North Ossetia-Alania

The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania ) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic).

Its capital is the city of Vladikavkaz. Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,980.

Name

In the last years of the Soviet Union, as nationalist movements swept throughout the Caucasus, many intellectuals in the North Ossetian ASSR called for the revival of the name of Alania, a medieval kingdom of the Alans. The term of "Alania" quickly became popular in Ossetian daily life through the names of various enterprises, a TV channel, political and civic organizations, publishing house, football team, etc. In November 1994, the name of "Alania" was officially added to the republican title (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania).

Geography

North Ossetian landscape Kwyrttaty kom

The republic is located in the North Caucasus. The northern part of the republic is situated in the Stavropol Plain. 22% of the republic's territory is covered by forests.

• Area: 8,000 square km
• Borders:
  • internal: Kabardino-Balkar Republic (W/NW/N), Stavropol Krai (N), Chechen Republic (NE/E), Republic of Ingushetia (E/SE)
  • international: Georgia (including South Ossetia) (SE/S/SW)
• Highest point: Mount Kazbek (5,033 meters (16,512 ft))
• Maximum north-south distance: 130 km
• Maximum east-west distance: 120 km

Rivers

All of the republic's rivers belong to the drainage basin of the Terek River. Major rivers include:

• Terek River (~600 km)
• Urukh River (104 km)
• Ardon River (101 km)
• Kambileyevka River (99 km)
• Gizeldon River (81 km)
• Fiagdon River
• Sunzha River (278 km)

Mountains

All of the mountains located on the territory of the republic are a part of the Caucasus. Mount Kazbek is the highest point (5,033 m), with Mount Dzhimara being the second highest (4,780 m).

Natural resources

Natural resources include minerals (copper, silver, zinc), timber, mineral waters, hydroelectric power, and untapped reserves of oil and gas.

History

Early history

Map of medieval Alania (10th–12th century), according to Ossetian historian Ruslan Suleymanovich Bzarov

The territory of North Ossetia was first inhabited by Caucasian tribes. Some Nomadic Alans settled in the region in the 7th century, forming the kingdom of Alania. It was eventually converted to Christianity by missionaries from Byzantium. Alania greatly profited from the Silk Road which passed through its territory.

After the Middle Ages, the Mongols' and Tartars' repeated invasions decimated the population, now known as the Ossetians. Islam was introduced to the region in the 17th century by Kabardians. Conflicts between the Khanate of Crimea and the Ottoman Empire eventually pushed Ossetia into an alliance with Imperial Russia in the 18th century. Soon, Russia established a military base in the capital, Vladikavkaz, making it the first Russian-controlled area in the northern Caucasus. By 1806, Ossetia was under complete Russian control.

Russian/Soviet rule

The Russians' rule led to rapid development of industry and railways which overcame its isolation. The first books from the area came during the late 18th century, and became part of the Terskaya Region of Russia in the mid-19th century.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in North Ossetia being merged into the Soviet Mountain Republic in 1921. It then became the North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on 7 July 1924, then merged into the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 5 December 1936. In World War II, it was subject to a number of attacks by Nazi German invaders unsuccessfully trying to seize Vladikavkaz in 1942.

The North Ossetian SSR declared itself the autonomous republic of the Soviet Union on June 20, 1990. Its name was changed to Republic of North Ossetia-Alania in 1991.

Post-Soviet rule

The dissolution of the Soviet Union posed particular problems for the Ossetian people, who were divided between North Ossetia, which was part of the Russian SFSR, and South Ossetia, part of the Georgian SSR. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Georgia abolished the autonomous Ossetian enclave amid the rising ethnic tensions in the region, and much of the population fled across the border to North Ossetia or Georgia proper. Some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia, sparking clashes with the predominantly Ingush population in the Prigorodny District. That led to the Ossetian–Ingush conflict.

As well as dealing with the effects of the conflict in South Ossetia, North Ossetia has had to deal with refugees and the occasional spillover of fighting from the war in neighboring Chechnya. The bloodiest incident by far was the September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, in which Chechen insurgents attributed to Shamil Basayev (who alternatingly denied and claimed responsibility) seized control of a school. In the firefight between the terrorists and Russian forces that ended the crisis, 335 civilians, the majority of them children, died. A physical education teacher called Yanis Kanidis (a Caucasus Greek, originally from Georgia) was also killed in the siege after saving the lives of many children.

Culture

There are six professional theaters in North Ossetia-Alania, as well as Ossetian State Philarmonia.