Komi Republic: Fact File

416,000 km2. This is equal to 2.4% of Russia’s total area or 5 areas of Austria, or 4 areas of Iceland, or 3 areas of Greece, or the areas of Germany and Croatia together

889,800 as of 1 January 2012

Syktyvkar (from 1780 to 1930 – Ust-Sysolsk). Population – 248,000. Syktyvkar is a two-hour flight away from Moscow and St. Petersburg. The name is in the Komi language and means ‘town on the Sysola River’.

Sergey Gaplikov (appointed 2015)

22 August (established in 1921)

Komi and Russian. Most signs that you will see in public places are in two languages.

Komi is a home to more than 130 ethnic groups. 22% are Komi; 65% – Russian. Other nationalities include Ukrainians, Tatars, Belarusians, Ethnic Germans, Chuvash, Azeri, Armenians and many more.

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) +3 hours, Moscow time

Nature

30 million hectares (or 70% of the area) are covered with forests. ‘Europe’s Lungs’ is the nickname given to the Komi Republic because of the largest expanse of European pristine forests. There are more than 200 protected areas including Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and Yugyd Va National Park. Together they form the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Virgin Komi Forests.

Oil, gas, coal, bauxite, titanium, manganese and others

There are over 70,000 small lakes. The largest is Yamozero Lake, with an area of 31 km2

Pechora River, 1,809 km. It ranks third in Europe after the Volga and the Danube. The Pechora is also considered the cleanest in Europe.

The Ural Mountains form the natural border of Komi in the west, dividing Europe and Asia.

Mount Narodnaya in the Polar Urals – 1,895 m

The Komi Republic lies between 59⁰N in the south and 68⁰N in the north, crossing the Arctic Circle.