Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and

largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...

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. The city is located on the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

, covering an area of , with a population of over 623,254 residents, while the urban agglomeration covers over , with a population of roughly 1 million residents. Makhachkala is the fourth-largest city in 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 ...

, the largest city in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

and the

North Caucasian Federal District The North Caucasian Federal District ( rus, Северо-Кавказский федеральный округ, p=ˌsʲevʲɪrə kɐfˈkasːkʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal distri ...

, as well as the third-largest city on the Caspian Sea. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, with a minor ethnic

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 ...

population. The city's historic predecessor is the port town of Anji (Andzhi), which was located in

Kumykia KumykiaEurasian Studies, Volume 2, Turkish International Cooperation Agency, 1995, page 70 (), or rarely called Kumykistan, is a historical and geographical region located along the Caspian Sea shores, on the Kumyk plateau, in the foothills of Dage ...

, and which was a part of the possessions of the Tarki state, the capital of

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 ...

known from the 8th century.Книга "Дагестан: Путеводитель с картой" Калинин Алексей, Аякс-пресс, 2021 The city was named ''Petrovskoye'' after

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

. After gaining city status in 1857, the Petrovskoye fortress was renamed ''Petrovsk-Port''. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, Petrovsk-Port was renamed Makhachkala on May 14, 1921, after

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

revolutionary . On the same day, it became capital of the newly formed

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 ...

. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the city became the capital of the Republic of Dagestan. Makhachkala is an important economic, educational, scientific, and cultural centre of the

. The city is a major Russian seaport on the Caspian Sea, and a transport hub. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Russia, and is currently going through a construction boom.

History

Early history

Makhachkala's historic predecessors were the towns of Tarki and Anji (or Andzhi, or Anji-kala), dating their history, according to some sources, back to Khazar times. Some chronicles suggest that it was the name of a citadel of Khazarian capital of

Semender Semender () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of Kirovsky City District of the City of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 13,677. ...

, which was called Anji-kala. During the first Muslim conquests of Dagestan, it was exposed to an influx of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. During the reign of

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Caliph Hisham b. Abdülmelik (724-743), the caliph's brother Maslama succeeded in establishing Islamic dominance in the region with his conquests. In the following years, one of the Umayyad commanders, Marwan b. Mohammed also organized successful raids in Dagestan. However, the Islamic domination in the region ended in 796 (180 AH) when the Khazars captured

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

. In the early days of the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes i ...

, the struggle against the Khazars continued. This struggle, which lasted for two centuries, ended with the victory of the Muslim Arabs. In 815, Sheikh Abu Ishaq and Sheikh Mohammed al-Kindi entered Dagestan with a volunteer army of about 2000 people and tried to spread Islam. In the second half of the 11th century, the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

took a part of the region under their control. Dagestan was invaded by the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

in 1222. The

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

(Kipchaks), who ruled in the north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus, played an important role in the

Turkification Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization () describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specif ...

of the region. Later on, the

Ilkhanids The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

, the Golden Horde Khanate, the

Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...

, the

Shirvanshahs The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

and the

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

dominated Dagestan respectively. Dagestan came under Ottoman rule between 1578 and 1606. The Safavids started operations to spread

Shiism Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

in Dagestan at the beginning of the 19th century but were met with fierce resistance from Dagestanis.

Shah Abbas II Abbas II (; born Soltan Mohammad Mirza; 30 August 1632 – 26 October 1666) was the seventh Shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666. As the eldest son of Safi and his Circassian wife, Anna Khanum, he inherited the throne when he was ni ...

established a significant influence in Dagestan in 1639. It started to attract the attention of the Russians from the 17th century onwards. It remained the scene of a struggle for influence between Iranians, Russians and Ottomans from the beginning of the 17th century. When the Safavids began to lose their power at the beginning of the 17th century, the people of Dagestan united under the leadership of Çolak Surhay Khan of the

Gazikumukh Khanate Gazikumukh Khanate was a Lak people (Dagestan), Lak state that was established in present-day Dagestan after the disintegration of Gazikumukh Shamkhalate in 1642. Its peoples included various Lezgin tribes and Avars. State structure Supreme co ...

