Mineral ... - MDPI
Extremely rich resources of base, precious, and rare metals (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, Li, Cs, Ta, Nb, REE, etc.) maintain developed mining and metallurgical ...
[64]
Brief Profile of the Altai Territory - Правительство Алтайского края
The mineral resource base of the Altai Territory includes deposits of brown coal, iron, polymetallic (containing copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, barite, ...
[65]
Current State of the Altai Glaciers (Russia) and Trends Over the ...
Since 1952, the glacier area in different regions of the Altai has decreased by 9–27%, and volume by 12–24%. By 2008, as a result of degradation, the total ...
[66]
Temperature regime of mountain permafrost in the Russian Altai ...
Dec 22, 2021 · The general objective of this study is to determine the temperature regime on the surface, in the active layer, and in the zero annual amplitude (ZAA) layer.
[67]
Altai Mountains | Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan | Britannica
The Altai Mountains are a complex system in Central Asia, extending 1,200 miles through China, Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan, with three main subdivisions.
[68]
Mineral resource base of Russia's cobalt: current state and ...
The remaining copper mining provinces account for 11.68% of Russia's copper reserves. ... cobalt-nickel ores of Belininskoe deposit (Altai Krai). The carried out ...
[69]
Rubtsovsk Mine, Rubtsovsky District, Altai Krai, Russia - Mindat
Volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, located about 145 km from Zmeinogorsk, and 35 km from the Kazakhstan-Russia border.Missing: cobalt | Show results with:cobalt
[70]
The role and importance of an agrarian-oriented region in ensuring ...
The contribution of the Altai Krai, as an agrarian-oriented region, to ensuring food security in Russia is considered. As a result, the directions of improving ...
[71]
Sustainable development of antler reindeer husbandry production in ...
Currently, there are 190 farms in the Altai. Republic in terms of the leader in the number of marals, 24 farms in the Altai Territory, and 8 farms in the ...
[72]
Intraplate thrust orogeny of the Altai Mountains revealed by deep ...
Jun 15, 2024 · Moreover, the Altai Mountains are characterized by transpressional deformation, which can result from the reactivation of Paleozoic inherited ...
[73]
The Altai Road: Visions of Development across the Russian ...
Aug 7, 2025 · A project to build a road connecting Russia with China through the Altai has been conceived within a quadripartite regional co-operation project ...
[74]
China builds world-class ski resorts in Altay, home to ancient ski ...
Jan 23, 2025 · The region has invested 7 billion yuan in constructing six alpine ski resorts, two cross-country ski venues, and two backcountry ski zones.Missing: Russia | Show results with:Russia
[75]
#SeeingIsBelieving Northwest China's #Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous ...
Sep 8, 2025 · At present, the region has 101 ski resorts. The region aims to expand its ice-and-snow economy to 150 billion yuan (about $21 billion) by 2025 ...
[76]
Impacts of climate change on glacial retreat during 1990–2021 in ...
Glacier retreat was the fastest during 1990–2000, with a retreat rate of 1.37 %∙a-1, and the area loss was approximately-three and five times greater than that ...
[77]
Accelerated Shrinkage of Glaciers in the Altai Mountains From 2000 ...
As shown in Figure 11A, the mean temperature in summer increased in the entire Altai, which was higher in the southeastern Altai and lighter toward the ...
[78]
Glacier Recession in the Altai Mountains after the LIA Maximum
Since the LIA, the glaciers decrease by 59% in the southern part of Altai and by 47.9% for the whole Altai. The average increase in ELA in the southern part of ...
[79]
Cryosphere changes and their impacts on regional water resources ...
Reports of glacier changes in the Altai Mountains in past decades have found accelerated glacier area shrinkage and continued mass loss during the past 50 years ...
[80]
Active Layer Thickness in the Northern Hemisphere: Changes From ...
Jun 14, 2022 · The mean ALT of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere from 2000 to 2018 increased from 127.19 to 145.37 cm at a linear rate of 0.65 cm year −1.
[81]
Tree-Ring Chronologies from the Upper Treeline in the Russian ...
Aug 10, 2024 · Tree-ring chronologies from the upper treeline in the Russian Altai Mountains reveal strong and stable summer temperature signals.
