GEOGRAPHIC BRIEF OF ECONOMIC REGION V -- THE TRANSCAUCASUS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62-00680R000200190071-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 2, 1998
• Sequence Number: 71
• Publication Date: March 10, 1959
• Content Type: MEMO

' pprdved For Release : CIA-RDP62-0068OR000200190071-9
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GEOGRAPHIC BRIEF OF ECC7NC>MIC REC';IOCV V -- THE TRANSCAUCASUS
C;IA/RR G/I .,9-19
10 March 1959
CENThAT, IiiTELLICEN4:E AGENCY
Office, of Research and Reports
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Copy 39o? ~.....~.=?.s-,d=,.s..-
GEOG `.1A'It C I1 XCEAI DUM
GEOGRAPHIC BRIJ? OF RVG O1 V - TH Ti AI CAUCASU a
CIA yR G/3 59-19
1C Marh 1:;59
C r : . M P L A , L IW .IC`i C ` &CAG Offl.cc.! r;'L )Re se rc-In and 3e
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This mate ?itil contaii:as information affecting
the 1atio ial Defense of the United States
within the r sei ning o::' the espionage laws,.
Title 18, LSC: Secs o 7993 and 794+, the trans-
mission or revelatia: of which in any iranner
to an unauthor1 ed per?-on is prohLN. ited by law.
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? a'uawing Page
Economic c 44a'p c f tiucLe " '.11W l? J E. ,) ~. A
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GEOGRAPHIC BRIEF OF ECO r 1IC I E ION V o_ THE TRMSCAUCASU3
The three small. republics which compose Economic Region V lie
between the high ridge of the Gr eat Caucasus Mountains and the boundary
that separates the Soviet Union from Turkey and Iran. The Black and
Caspian Seas form the western and eastern boundaries of the region,
respectively. The total area
of ; the `.L'ranscaucasuss is 71,853 square
miles. Of this Azerbaydzhaxn, the largest of the three republics,
occupies 33,436 square miles; k;ru nie, the suallet t, 1.1,`706 squar.
miles; and Georgia, 26,91.1. sc v re miles. The physical geography :af
the region is highly aried, is c? udirg humid subtropical lowlands; dry
lowland steppes, high a ?id. plateau 1snd.3, and rugged mountains ai i
? foothills. The cultural and economic gograpby of the region reflect
this diversity. The popul atior. is ex:tremel.y unevenly distributed and
is made up of a large number of naticna3 ity groupsY An agricultu?aal
economy prevails over much of the e? owla_-ad and foothill areas of
Transcaucasia. In the hi ;hla.nds and in the Baku area, extractive
industries are is:~p~: i;sanl,; and ;t aanufacturing industries are developing
in the main urban centers of the r eglon
The northern boundary of Nhe 'raascaucasus runs in general a: ong
the crest of the Great; C'aucssu;: Range, irhich stretches soarae 700 m.les
from the northwest to t be sc~.IV.easttt across the 3.stbmus between tht. Black
and Caspian Seas (see pe oaa, ~t.:?ic; ;; ap of the Caucasus) " Several ;;e:aks
along the crest are wore than. 1 0.:K) -tent in elevation, and extent i-tre
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es.~ Spot elevation in feet Road (selected)
)(ems Pass with elevation in feet Railroads (selected):
and Broad gage 5'0"
Marsh or swamp mar El-c! e gage S01,
lectniied
Standard gage 4'8W
Perennial stream
Intermittent stream
Canal (selected)
CAUCASUS
HYPSOMETRY
Standard gage 4'8Ve
under construction
o 1900= ~ ,
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areas are glacier covered. In a !5- to 50--mile belt paralleling the
crest of the mountains on the sough, rugged terrain predominates- The
numerous rapid streams that flow out from the mountains cut the south
face of the Caucasus Range into a series of ridges and deep valleys
with a north-northeast--soot}a-southwest orientation, thus making trans-
portation or communication parallel to the Caucasus Range extremely
difficult. South of the mougetain belt are two valleys -- the Rion
Lowland fronting on the :slack Sea and the Kura Lowland facing the
Caspian. Both lowlands are roughly triangular in shape, narrowing as
they reach inland, and both terminate in the relatively low Suramskiy
Range which separates them. The Suremsl:iy Range connects the Great
Caucasus Mountains with the "~jttt:4.e Caucasus Mountains and the Armenian
highland, an arid, rocky tab:ae)_and between 1,000 and 7,000 feet in
elevation.
The southern slopes of zh,! (aueasu 3 Range have a fairly dense
forest cover of juniper., oak,, ImI hornb aam up to an elevation of about
6,500 feet in the west. Toward -,,,,he east the forest cover thins out
markedly. Alpine meadows occupy the belt between the tree line and the
snow line, which lies between 10,000 and 12,000 feet. In the lowlands
and foothills , much of the rtatur 31 vegetation as been cleared to permit
use of the land for agriculture. Limited areas of humid subtropical
forest with dense undergrowth ho:.)weve r,. still remain in the, Rion Lo-hand,
notably around the extensive swamps nes.r the coast. Natural vegeta:.:ion
in the Kura Lc eland is :. e,nide ert in character, consisting mainly o'--'
low bushes and grasses. In the i.ttle Caucasue Mountains,, scatterer)
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deciduous forests occupy th laver slaps; but low bushes and grasses
predominate at higher :levationr and on the Armenian Plateau.
