Kizlyar (; ; , ''Qızlar'') is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

of the Terek River northwest of

Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 48,984.

Etymology

According to some researchers, the name of the city comes from an old name for the Terek River. Another translation of the name Kizlyar is from an unspecified

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

, meaning "girls". According to

Vyacheslav Nikonov Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Nikonov (; born 5 June 1956) is a Russian political scientist. Early life Nikonov is a grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov, prominent Bolshevik and Soviet foreign minister under Joseph Stalin, whom he was named after, a ...

, correct translation of this Turkic toponym is "red cliff".

History

The first documented reference to Kizlyar dates back to 1609, although some historians associate the place with Samandar, the 8th-century capital of

Khazaria The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

. In 1735 the Russian government built a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

in Kizlyar and laid foundations for the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

fortified borderline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kizlyar operated as one of the

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

s between Russia and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. During this period, the population was largely

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. In 1796 2,800 Armenians and 1,000 Russians lived in Kizlyar. During the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Kizlyarsky Otdel of the

Terek Oblast The Terek Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, roughly corresponding to the central part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Тhe ''оblast'' was created ...

. In 1942 the Germans briefly took Kizylar (Kizjlar). In January 1996 Chechen separatists raided the local airbase in the course of the Kizlyar raid, which claimed the lives of seventy-eight Russian soldiers. On 18 February 2018 five people were killed and five wounded after a shooting attack took place outside a Christian church in Kizlyar. Police killed the attacker in a shootout.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kizlyar serves as the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of Kizlyarsky District, even though it is not a part of it.Law #16 As an administrative division, it is, together with one

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

( Komsomolsky) and one rural locality (the railway crossing loop of No. 17), incorporated separately as the

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Kizlyar—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. As a municipal division, the Town of Kizlyar is incorporated as Kizlyar Urban Okrug.Law #6

Demographics

As of the 2021 Census, the town's ethnic composition was as follows: *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

(35.5%) * Avars (24.5%) * Dargins (15.5%) *

Kumyks Kumyks (, ) are a Turkic ethnic group living in Dagestan, Chechnya and North Ossetia. They are the largest Turkic people in the North Caucasus. They traditionally populate the Kumyk Plateau (northern Dagestan and northeastern Chechnya), la ...

(5.3%) *

Lezgins Lezgins ( or ) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northern Azerbaijan, who speak the Lezgin language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality ...

(4.6%) * Laks (4.2%) * Tabasarans (2.0%) *

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

(1.9%) * Rutuls (1.5%) *

Nogais The Nogais ( ) are a Kipchaks, Kipchak people who speak a Turkic languages, Turkic language and live in Southeastern Europe, North Caucasus, Volga region, Central Asia and Turkey. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well ...

(1.2%)

Economy

In the early 19th century, Kizlyar became a center of

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

and

wine making Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. There is ...

. The local cognac factory ( Kizlyar Brandy Factory) produces a variety of alcoholic beverages but specializes primarily in a regional variant of

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

, marketed throughout Russia as "

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

". '' Kizlyarka'' is a type of grape vodka produced in Kizlyar. Kizlyar is also known for traditional knife, dagger, and saber making.

Climate

Kizlyar has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSk'').

Twin towns and sister cities

Kizlyar has sister city relationships with:Kizlyar official site
*

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

* Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia *

Azov Azov (, ), previously known as Azak ( Turki/ Kypchak: ), is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. The population is History Early settlements in the vici ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

, Russia

Notable people

* Roman Bagration (1778–1834), general in the Imperial Russian Army * Pyotr Bagration (1765-1812), general in the Imperial Russian Army *

Romanos Melikian Romanos Hovakimi Melikian (; October 1, 1883 – March 30, 1935) was an Armenian composer, conductor, and educator. He played a significant role in the developing Armenian classical music and established Armenian musical institutions such as Kom ...

(1883–1935), composer * Rasul Mirzaev (born 1986), mixed martial artist * Tagir Gadzhiev (born 1994),

international Rugby player.

Notes

External links

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Dagestan Terek Oblast Wine regions of Russia