Dagestan (Russian: Дагестан), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of the Soviet Union. Initially established in the 1920s, the region would not be upgraded to a full republic until the 1990s. Almost like the USSR in miniature, Dagestan is a republic made up of many different peoples and officially recognizes 14 languages within its borders. Since the 1990s, Dagestan has seen an increase in population, becoming one of the fastest growing republics within the USSR.