Kizlyar (Russian: Кизля́р; Avar: Гъизляр; Kumyk: Къызлар, Qızlar) is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the delta of the Terek River 221 kilometers (137 mi) northwest of Makhachkala, the capital of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 48,984.[2]

Kizlyar
Кизляр
Other transcription(s)
 • AvarГъизляр
 • KumykКъызлар
Kizlyar Station
Kizlyar Station
Flag of Kizlyar
Coat of arms of Kizlyar
Location of Kizlyar
Map
Kizlyar is located in Russia
Kizlyar
Kizlyar
Location of Kizlyar
Kizlyar is located in Republic of Dagestan
Kizlyar
Kizlyar
Kizlyar (Republic of Dagestan)
Coordinates: 43°51′N 46°43′E / 43.850°N 46.717°E / 43.850; 46.717
CountryRussia
Federal subjectDagestan[1]
First mentioned1609
Elevation
1 m (3 ft)
Population
 • Total48,984
 • Estimate 
(2018)[3]
48,907 (−0.2%)
 • Subordinated toTown of Kizlyar[1]
 • Capital ofKizlyarsky District,[1] Town of Kizlyar[1]
 • Urban okrugKizlyar Urban Okrug[4]
 • Capital ofKizlyar Urban Okrug,[4] Kizlyarsky Municipal District
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[5])
Postal code(s)[6]
368830–368833, 368839, 368886
OKTMO ID82730000001
Websitemo-kizlyar.ru

Etymology edit

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, meaning "girls".[a] According to Vyacheslav Nikonov, correct translation of this Turkic toponym is "red cliff".[b][7]

History edit

The first documented reference to Kizlyar dates back to 1609, although some historians associate the place with Samandar, the 8th-century capital of Khazaria.[citation needed] In 1735 the Russian government built a fortress in Kizlyar and laid foundations for the Caucasus fortified borderline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kizlyar operated as one of the trading posts between Russia and the Middle East and Central Asia. During this period, the population was largely Armenian and Russian. In 1796 2,800 Armenians and 1,000 Russians lived in Kizlyar.[8] During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Kizlyarsky Otdel of the Terek Oblast. 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.[9][10]

Administrative and municipal status edit

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kizlyar serves as the administrative center of Kizlyarsky District, even though it is not a part of it.[1] As an administrative division, it is, together with one urban-type settlement (Komsomolsky) and one rural locality (the railway crossing loop of No. 17), incorporated separately as the Town of Kizlyar—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, the Town of Kizlyar is incorporated as Kizlyar Urban Okrug.[4]

Demographics edit

Kizlyar population
2021 Census49,999[11][verification needed]
2010 Census48,984[2]
2002 Census48,457[12]
1989 Census39,748[13]
1979 Census31,320[14]

As of the 2021 Census, the town's ethnic composition was as follows:[11][verification needed]

Economy edit

In the early 19th century, Kizlyar became a center of viticulture and wine making. The local cognac factory (Kizlyar Brandy Factory) produces a variety of alcoholic beverages but specializes primarily in a regional variant of brandy, marketed throughout Russia as "cognac". Kizlyarka is a type of grape vodka produced in Kizlyar. Kizlyar is also known for traditional knife, dagger, and saber making.

Climate edit

Kizlyar has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk).

Climate data for Kizlyar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8)
2.2
(36.0)
7.3
(45.1)
16.3
(61.3)
23.1
(73.6)
27.7
(81.9)
30.2
(86.4)
29.6
(85.3)
23.9
(75.0)
16.5
(61.7)
9.1
(48.4)
3.7
(38.7)
15.9
(60.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0)
−1.3
(29.7)
3.5
(38.3)
11.1
(52.0)
17.8
(64.0)
22.4
(72.3)
25.1
(77.2)
24.3
(75.7)
18.8
(65.8)
12.0
(53.6)
5.7
(42.3)
0.9
(33.6)
11.5
(52.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.7
(21.7)
−4.3
(24.3)
−0.3
(31.5)
6.0
(42.8)
12.5
(54.5)
17.1
(62.8)
20.0
(68.0)
19.0
(66.2)
13.8
(56.8)
7.6
(45.7)
2.4
(36.3)
−1.9
(28.6)
7.2
(44.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 17
(0.7)
19
(0.7)
20
(0.8)
31
(1.2)
39
(1.5)
47
(1.9)
28
(1.1)
23
(0.9)
30
(1.2)
31
(1.2)
28
(1.1)
21
(0.8)
334
(13.1)
Source: Climate-Data.org[15]

Twin towns and sister cities edit

Kizlyar has sister city relationships with:[16]

Notable people edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Kiz – "girl"; lar – plural.
  2. ^ Kizl – "red"; yar – "cliff".

External links edit

References edit

 
St. George church in Kizlyar
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Law #16
  2. ^ a b c Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  3. ^ "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Law #6
  5. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  6. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  7. ^ Tvordyy, Alexander Vasilievich (2006). Топонимический словарь Северного Кавказа (in Russian) (1, 2 ed.). Krasnodar: Краснодарское книжное издательство.
  8. ^ Jane Burbank and David L. Ransel, Imperial Russia: New Histories of the Empire (Indiana University Press, 1998), 160.
  9. ^ TASS. "TASS: World – Four killed, four wounded by unidentified shooter in Dagestan's Kizlyar". Retrieved 18th February 2018.
  10. ^ BBC News. "Dagestan church shooting leaves five dead in Kizlyar". Retrieved 18th February 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Национальный состав населения". Rosstat. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  13. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  14. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 г. Национальный состав населения по регионам России [All Union Population Census of 1979. Ethnic composition of the population by regions of Russia] (XLS). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года [All-Union Population Census of 1979] (in Russian). 1979 – via Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics.
  15. ^ "Climate: Kizlyar". Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  16. ^ Kizlyar official site Archived March 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

Sources edit

  • Народное Собрание Республики Дагестан. Закон №16 от 10 апреля 2002 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Республики Дагестан», в ред. Закона №106 от 30 декабря 2013 г. «О внесении изменений в некоторые законодательные акты Республики Дагестан». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Дагестанская правда", №81, 12 апреля 2002 г. (People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan. Law #16 of April 10, 2002 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Dagestan, as amended by the Law #106 of December 30, 2013 On Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Dagestan. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
  • Народное Собрание Республики Дагестан. Закон №6 от 13 января 2005 г. «О статусе и границах муниципальных образований Республики Дагестан», в ред. Закона №43 от 30 апреля 2015 г. «О статусе городского округа с внутригородским делением "Город Махачкала", статусе и границах внутригородских районов в составе городского округа с внутригородским делением "Город Махачкала" и о внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Республики Дагестан». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Дагестанская правда", №8, 15 февраля 2005 г. (People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan. Law #6 of January 13, 2005 On the Status and Borders of the Municipal Formations of the Republic of Dagestan, as amended by the Law #43 of April 30, 2015 On the Status of the "City of Makhachkala" Urban Okrug with Intra-Urban Divisions, the Status and the Borders of the Intra-City Districts Comprising the "City of Makhachkala" Urban Okrug with Intra-Urban Divisions, and on Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Dagestan. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).