The climate of Transcaucasia is generally mild. The main range
of the Caucasus shelters the ref_aon from cold northern winds, and the
Black and Caspian Seas exert a. r .oderat ng influence. Precipitation
decreases from west to east. The Black Sea coast has a humid subtropical
climate. Winters are mild, with January temperatures averaging from
430F to 450F; summers are hot and humid, with heavy rainfall, ranging
up to about 100 inches a year I. the lk to ni. area. In the Kura Lowland
east of the Suramskiy Range Use -Iinate is more continental in character.
Winters are relatively raga, but tez peraturoc are lower than in the crest
and frosts occur occasionallky, steers are very hot and dry. Prec~pi-
tation is light, a aouxit:.ng to leas thar.. 8 inches a year immediately
southwest of Baku. In a limited area can the Caspian coast around
Lenkoran` the climate is humid s4btropica1, with precipitation increasing
to an average of 65 inches a yeaw,. At the higher elevation of the
Armenian Plateau in the sough,. v tnters are considerably colder; and
January temperatures average is ro::r: 140F f;o 20?F.
Between 9 and 10 nd.l d.ion people live in the Traxxscaucasus Region --
about 4.2 million in Georgia., 3.1 million in Azerbaydzhan;. and 1.8
million in Arm !aid - Populat i t :tensity vnar:-es greatly throughout the
region, being noticeably- affff cted1 by dieferences in both relief and
precipitation (see Map 'C-7623). ::n the Ilion Valley around I utaisi tt e
density is over 250 per sQua :?e rn .I e, wh~rreas extensive areas on the
Armenian highiand and Pry the C .ui,asu3 M.aurit`ins are virtually uninhebitedh
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Throughout the Rion Valley, on the slopes of the surrounding uplands,
and along the Black Sea coast, the dem ities are high -- generally
over 150 per square mile. population cecreases from west to east, as
does the precipitations whereas in the and Kura Lowland adjacent to the
Caspian Sea the population desity reaches 150 in only a few isolated
areas.
Over l0 percent of the population of the Transcaucasus is classified
as urban. Baku, capital of the :l`zerbaydzhan Republic and the center of
the oil industry, is by far the largest urban area of the region. It
is the fourth largest city in the Soviet anion, having a population of
901,000 in the city proper and the suburbt3 that are administratively
subordinate to it. The capital of the Georgian Republic, Tbilisi, is
the second largest urban center of the ' anscaucasus, with 635,000
inhabitants. It is the most important transportation hub in the region
and an expanding industrial eentc-r, Yerevan, the capital of the Armenian
Republic, ranks third, with a population of 3$5,000. Only 3 other cities
have over 100,000 Inhabitants. ,utaisi (114,00+0, Kirovabad (111,000),
and Leninakan (103,,000).
The T'ranscaucesus contains c,, large nrmber of nationality groups,
some of which have been given of `icial -status t arough the establish ent
of separate administrative units in the areas where they predominate.
The ethnic composition of thy- ?lu.ee union republics, estiusated by percent,
is as follows:
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Republic
Armenian
Az.e aa; 7juLni
eGeor ian
Russian
Other
Armenia
80
--
--
10
10
Azerbaydzhan
10
60
--
20
10
Georgia
10
--
60
10
20
Lesser nationality groups are ~ uttord.Rna';e to the union republics. In
Georgia the Abkhaz inhabit the no rthwes ;, corner of the republic and
the Adzhars the southwest corer, Both have autonomous republic (ASSR)
status. The Southern Ossetian5s on the -3outh slopes of the Caucasus
mountains in north-central Georg ".a have autonomous oblast (AO) status.
Two nationality units are subor?d-"Lnate to Azerbaydzhan. The Nagorno.
Karabakhskaya AO is inhabited pr~dominart?y by Armenians. The Nakh.chevanl;kaya
ASSR is a predominantly A aexba rd:3b..ni area: but it is separated from
Azerbaydzhan proper by the s ouch past extension of Armenia. Other a 1l
nationality groups in the Tiansc:wucasus include Kurds, Talysh, Svants,
and Pshavr;. The Russians ir. the Transcaucasus area are scattered among
the industrial centers, where tb;,y serve as administrativ officiair;
and technicians.
Extractive industr?ieo nre of primary importance in the Transcaucasus,
although inanufactua ing i.ndug;triE: i:3 based on local resour^ces have gai-aed
significance in recent years sce V .p 2762I). Oil from the Baku arm
is the region' ?a3 chief c. ntr:Lbi .t .curl to the Soviet econo y, although .:is
an oil producing area the B,%ki p. area i l recently fa? i en behind the
Volga-Urals region, the so-ca1i?d "Second. Baku." The brief centers of
oil refining in the 'trans ea ic