[82]
Two Millennia of Climate History for the Russian Altai
Oct 1, 2023 · Tree-ring chronologies resolve annual or even seasonal variations but represent only summer temperatures and are often relatively short. On ...
[83]
Modern aridity in the Altai-Sayan mountain range derived from ... - NIH
May 11, 2022 · Modern aridity in the Altai-Sayan mountain range is due to a 49% decrease in summer precipitation and a temperature increase, with climate ...
[84]
Transboundary ecological network identification for addressing ...
Dec 1, 2023 · In this study, we took the Altai Mountains in the transboundary areas of China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia as the study area, and identified ...
[85]
Mapping transboundary ecological networks for conservation in the ...
Develops a research framework for transboundary ecological networks for conservation to support biodiversity conservation.
[86]
Accelerating upward treeline shift in the Altai Mountains under last ...
May 22, 2019 · Temperature-sensitive Tien Shan tree ring chronologies show multi-centennial growth trends. Climate Dynamics. 21, 699–706 (2003). Article ...<|separator|>
[87]
Kremlin-Backed Reforms Spark Protests in Russia's Altai Republic
Jun 13, 2025 · Eight people were arrested in the Siberian republic of Altai on Thursday for staging a protest against reforms initiated by regional head Andrei Turchak.
[88]
How Russian regions are trying to resist the abolition of local self ...
On 12 June, Altai residents partially blocked the road at the Chike-Taman pass, protesting against the municipal reform, which was soon to be approved by the ...
[89]
Methodical elimination. Efforts to dismantle the local government ...
Sep 24, 2025 · In late June 2025, several thousand people joined a protest rally in Gorno-Altaisk, demanding the resignation of Kremlin-appointed governor ...
[90]
Is Siberia Retaining Its Autonomy? Municipal Reform and ...
After the new bill on local self-government was introduced in the regional parliament, protests in the Altai Republic erupted almost immediately, culminating in ...
[91]
In Russia, Officials Turned Poachers Rile Public - RFE/RL
May 30, 2009 · In Russia, two fatal helicopter crashes this year have exposed a predilection among the country's political elite to engage in illegal ...
[92]
Altai Authorities to Pursue VIP Poaching Case Again
Jan 12, 2012 · The men were allegedly shooting endangered rams from a helicopter when their aircraft crashed in a remote region of the Altai republic in 2009 ...
[93]
Russian Separatism Problem: the Protest Movement in the Republic ...
a people related to the ...Missing: Soviet demographics
[94]
Frontline report: Russia's empire starts to crack as separatist fires ...
Oct 19, 2025 · Frontline report: Russia's empire starts to crack as separatist fires quietly begin flickering from Siberia to the Caucasus ... From diamonds in ...
[95]
Protests in Russia's Altai Region are part of a long ... - Kyiv Insider
Jun 21, 2025 · In 1991, the Altai Republic was formed as a nominally autonomous region within the Russian Federation. Altai remains one of Russia's poorest ...Missing: post- | Show results with:post-
[96]
Burkhanism - Wikipedia
Burkhanism, known endonymically as Ak Jang is an indigenist new religious movement that flourished among the Altai people of Russia's Altai Republic between ...
[97]
Traditionalism vs. Assimilation Among Indigenous Peoples of Siberia
Oct 9, 2014 · Native peoples of Siberia struggle to fit into the modern global village while retaining their ethnic identity and cultural distinctiveness.Missing: legacies | Show results with:legacies
[98]
The Antlers Of Altai: Siberia's Controversial Harvest - RFE/RL
Aug 19, 2021 · Russians living in Siberia's Altai Mountains make a living by cutting the antlers off Maral deers. The dried antlers are sold for more than $300 per kilogram.Missing: Republic ethics
[99]
Altai Republic - Wikipedia
The Altai Republic is one of Russia's ethnic republics, primarily representing the indigenous Altai people, a Turkic ethnic group that form 37% of the republic ...Altai languages · Gorno-Altaysk · Andrey Turchak · Amyr Argamakov
[100]
The Indigenous World 2024: Russia - IWGIA
Mar 25, 2024 · Indigenous Peoples are not recognized by the Russian legislation as such; however, Article 67 of the current constitution guarantees the ...Missing: Altaian policies