Vladikavkaz


Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze and Dzaudzhikau, is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, situated on the Terek River. Population: Vladikavkaz is one of the most populous cities in the North Caucasus.
The city is an industrial and transportation centre. Manufactured products include processed zinc and lead, machinery, chemicals, clothing and food products.

History

The city was founded in 1784 as a fortress during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and was for many years the main Russian military base in the region. The Georgian Military Highway, crossing the mountains, was constructed in 1799 to link the city with Georgia to the south, and in 1875 a railway was built to connect it to Rostov-on-Don and Baku in Azerbaijan. Vladikavkaz has become an important industrial centre for the region, with smelting, refining, chemicals and manufacturing industries.
The city is one of the largest in the Russian-controlled Caucasus, along with Grozny, and was the capital of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, a Soviet Republic established after the annexation of the Mountainous Republic of the North Caucasus. The puppet state existed from 1921 to 1924 and was part of, and in some cases incorporated, the modern-day territories of Chechnya, North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
From 1931 to 1944 and from 1954 to 1990, its name in both Russian and Ossetic languages was Ordzhonikidze , and from 1944 to 1954 it was officially called Dzaudzhikau in Russian and in Ossetic. Vladikavkaz resumed its old Russian name, in 1990, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union; the official Ossetic name was reverted to Дзæуджыхъæу.
Vladikavkaz was fought over in both the Russian Civil War and World War II. In February 1919, the anti-Communist Volunteer Army under General Anton Denikin seized the city, before being expelled by the Red Army in March 1920. In November 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany tried unsuccessfully to seize the city but were repelled, however von Manstein and the Nazis reached the encircled suburbs and got inside the city perimeter. The Nazis left Kalmykia on 1 January 1943.
On 26 November 2008, Vitaly Karayev, the mayor of Vladikavkaz was killed by an unidentified gunman. On 31 December 2008, his successor, Kazbek Pagiyev, was also killed by unidentified gunmen.

Administrative and municipal status

Vladikavkaz is the capital of the republic. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with six rural localities, incorporated as Vladikavkaz City Under Republic Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Vladikavkaz City Under Republic Jurisdiction is incorporated as Vladikavkaz Urban Okrug.

Transportation

The city is served by the bus network. There are also tram and trolleybus networks, plus the main Vladikavkaz railway station.
The city is served by Beslan Airport located about 9 kilometres from the city.
The Georgian Military Road, which is a part of European route E117, starts in Vladikavkaz and it connects the city with the South Caucasus.

Population

According to the results of the 2010 Census, the city population of Vladikavkaz was 330,148.
The ethnic makeup of city's population was:
is an association football club based in Vladikavkaz, who won the Russian Premier League in 1995.

Notable structures

The Mukhtarov Mosque, built in 1906, dominates the city.
In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.

Education

is in the city.

Religion

The city's primary religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which is followed by Russians, Georgians and some of the Ossetians. The rest of the Ossetian population adheres to the next largest religion, Uatsdin, an Ossetian folk religion, which nationwide is followed by 29% of the population. The remainder follow Protestantism, Islam, Armenian Orthodoxy and other beliefs.

Twin towns and sister cities

Vladikavkaz is twinned with:

Climate

Vladikavkaz experiences a humid continental climate with warm, wet summers and cold, drier winters.

Notable people