What is "karachay-cherkessia"

The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (, Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika; Karachay-Balkar: Къарачай-Черкес Республика; Kabardian: Къэрэшей-Шэрджэс Республикэ), Nogai: Къарашай-Шеркес Республикасы; also called Karachay-Cherkessia (Karachay-Circassia) (, Karachayevo-Cherkesiya) and the Karachay-Circassian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus area of southern European Russia.

Karachay-Cherkessia is a landlocked republic, bordered by Krasnodar Krai to the west and northwest, Stavropol Krai to the northeast, Abkhazia to the west, Kabardino-Balkaria to the southeast and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti to the south. It covers mostly mountainous terrain. The republic has several distinct ethnic groups, and the government recognizes five official languages. The population in 2010 was just under half a million people.