Nalchik (russian: Нальчик, p=ˈnalʲtɕɪk;
Kabardian: //; krc, Нальчик //) is the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of the
Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, ''Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika''; kbd, Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, ''Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublik ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
; about northwest of
Beslan
Beslan (russian: Бесла́н; os, Беслӕн, ''Beslæn'', ) is a town and the administrative center of Pravoberezhny District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located about north of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz, ...
(Beslan is in the
Republic of North Ossetia–Alania
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
). It covers an area of . Population:
History
The territory of modern-day Nalchik was formerly known as Slabada. It was inhabited by native
Kabardians
The Kabardians ( Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Lowland Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of th ...
,
Balkars
The Balkars ( krc, Малкъарлыла, Malqarlıla or Таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Casp ...
, Chechens, Adeki, and Cherkese, until around 1743; groups occasionally clashed over and dispute their claims to the land. The modern city dates from the early 19th century when the expanding
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
built a fort there together with settling
Mountain Jews
Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...
in 1818; this date is seen at the top of the city's
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
. With the founding of the city of Nalchik, the disputes among the native groups calmed and life improved for the people in the region.
In 1838, a Russian military settlement was founded in the city, and after the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, in the year 1921, Nalchik was given the status of administrative center of
Kabardin Autonomous Oblast
The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the Kabardino-Balkaria region of the Soviet Union. The Oblast was formed in 1921 as the Kabardin Autonomous Oblast before becoming the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Obl ...
. During the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, the settlement was the administrative capital of the
Nalchiksky Okrug of the
Terek Oblast
The Terek Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, roughly corresponding to the central part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Тhe ''оblast'' was created out of the former territories of t ...
.
The word "Nalchik" literally means "small horseshoe" in
Kabardian (or Circassian, a
Northwest Caucasian
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called West Caucasian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, Abkhazo-Circassian, Circassic, or sometimes ''Pontic languages'' (from the historical region of Pontus, in contrast to ''Caspian languages'' for the Northeast Cauc ...
language) and
Karachay-Balkar
Karachay-Balkar (, ), or Mountain Turkic (, ), is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia, European Russia, as well as by an immigrant population in Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey. I ...
(a
Turkic language). It is a diminutive of ''na'l'', a common Middle Eastern word (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
) for "horseshoe", possibly from the ancient
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
, 'nalak" (horseshoe). The city of Nalchik was named this way because of how it is shaped as surrounded by the mountains of the land, and the
Nalchik River is named after the city it runs across.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, on 2 November 1942, Nalchik was occupied by Romanian mountain troops (''
Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places:
Romania
* Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County
* Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County
* Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County
* Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș C ...
'') under the command of Brigadier General
Ioan Dumitrache
Ioan Dumitrache (25 August 1889 – 6 March 1977) was a Romanian major general during World War II, in command of the 2nd Mountain Division. His troops ('' vânători de munte'') were recognized as the elite troops of the Romanian Army throughout ...
, its capture earning the Romanian General the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The Knight' ...
. The city was heavily damaged during the conflict. General Dumitrache went to great length ordering his troops to protect local population during the time Nalchik was occupied by Romanian forces. Professor A. N. Dainaco, the Mayor of Nalchik at that time, thanked General Dumitrache for liberating the city. Although he was accused of war crimes, General Dumitrache was fully exonerated after the war by a joint Soviet and Romanian judicial commission.
Due to the harsh treatment of Jewish People by the Soviet Union, there has been a mass exodus of Jews from Nalchik over the decades, reducing the population that is left to a small percentage of what once was.
The historic River Nalchik was at its strongest until the 1950s, until the outflow from the mountains began to decrease.
In 1990, there was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Nalchik.
Nalchik was chosen the "second cleanest city of Russia" in 2003.
On October 13, 2005, Nalchik was
attacked by a large group of
Yarmuk Jamaat
The United Vilayat of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachai (UVKBK, russian: Объединенный вилайят Кабарды, Балкарии и Карачая), also known as Vilayat KBK, was a militant Islamist Jihadist organization connected to ...
militants led by
Shamil Basayev
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...
and
Anzor Astemirov
Anzor Astemirov (russian: Анзор Астемиров, 3 December 1976 – 24 March 2010), also known as Emir Sayfullah (Sword of God), was an Islamist leader of a terrorist group in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the North ...
. Buildings associated with the Russian security forces were targeted, killing at least 14 civilians and wounding 115. Thirty-five policemen were killed in the fighting and eighty-nine militants, including prominent leader
Ilias Gorchkhanov, were killed while another fifty-nine were arrested.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with four rural localities, incorporated as the
city of republic significance of Nalchik—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 o ...
.
[Law #12-RZ] As a
municipal division, the city of republic significance of Nalchik is incorporated as Nalchik Urban Okrug.
[Law #13-RZ]
Ethnic groups
The population of the city in 2006 included the following breakdown by ethnicity:
*
Kabardians
The Kabardians ( Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Lowland Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of th ...
(Adiga) (42.3%)
*
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
(28.3%)
*
Balkars
The Balkars ( krc, Малкъарлыла, Malqarlıla or Таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Casp ...
(Taulu) (15.2%)
*others (13.2%)
2002 census data is as follows:
*
Kabardians
The Kabardians ( Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Lowland Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of th ...
(47.3%)
*
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
(31.8%)
*
Balkars
The Balkars ( krc, Малкъарлыла, Malqarlıla or Таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Casp ...
(11.4%)
*
Ossetians
The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the no ...
