Tyrnyauz (russian: Тырныауз; krc, Тырныаўуз, ''Tırnıawuz'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Elbrussky District Elbrussky District (russian: Эльбру́сский райо́н; krc, Эльбрус район; Kabardian: ) is an administrativeLaw #12-RZ and a municipalLaw #13-RZ district (raion), one of the ten in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia. ...

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 ...

, located on the main road leading to the Upper Baksan valley area and on the main climbing route for

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...

. Population: Tyrnyauz is the largest town in the

Baksan Valley Baksan may refer to: * Baksan (town), in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia *Baksan Urban Okrug, a municipality which incorporates Baksan (town) *Baksan (river), in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia *Baksan Neutrino Observatory See a ...

and an essential provisioning point for trips into the Elbrus region.

History

It was founded around a

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

mine and processing plant, which still stands but is no longer in operation. Town status was granted in 1955. In July 2000, the town was devastated by a massive

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

and

mudslide A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...

. Apartment blocks were buried in mud up to the fourth floor. No reliable figures exist for the number of casualties. The town has largely recovered as of 2004, but scars are still clearly visible.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Tyrnyauz serves as the

, to which it is directly subordinated.Law #12-RZ As a municipal division, the

of Tyrnyauz is incorporated within Elbrussky Municipal District as Tyrnyauz Urban Settlement.Law #13-RZ

Demographics

Population: .

Ethnic composition

As of the 2002 Census, the ethnic distribution of the population was: *

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 ...

: 47.3% *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

: 25.3% *

Kabardins The Kabardians (Kabardian Adyghe dialect, Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; West Adyghe dialect, Lowland Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve ma ...

: 16.1% *

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 ...

: 1.4% *

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 ...

: 1.0% *Other ethnicities: 8.9%

Notable residents

Tyrnyauz is the birthplace of Valery Kokov, former President of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Kabardino-Balkaria