Elistanzhi (, , ''Elistanƶa'') is a

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

(a '' selo'') in

Vedensky District Vedensky District (; , ''Vedanan khoşt'') is an administrativeDecree #500 and municipalLaw #14-RZ district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic. The area of the district is . ...

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

Administrative and municipal status

Municipally, Elistanzhi is incorporated as Elistanzhinskoye rural settlement. It is the administrative center of the municipality and the only settlement included in it.

Geography

Elistanzhi is located on the left bank of the Elistanzhi River. It is located west of the village of

Vedeno Vedeno (; , ''Vedana'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Vedeno is incorporated into Vedenskoye rural settlement. It is the adm ...

. The nearest settlements to Elistanzhi are Tsa-Vedeno and Verkhatoy in the north-east,

and

Zelamkhin-Kotar Zelamkhin-Kotar (, ''Zelamxin-Khotar''; ), also known by Russian name Oktyabrskoye, is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Zelamkhin-Kotar is incorporated into Vedensko ...

in the east,

Eshilkhatoy Eshilkhatoy (, , ''Eşilxata'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Eshilkhatoy is incorporated into Vedenskoye rural settlement. It is one of the four settlements ...

in the south-east, and Khattuni and

Tevzana Tevzana (, ) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Tevzana is incorporated as Tevzaninskoye rural settlement. It is the administrative center of the municipality and ...

in the west.

History

The name of Elistanzhi was originally based on the Chechen clan Elsoy, and the village was called Elsanchu. However, the name was later distorted by Russians, who called the village Elistanzhi. In 1944, after the genocide and deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people and the

Chechen-Ingush ASSR When the Soviet Union existed, different governments had ruled the northern Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Within the Mountain Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic, later annexed into the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Repub ...

was abolished, the village of Elistanzhi was renamed to Tando, and settled by people from the neighboring republic of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

. From 1944 to 1957, it was a part of the Vedensky District of the

Dagestan ASSR The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991), abbreviated as Dagestan ASSR or DASSR and also unofficially known as Soviet Dagestan or just simply Dagestan, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union ...

. In 1958, after the Vaynakh people returned and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored, the village regained its old Chechen name, Elistanzha.

Elistanzhi in the Chechen Wars

On 7 October 1999, two Russian

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

fighter bombers Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, a person legally entitled to participate in hostilities during an armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed primarily for air-to-air combat ** Fighter pilot, ...

dropped several cluster bombs onto Elistanzhi. The attack killed at least 34 people, including nine children, who died when a bomb hit the local school. It was later discovered that the village was undefended and no separatist militants has been present in the village at the time of the attack.

Population

* 2002 Census: 1,878 * 2010 Census: 2,570 * 2019 estimate: 2,783 According to the results of the 2010 Census, the majority of residents of Elistanzhi were ethnic Chechens.

References

{{Authority control Rural localities in Vedensky District