Caucasus, << KAW kuh suhs >> is a region that includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and a small portion of southern Russia. The region is divided by the Caucasus Mountains, which extend from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The area located to the north of the Caucasus Mountains is called Northern Caucasus, that to the south, Transcaucasia or Transcaucasus. About 33 million people live in Caucasus. Caucasus is rich in natural resources, including oil, natural gas, coal, and such metals as iron, copper, lead, tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Northern Caucasus became part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia became Communist states under the control of the Russian Communists. After the Soviet Union was formed in 1922, these states were reorganized as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. They were reorganized again in December 1936 as separate Soviet republics. In 1991, the Soviet Union broke apart, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia became independent countries.
Caucasus has experienced much upheaval since the late 1980’s. Armenia and Azerbaijan have struggled for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Since the early 1990’s, the people of Chechnya in southern Russia have fought for independence. In 2008, Russia and Georgia clashed over control of the Georgian region of South Ossetia.