(1.9%)
*
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
(1.0%)
Economy and education
Nalchik is a
balneological
Balneotherapy ( la, balneum "bath") is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic eff ...
and mountain
climatotherapy
Climatotherapy refers to temporary or permanent relocation of a patient to a region with a climate more favourable to recovery from or management of a condition. Examples include:
* The partial pressure of oxygen is lower at high altitude, so pers ...
resort, with several
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
s. It also serves as an industrial center of the republic (non-ferrous metallurgy, light industry, construction materials manufacturing, machine building).
Nalchik is home to the following facilities of higher education:
*
Kabardino-Balkarian State University
Kabardino-Balkarian State University (KBSU); russian: Кабардино-Балкарский государственный университет имени Х. М. Бербекова ''Kabardino_Balkarskii gosudarstvennii universitet imeni H. ...
*
North Caucasian State Institute of Arts
*
Kabardino-Balkarian State Agricultural Academy
Climate
Nalchik has a
hot-summer humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''Dfa'') with hot summers and no dry season. The warm season lasts from late May to mid-September and the cold season from December to March. Most forms of precipitation are light rain and thunderstorms, as well as light snow and moderate snow. Wind speeds are typically calm to a light breeze through the year.
Sports
PFC Spartak Nalchik
PFC Spartak Nalchik (russian: Профессиональный футбольный клуб "Спартак Нальчик") is a Russian association football club based in Nalchik that plays in the third-tier FNL 2. They played in the Russian ...
is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in Nalchik, playing in the
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
. The
2008 World Women's Chess Championship has also been held in Nalchik on August 28–September 18, 2008.
Notable people
*
Khadzhimurat Akkayev
Khadzhimurat Magomedovich Akkaev (russian: Хаджимурат Магомедович Аккаев; born March 27, 1985 in Tyrnyauz, Kabardino-Balkaria, USSR) is a Russian weightlifter.
Career
Akkaev competed in the men's 94 kg category at ...
, Olympic weightlifter, born 1985
*
Astemir Apanasov,
Circassian singer, musician, composer, and actor
*
Viktor Belenko
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
, death_date =
, death_place =
, nationality = AmericanRussian
, other_names =
, occupation = ...
, Soviet pilot who defected with a
MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...
, landing in Hakodate, Japan
*
Dima Bilan
Dima Nikolayevich Bilan (russian: Ди́ма Никола́евич Била́н; born Viktor Nikolayevich Belan, russian: Ви́ктор Никола́евич Бела́н, links=no; 24 December 1981) is a Russian singer, songwriter and acto ...
, singer, born 1981
*
Felix Frankl, Austrian and Soviet mathematician, physicist and aerodynamics (1905–1961)
*
Andre Geim
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Sochi, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
, death_date =
, death_place =
, workplaces =
, nationality = Dutch and British
, fields = Condensed matter physics
...
, Soviet, British and Netherlands physicist; Nobel laureate
*
Muhadin Kishev, Soviet and Spanish artist, born 1938
*
Andrei Kolkoutine
Andrei Kolkoutine (russian: Андрей Колкутин born in 1957, in Smolyaninovo, Primorsky Krai) is a Russian artist. In 1982 Kolkoutine graduated at the Repin Academy of Arts in Leningrad, named after Ilya Repin. Currently Kolkoutine l ...
painter, born 1957
*
Azamat Kuliev
Azamat Kaisynovich Kuliev (born March 1, 1963) is a Russian artist of Balkar origin. Kuliev was born in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, to the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev and his Ingush wife Maka. His elder brother, Alim Kouliev, i ...
, painter, born 1963
*
Eldar Kuliev
Eldar Kaisynovich Kuliev (31 December 1951 – 14 January 2017) was a Russian Soviet film director and screenwriter. He was born in Frunze to Kaisyn Kuliev, an acclaimed Balkar poet and Maka, his Ingush wife, during the deportation of the Balk ...
, film director, screenwriter, born 1951
*
Alim Kouliev
Alim Kaisynovich Kouliev (born June 24, 1959) is a Soviet-born American actor, theatre director, and screenwriter of Balkar origin. Kouliev was born in Nalchik — a small city in USSR. His father was the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev and his mot ...
, actor, theater director, born 1959
*
Katya Lel
Ekaterina Nikolayevna Chuprinina (russian: link=no, Екатерина Николаевна Чупринина), better known by her stage name Katya Lel (russian: link=no, Катя Лель), is a Russian pop singer.
Early life
Chuprinina was ...
, singer, born in 1974
*
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...
, ex-FSB officer turned anti-Putin activist, born 1962, poisoned with
polonium-210
Polonium-210 (210Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes. First i ...
and died 2006.
*
Leo Mol
Leonid Molodozhanyn, known as Leo Mol, (January 15, 1915 – July 4, 2009) was a Ukrainian Canadian stained glass artist, painter and sculptor.
History
Born Leonid Molodozhanyn in Polonne, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), Mol learned the art o ...
, Soviet and Canadian artist and sculptor (1915–2009)
*
Nikolay Pavlov, professional footballer, born 1987
*
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin.
Early life
...
, orchestra conductor, born 1938
*
Mikhail Zalikhanov, academician of
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
, born 1939
Twin towns and sister cities
*
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
*
Kayseri
Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
*
Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
*
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, United States
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
Nalcik. Official Website of Kabardino-Balkaria
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Kabardino-Balkaria
Terek Oblast
Spa towns in Russia
Populated places established in 1818
Holocaust locations in Russia
1818 establishments in the Russian Empire