the republic's population, with the indigenous Altai people making up 37.0%. Other groups include people of Kazakh (6.4%), together with smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. including 3,414 Telengits, 1,384 Kumandins and 344 Teleuts including 2,368 Telengits, 1,533 Tubalars, 931 Kumandins, 830 Chelkans, 141 Shors and 32 Teleuts including 3,648 Telengits, 1,891 Tubalars, 1,062 Kumandins, 1,113 Chelkans and 87 Shors including 2,587 Telengits, 3,424 Tubalars, 1,037 Kumandins, 1,170 Chelkans and 91 Shors 3,432 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. Politics The head of government in the Altai Republic is the Head of the Republic, popularly elected for a four-year term. , the Head of the Republic is Oleg Khorokhordin, who succeeded Alexander Berdnikov in this post. The supreme legislative body of the republic is the State Assembly—El Kurultai, with 41 deputies popularly elected every four years. Igor Yaimov is the current Chairman of the State Assembly-El Kurultai from January 2002. The Republic's Constitution was adopted on June 7, 1997. Economy The Altai Republic is a highly agricultural region. However, it does have some industry which includes foodstuffs, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemicals, gold mining, footwear, dairying, and timber. Tourism has also begun to be a large part of the economy, and a significant number of new hotels and resorts have appeared. Mining Alakhinskoye mine (lithium reserve) Transportation The Altai Republic is one of the few Russian political divisions without rail access. The main paved road is the Chuysky Tract, which spans the republic from the capital Gorno-Altaisk in the north to the Mongolian border in the south. The republic's main paved road threads its way through the rugged Altai Mountains. A system of taxis and buses transports people between settlements. Within the settlements, people generally walk or ride horses. Helicopters are used for emergency transportation, to supply remote government outposts, and by wealthy tourists. In 2012, runway capacity at the Gorno-Altaysk Airport near the republic's capital, was doubled. In June that same year, S7 Airlines started direct flights from Moscow. Prior to this, passengers used to fly through Barnaul in Altai Krai or Novosibirsk. Tourism With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Altai Republic's tourism industry has greatly expanded. Although wealthy Russians from neighboring Russian regions are the most