, and they won a victory against Iran in 1712. To continue their success, he took the people of Dagestan, who asked for help from the Ottoman administration, under his protection by sending gifts to the sultans of the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

Although the Russians could not hold on to the interior of Dagestan, they expanded their sovereignty towards the Caspian coast and could only be stopped in front of Baku with the help of the Ottoman forces under the command of Mustafa Pasha. With a treaty signed between Russia and Iran in 1724, Derbend, Baku and some other places in the region were left to Russia. As a result of his struggles against the Russians,

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

captured the south of Dagestan, Derbend and Baku with the Rasht Treaty signed in 1732, and some lands between the Sulak and Kura (Kür) rivers with the 1735 treaty. After 1747, the Russians regained influence in Dagestan.

19th century

In the 1840s, after

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 ...

seized the Kumyk plateau, Anji-kala became the place where fort Petrovskoye was founded. A town status was granted to the fortress in 1857. The Russian name of the city was Petrovskoye ()—after the Russian

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

, who waged war in the region in 1722 during his Persian Campaign. However, among the local

the city was still known as Anzhi-Qala, ''The Pearl Fortress'' (''Qala'' means fortress or a city with walls, while ''Anzhi / Inzhi / Inji'' means pearl in Kumyk). There is also still a hill called Anji-arqa, meaning ''the hill of Anji''. After gaining town status in 1857, the Petrovskoye fortress was renamed Petrovsk-Port (), sometimes simply Petrovsk. In 1894, a railway line linked the city to

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), 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), Terek River. ...

(in present-day

North Ossetia-Alania North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

) and

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 ...

(in present-day

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 ...

). However, despite the development, a report from 1904 detailed the spread of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and unsuitable drinking water in the city.

20th century

In January 1919, during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, the British No. 221 Squadron

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

based themselves at Petrovsk. In March they were joined by No. 266 Squadron and both squadrons were involved in bombing operations against Bolshevik forces in

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

and elsewhere. In August 1919 both squadrons were withdrawn from Petrovsk. The city was invaded by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in March 1920. As part of the Soviet revolution, place names relating to monarchy or religion were changed, and thus on 14 May 1921, Petrovsk was renamed Makhachkala, after Dagestani revolutionary Magomed-Ali 'Makhach' Dakhadaev. On the same day, it became capital of the newly formed

Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic 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 Unio ...

. The city incurred major damage during an earthquake on 14 May 1970. The city was briefly renamed ''Shamilkala'' during the disintegration of the Soviet Union in honor of the Dagestani freedom fighter

Imam Shamil Imam Shamil (; ; ; ; ; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in the 1800s, the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (1840–1859), and a Sunni Muslim ...

. The area was used as a Soviet-era

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

testing station, leaving behind a curious sea fort off nearby

Kaspiysk Kaspiysk (; Lezgin: Каспи ; ) is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. The 2010 Russian census recorded the city as being the fourth-largest in Dagestan. It is a working-class satellite city to ...

(). On 12 April 1944, a decision was made to resettle the inhabitants of Kumyk villages of Tarki, Kyakhulay and Alburikent, which owned the surrounding areas, to the settlements of the deported Chechens. Most of the released land was distributed to the Makhachkala city council (6243 out of 8166 hectares), in addition to the collective farms of the mountainous regions and industrial enterprises of Makhachkala. After the return of the Kumyk population in 1957, the lands of the collective farms were not restored, personal property was also lost, many houses were occupied by people resettled from mountainous areas. The historical monuments of the ancient city were destroyed and used as construction materials for the infrastructure of Makhachkala.

