Koryak is a Chukotko-Kamchatkan language spoken by circa 3,000 people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Koryak Okrug. It is mostly a language spoken by Koryaks. Its close relative, the Chukchi language, is spoken by about twice that number.
Koryak Okrug ' onMouseout='HidePop("40544")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Koryak_language">Koryak
Koryak is a Chukotko-Kamchatkan language spoken by circa 3,000 people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Koryak Okrug. It is mostly a language spoken by Koryaks. Its close relative, the Chukchi language, is spoken by about twice that number. The language together with Chukchi,...
: Чав’чываокруг), or
Koryakia, is an administrative division of
Kamchatka KraiKamchatka Krai is a federal subject of Russia. It is a krai formed July 1, 2007 as a result of the merger of Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug, after a referendum held on the issue on October 23, 2005. The administrative centre is the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It was a
federal subjectRussia is a federation that consists of 83 subjects. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council . However, they do differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy...
of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(an autonomous okrug of
Kamchatka OblastKamchatka Oblast was a federal subject of Russia . To the north, it bordered Magadan Oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Koryak Autonomous Okrug was located in the northern part of the oblast...
) from 1931 until July 1, 2007, when it merged with Kamchatka Oblast. Prior to the merger, it was called
Koryak Autonomous Okrug .
With a population of 25,157 (
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
), about a quarter of them
KoryaksKoryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
, it had the smallest population of all
Russian federal subjectsRussia is a federation that consists of 83 subjects. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council . However, they do differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy...
, despite being ranked 17th in size, at 301,500 km², encompassing part of the northern half of
Kamchatka PeninsulaThe Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
.
The
urban-type settlementUrban-type settlement is an official designation for a certain type of urban localities used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union....
of
PalanaPalana is an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of Koryak Okrug of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is located on the west coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula on the right bank of the Palana River, within eight kilometers from the Sea of Okhotsk...
was the administrative center of Koryakia
Demographics
Population:
The population was 25,157 according to the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
and was estimated to be 23,800 in 2005.
Vital statistics (2005):
- Births: 294 (birth rate 12.5)
- Deaths: 466 (death rate 19.8)
Ethnic groups:
About 40% of the total population is indigenous, the 6,710
KoryaksKoryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
being the largest such group. They are, however, outnumbered by the 12,719 ethnic
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. According to the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
the ‘national composition’ was •
RussianThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
50.56% •
KoryakKoryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
26.67% • Chukchi 5.61% •
ItelmenThe Itelmen, sometimes known as Kamchadal, are an ethnic group who are the original inhabitants living on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family, but it is now virtually extinct, the vast...
4.69% •
UkrainianUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly—citizens of Ukraine...
4.09% •
EvenThe Evens or Eveny are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia...
2.99% •
TatarTatars , sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic ethnic group mainly inhabiting Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. They numbered 10 million in the late 20th Century, which includes all subgroups of Tatar people, such as...
0.86% •
BelarusiansBelarusians are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Belarusian language...
0.56% • Kamchadal 0.53% • and a few other groups of less than one hundred persons each. In addition 0.76% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.
Historical figures are shown below:
|
census 1939 |
census 1959 |
census 1970 |
census 1979 |
census 1989 |
census 2002 |
| Koryaks Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
|
6,855 (27.2%) |
5,010 (18.2%) |
5,893 (19.1%) |
5,660 (16.2%) |
6,572 (16.5%) |
6,710 (26.7%) |
| Chukchis |
1,267 (5.0%) |
1,062 (3.9%) |
1,164 (3.8%) |
1,222 (3.5%) |
1,460 (3.7%) |
1,412 (5.6%) |
| Itelmens The Itelmen, sometimes known as Kamchadal, are an ethnic group who are the original inhabitants living on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family, but it is now virtually extinct, the vast...
|
801 (3.2%) |
900 (3.3%) |
970 (3.1%) |
1,002 (2.9%) |
1,179 (3.0%) |
1,181 (4.7%) |
| Evens The Evens or Eveny are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia...
|
714 (2.8%) |
520 (1.9%) |
613 (2.0%) |
476 (1.4%) |
713 (1.8%) |
751 (3.0%) |
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
|
13,794 (54.8%) |
16,674 (60.6%) |
19,522 (63.1%) |
22,493 (64.5%) |
24,773 (62.0%) |
12,719 (50.6%) |
UkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly—citizens of Ukraine...
|
847 (3.4%) |
1,310 (4.8%) |
1,186 (3.8%) |
1,999 (5.7%) |
2,896 (7.3%) |
1,029 (4.1%) |
| Others |
882 (3.5%) |
2,049 (7.4%) |
1,569 (5.1%) |
1,999 (5.7%) |
2,347 (5.9%) |
1,355 (5.4%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
25160 |
27525 |
30917 |
34850 |
39940 |
25157 |
2006 earthquake
On April 20, 2006, Russia's
Kamchatka PeninsulaThe Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
was struck by a major
earthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph...
. The 7.7-magnitude tremblor had its epicenter near the village of
TilichikiTilichiki is a seaside village on the Korfa Bay in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Tilichiki Airport is located to the south of the village. It is connected by ferry service to the port village of Korf...
. The Koryakia branch of the Russian Office of Emergency Situations said some area residents were injured but there were no fatalities.
The quake occurred at about noon local time Friday, so residents were awake and not caught in their beds.
The
United States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning...
reported a series of at least fifty smaller aftershocks in the area and immediately offshore. They ranged from 4.1 to 6.5 magnitudes on the
Richter scaleThe Richter magnitude scale, also known as the local magnitude scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a base-10 logarithmic scale obtained by calculating the logarithm of the combined horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement...
.
Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the U.S.G.S. in
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
, said the quake was relatively shallow. He estimated that about 2,000 people live close enough to the epicenter to have felt its full force.