Cherkess or Cherkes (Russian: Черкесы Čerkesy; Adyghe: Чэркэс, Шэрджэс Šerdžes) is a term derived from the Russian language name for the Circassians, a people of the North Caucasus. While the term was traditionally applied to all Circassians before Soviet times, it has since usually referred only to the Circassians living in northern Karachay-Cherkessia, a federal subject of Russia where they are indigenous and formed just under 12% of the population in 2010. These Circassians are mostly Besleney Kabardians who speak the Cherkess, i.e. Circassian, language. They also inhabit the villages of Khodz, Blechepsin, Koshekhabl, and Ulyap in nearby Adygeya.