21st century

Makhachkala is close to areas of fighting and therefore it and the surrounding region has a heavy security service presence. On 25 November 2011, a protest took place in Makhachkala attended by up to 3,000 people demanding an end to illegal activities perpetrated by the security services. On December 15, 2011, Gadzhimurat Kamalov, a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the independent Chernovik newspaper was shot dead in an apparent assassination. A report of the International Crisis Group from 2013 describes the city as being "a city of almost one million and gained spectacular economic resources due to a construction boom, skyrocketing land prices, substantial federal funds for reconstruction, infrastructure, transport, housing, courts and administrative services. But even a short visit revealed acute problems, including dirty streets, dilapidated buildings, inadequate utilities, hectic construction, lack of planning and poorly organised public transport". On 14 August 2023, a fire at a gas station in Makhachkala led to a series of explosions, causing at least 25 deaths and 66 injuries. On the evening of 29 October 2023,

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

riots occurred at the Makhachkala airport causing 500 police officers of the

MVD The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Migration ...

to temporarily close the airport until the morning of 30 October 2023. On 23 June 2024, unknown attackers carried out a terrorist attack in Makhachkala. Many people were killed and wounded. A priest was murdered, and a church and a synagogue burned.

Economy

The most important industrial sector is the

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied pet ...

, as well as mechanical engineering and textile factories. Numerous administrative and educational institutions are based in the city, including a regional research centre of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

with around 20 research departments. The city is also the media centre of the region. Numerous newspapers are published in Makhachkala, including Dagestanskaya Pravda and the Islamic As-Salam. In addition, several regional television stations are based in the city.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with eight

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 ...

s and six rural localities, incorporated as the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Makhachkala—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 ...

.Law #16 As a municipal division, the City of Makhachkala is incorporated as Makhachkala Urban Okrug.Law #6

City divisions

For the purposes of administration, the city is divided into three city districts, from west to east: Kirovsky, Sovetsky and Leninsky. In May 2015, these three city districts were granted municipal status.

Symbols

The coat of arms and flag of Makhachkala were adopted on December 15, 2006. The coat of arms shows the city's historic fortress in silver on a red field, with flames coming from either tower and a

solar symbol A solar symbol is a symbol representing the Sun. Common solar symbols include circles (with or without rays), crosses, and spirals. In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a halo ( ...

above. It is supported by a

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

on each side, a crown on top, and crossed anchors (representing its maritime history) entangled with grapevines at the bottom. In proportions of 2:3, the flag displays the main shield of the city's coat of arms.

Demographics

The population of Makhachkala includes (2021 Census data): * Avar nations (25.6%) *

(18.9%) * Dargin nations (15.5%) *

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 ...

(13.9%) * Laks (11.8%) *

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 ...

(5.9%) *

Tabasarans Tabasarans are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern part of the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. Their population in Russia is about 150,000. They speak the Tabasaran language. They are mainly Sunni Muslims. ...

(2.3%) * Rutuls (1.2%) *

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 ...

(1.0%) *

Aghuls Aghuls (, ) are a people in Dagestan, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 34,160 Aghuls in Russia (7,000 in 1959). The Aghul language belongs to the Lezgian language family, a group of the Northeast Caucasian family. Ethnically, th ...

(1.0%)

Transportation

The city is served by

Uytash Airport Makhachkala Uytash Airport () is a civil airport located near Makhachkala and just south of the city of Kaspiysk which is on the west side of the Caspian Sea. It is named after Amet-khan Sultan, World War II fighter pilot, twice Hero of the So ...

, a regional airport providing connections to other Russian cities.

Russian Railways Russian Railways or RZD () is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services and has a near-monopoly on long-distance train travel in Russia. ...

via the

North Caucasus Railway The North Caucasus Railway () is a broad gauge Russian railway network that links the Sea of Azov (in the west) and Caspian Sea (in the east). It runs through ten federal subjects: Rostov Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, Republic of Ad ...

provides freight and passenger traffic to and from Makhachkala. The Caspian Sea International Port handles crude oil, petroleum, construction materials, grain, cargo and timber and operates 24 hours a day. The port offers communications with the rest of Russia, as well as with

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and Central Asia. A railyard at the port connects the port to the North Caucasus Railway network.

