Kistinka ( ka, ხდე, ქისტურა, ) is a river in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

that flows in the

Khevi Khevi ( ka, ხევი) is a small historical-geographic area in northeastern Georgia. It is included in the modern-day Kazbegi district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region ( mkhare). Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, i ...

region. It originates at the foot of the Kibishi Glacier and flows to the northwest into the river Terek near the Russian-Georgian border. The length of the river is 17 km, the basin area is 79 km².

Nomenclature

The hydronym ''Kistinka'' derives from one of the old

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language, Northeast Caucasian language * Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus See also *Ingushetia (disambiguation) Ingushetia is a federal republic and subject of Russia. Ingushetia may also refer ...

ethnonyms — ''Kisti'' and is used to refer to both rivers Arm-khi (; ka, ქისტეთისწყალი, ''Kistetis-tskali'') in the

Dzheyrakhsky District Dzheyrakhsky District (; , ) is an administrative and municipalLaw #5-RZ district (raion), one of the four in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. It is located in the south of the republic. The area of the district is .Official website of the Re ...

and Oakhkara-khi ( ka, ხდე, ქისტურა, tr) in the

Kazbegi Municipality Kazbegi ( ka, ყაზბეგის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a district of Georgia, in the region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti in east-north Georgia. The main settlement is Stepantsminda, accounting for about half of the tota ...

. In 1910, Foma Gorepekin composes a short guide titled: ''«In the mountains of the Terek region»'', where he mentions being escorted along the gorge of the river ''Kistinka'' by the Buzurtanov brothers — well-known local guides and

alpinist Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes (e.g. multi-pitch or big wall) in an alpi ...

s from the neighbouring

village

Gveleti Gveleti ( ka, გველეთი; ) is a village (''aul'') in the Kazbegi Municipality of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is located in the Darial Gorge, on the right bank of the Devdaraki (a left tributary of the Terek river), 4 km from the bord ...

. The name of this river could either come from the

word ''"okhkaro"'' which translates as "rich", or from the root word "''kora''", meaning "window" or "pass", which could refer to the path that leads to

Gudauri Gudauri ( ka, გუდაური) is a ski resort located on the south-facing plateau of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in Georgia. The resort is situated in the Kazbegi Municipality, along the Georgian Military Highway near the Jvari ...

through the pass from the ''Oakhkara'' gorge, where it passes through the gorge of the river ''Kora'' — a tributary of the ''Kistinka''.

History

In June 1637, F. Volkonsky and clerk A. Khvatov were sent from Moscow to

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

. The delegation faced difficulties due to the challenging relations between the Georgian King of Kakheti, Teimuraz I and the Duke of Aragvi, who controlled the

Darial Gorge The Darial Gorge; ; ; . is a river gorge on the border between Russia and Georgia. It is at the east base of Mount Kazbek, south of present-day Vladikavkaz. The gorge was carved by the river Terek, and is approximately long. The steep granite w ...

. As a result, the delegation turned to the Oakhkara gorge, where they were met by an Ingush prince named Khavsa, who escorted the delegation further to the Georgian border. The Oakhkara gorge belonged to three Ingush families: the Yandievs, the Mamilovs, and the Aldaganovs - branches of a common ancestral family known as Chachaev. Their forefather and his relatives had resided along the entire stretch of the gorge. Due to constant conflicts with the Khevsurs, they eventually resettled to the

Dzheyrakh Dzheyrakh ( or ; ) - is a village and administrative center of Dzheyrakhsky District, in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. Etymology The name "Dzheyrakh" is associated with the Arabic name Jarrah (name), Jarrah ("inflicting wounds"). Accordin ...

and Kist societies. Despite this, they maintained their possession of the land and operated farms on it. In the 1870s, Major-General Mikhail

Kazbek Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi, , romanized: ''q'azbegi''; ; ; ; is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus, located in Georgia, just south of the border with Russia. Lying at 5,054 meters (16,581 ft) above ...

issued an order prohibiting them the use of the land and declaring it state property.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Cite book, url=https://dzurdzuki.com/download/volkova-n-g-etnicheskij-sostav-naseleniya-severnogo-kavkaza-v-xviii-nachale-xx-veka-1974/, last=Волкова, first=Н.Г., year=1974, title=Этнический состав населения Северного Кавказа в XVIII — начале XX века, location=Москва, publisher=Наука, language=ru, trans-title=, pages=1–276, isbn= Rivers of Georgia (country)