Vladikavkaz

Russia / Alanija / Vladikavkaz /
 city, capital city of state/province/region, second-level administrative division
Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze (Орджоники́дзе) and also known as Dzaudzhikau (Дзауджикау), is the capital city of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek River. The city's population was 295,830 as of the 2021 Census. As a result, Vladikavkaz is one of the most populous cities in the North Caucasus region. The city is an industrial and transportation centre. Manufactured products include processed zinc and lead, machinery, chemicals, clothing and food products. The name Vladikavkaz, derived from the Russian language, literally means "ruler of the Caucasus". The Ossetian name Dzæwdžyqæw/Dzæwægighæw literally means "Dzaug's settlement".
The city was founded in 1784 as a Russian fortress at the entrance to the Darial Gorge on the site of the Ingush village Zaur, which had the purpose of serving as an outpost for the routes of communication between Russia and Georgia. Russian Encyclopedia states that the Vladikavkaz fortress was built around Ingush settlements. 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. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Vladikavkazsky Okrug of the Terek Oblast. In 1931, at the suggestion of the Ingush Regional Executive Committee, the city of Vladikavkaz was renamed Ordzhonikidze in honor of the Soviet political and military leader Sergo Ordzhonikidze, who during the Civil War established Soviet power in the region. In 1944, after the deportation of the Chechens and Ingush, the city of Ordzhonikidze was renamed the city of Dzaudzhikau, and in 1954 again Ordzhonikidze. In 1990, the city acquired a double name, Vladikavkaz in Russian and Dzaudzhikau in Ossetian. 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. It existed from 1921 to 1924 and comprised most of the modern-day territories of Chechnya, North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. 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 early November 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany tried unsuccessfully to seize the city but were repelled. The Nazis left North Ossetia in January 1943.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladikavkaz
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   42°55'43"N   44°38'50"E

Comments

  • Curious town with the original architecture of the old times
  • Ironian Wedding Dance: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf10hdGSEHw