Sports

The city's main football team,

FC Dynamo Makhachkala FC Dynamo Makhachkala () is a Russian professional football club based in Makhachkala that plays in the Russian Premier League. History In the 2006 season Dynamo finished 16th in the Russian First Division. However, the club was denied the profe ...

, currently plays in the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

. They play in the 15,200 Dynamo Stadium.

FC Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional Association football, football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded in 1991, the club last competed in the third-tier Russian Footb ...

, the city's former top team, played at Dynamo Stadium before moving to

Anzhi Arena Anzhi Arena () or Anji Arena is an all-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in Kaspiysk, Republic of Dagestan, Dagestan, Russia, and was the home of Russian Premier League club FC Anzhi Makhachkala, Anzhi Makhachkala. ...

. Anzhi were purchased by Dagestani commodities billionaire

Suleyman Kerimov Suleyman Abusaidovich Kerimov (; ; born 12 March 1966) is a Russian billionaire, oligarch, philanthropist and politician of the Lezgin descent. Kerimov has close ties to Vladimir Putin's government in Russia, and used to have close ties to Ramza ...

in 2011, whose investments allowed the club to sign players such as Brazilian World Cup winner

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often known as Roberto Carlos and sometimes ''RC3'', is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the ...

and Cameroonian striker

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

who, during his time at the club, became the world's highest paid player. The club lived its golden era, finished in the Top 5 for two consecutive seasons ( 2011-12 and 2012-13) and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, reaching the round of 16 on both occasions. However, after 2013, due to unrest in the region, the players moved to live and train in Moscow, while the local matches in Makhachkala were guarded by armed patrols. This situation, followed by severe budget cuts, made the club lose most of its key players, going on to finish bottom of the table in the 2013–14 season, and later folding in 2022 after having fallen to the third division. Many well-known mixed martial artists train in Makhachkala, including UFC Lightweight champions

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-rei ...

and

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the cu ...

Climate

Makhachkala 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSk'') with warm, relatively dry summers and, cool relatively moist winters. The strong

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the Caucasus and the ability of the

Siberian High The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; (''Aziatsky antitsiklon''); zh, 西伯利亞高壓; Pinyin ''Xībólìyǎ gāoyā''; Kazakh Азия антициклоны (''Aziya antitsiklonı'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that a ...

to freely move westwards from its source in the Tibetan and Mongolian plateaus makes the climate quite dry, although frequently overcast throughout the winter, which is owing to the relatively low latitude and nearness to the Caspian Sea very mild by Russian standards. Summers are sunnier but also dry as the region is exposed to steep descending vertical velocity from the Indian monsoon, and the greatest rainfall occurs in the autumn season from September to November. October 1987 with has been the wettest month, whilst no precipitation occurred in February 1958, October 1974 and April 1986. The coldest month since records began in 1882 has been February 1929 with a mean monthly temperature of , whilst the hottest have been July 2010 and August 2014 with means of each, although August 9, 2017, is the hottest day, reaching . The coldest night was on February 9, 2012, when the mercury fell to , beating the previous record of from December 28, 1888.

Economy and culture

Lighthouse

* Makhachkala Lighthouse is an operating lighthouse. Landmark of the city.

Notable people

* Ruslan Agalarov, former association football player * Malik Akhmedilov, editor * Kamalutdin Akhmedov, association football player * Eduard Akuvaev, artist *

Gasret Aliev Gasret Agaevich Aliev () (14 December 1922 – 28 February 1981) was a Soviet soldier and a Hero of the Soviet Union during World War II. Aliev was awarded the title for his actions during the Battle of the Dnieper, where he reportedly killed 80 ...

, Soviet hero * Ikram Aliskerov, mixed martial artist in the UFC's

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division * Ali Aliyev, amateur boxer *

Abdulla Alishayev Abdulla Telman Alishayev (; died 2 September 2008) was a Russian Dagestani journalist and writer. Alishayev was the television host of a popular mainstream Islamic television station in the Republic of Dagestan, a multi-ethnic Russian republic w ...

, TV host * Magomed Ankalaev, mixed martial artist and current

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

* Hizgil Avshalumov, Soviet novelist, poet and playwright * Mishi Bakhshiev, writer and poet * Ali Gadzhibekov, association football player * Shamil Gitinov, wrestler * Ali Isayev, wrestler * Gadzhimurat Kamalov, editor *

Rustam Khabilov Rustam Mikailovich Khabilov (born 4 November 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who last competed in the Welterweight division. He is a Combat Sambo World Champion and a former member of the Legion Sport Club fight team in Rostov-on-Don ...

, mixed martial artist * Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov, wrestler *

Shamil Lakhiyalov Shamil Gadzhialiyevich Lakhiyalov (; born 28 October 1979) is a Russian football official and a former player of Avar ethnicity. He is the president of Legion Makhachkala. Club career He made his Russian Premier League debut for Terek Grozny ...

, association football player *

Gadzhimurad Nurmagomedov Gadzhimurad Nurmagomedov (, born 1 May 1987) is an Armenian Freestyle wrestler of Dagestani descent. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's freestyle 84 kg division. Nurmagomedov first defeated former Olympic silver medalist ...

, Olympic Armenian wrestler * Hasbulla Magomedov, internet personality *

Jamaladdin Magomedov Jamaladdin Gadzhievich Magomedov (; ; born March 14, 1989, in Makhachkala) is a Russian-born naturalized Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler of Avar descent, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. In 2011, Magomedov had won two bronze m ...

, Azeri wrestler * Khadzhimurad Magomedov, Olympic Azeri wrestler *

Rashid Magomedov Rashid Magomedgadzhievich Magomedov (; born May 14, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is a former amateur Light heavyweight and Middleweight boxer, and competed at the lightweight mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

, mixed martial artist * Sharabutdin Magomedov, mixed martial artist *

, mixed martial artist, current

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

* Aleksandr Maslov, former association football player * Magomed Musaev, Olympic Kyrgyz wrestler * Sharif Mukhammad, Afghan football player * Marid Mutalimov, Olympic Kazakh wrestler * Vladimir Nazlymov, sabre fencer and coach *

, mixed martial artist, former

* Eduard Puterbrot, artist * Muslim Salikhov, mixed martial artist in the UFC's

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division * Serder Serderov, association football player *

Sharif Sharifov Sharif Naidhajavovich Sharifov (, ; born 11 November 1988, in Gunukh, Charodinsky District, Dagestan) is a Russian-Azerbaijani former wrestler. Sharifov finished first in the World Championships and won a bronze in the European Championships. ...

, Olympic Azeri wrestler *

Ruslan Sheikhau Ruslan Sheikhau (; born June 4, 1977, in Makhachkala, Dagestan ASSR, is a male wrestler from Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and ...

, Belarusian wrestler * Ilyas Shurpayev, television journalist * Nikita Timoshin, association football player * Yuri Udunyan, Russian football player of Armenian descent * Anatoly Yagudaev, sculptor. He held an honorary title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation * Zalimkhan Yusupov, Olympic Tajik wrestler *

Shamil Zavurov Shamil Magomedovich Zavurov (; born July 4, 1984) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2004, he is the former M-1 Global World Wel ...

, Eagle sports president and former MMA lightweights champion

Twin towns – sister cities

Makhachkala is twinned with: *

Biskra Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nickna ...

, Algeria * Hatten, Germany *

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503 (''2022 census''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the I ...

, Zambia *

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

, Germany *

Sfax Sfax ( ; , ) is a major port city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a ...

, Tunisia * Siping, China *

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. It is the seat of Yalova Province and Yalova District.Balikesir, Turkey

Notes

References

* *

Bibliography

External links

Makhachkala organizes charity iftars
* Badkhen, Anna.

" ''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

''. May 31, 2001. {{Authority control Populated places established in 1844 1844 establishments in Europe 1844 establishments in the Russian Empire Populated coastal places in Russia Populated places on the Caspian Sea Port cities and towns in Russia Port cities in Europe Port cities and towns of the Caspian Sea