Alagir (russian: Алаги́р; os, Алагир) is an industrial
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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Alagirsky District
Alagirsky District (russian: Алаги́рский райо́н; os, Алагиры район, ''Alagiry rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #34-RZ and municipalLaw #11-RZ district (raion), one of the eight in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alani ...
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 ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, located on the west bank of the
Ardon River
The Ardon (russian: Ардон, os, Ӕрыдон, ''Ærydon'') is a river in North Ossetia–Alania in Russia, a left tributary of the Terek.capital
Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...
. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 20,949.
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
, near an ancient
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
/
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
mine in the nearby
Alagir Gorge
Alagir (russian: Алаги́р; os, Алагир) is an industrial town and the administrative center of Alagirsky District in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, located on the west bank of the Ardon River, west of the republic's ...
. It was built up as a fortification around a smelting plant and became a major mining center. By the end of the 19th century, it had been increasingly populated by Georgians and
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
who came to work there. During the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
, in January 1919, Alagir was a scene of intense fighting, which resulted in heavy casualties in Georgian population and difficult flight of the survivors through the mountainous passes into
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The Soviet leader
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
commented on the incident, blaming "counter-revolutionaries" for atrocities in Alagir, which Georgians tend to attribute to the Ossetian radicals.
Alagir was granted town status in 1938. 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 opposing ...
, on November 5, 1942, the German
III Panzer Corps
III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II.
III Army Corps
The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Gro ...
and Romanian 2nd Mountain Division (under
von Kleist
The House of Kleist is the name of an old and distinguished Pomeranian Prussian noble family, whose members obtained many important military positions within the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire.
Notable members
* Henning Alex ...
) captured the town and held it until it was recovered by the Soviet forces in early January 1943.
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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Alagirsky District
Alagirsky District (russian: Алаги́рский райо́н; os, Алагиры район, ''Alagiry rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #34-RZ and municipalLaw #11-RZ district (raion), one of the eight in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alani ...
.Law #34-RZ As an administrative division, it is, together with two rural localities, incorporated within Alagirsky District as Alagir Town Under District Jurisdiction. As a municipal division, the town of Alagir (without the rural localities) is incorporated within Alagirsky Municipal District as Alagirskoye Urban Settlement.Law #11-RZ
Economy
The town's economy is still dominated by mining and mineral extraction, but it also has significant woodworking, canning, and manufacturing industries.
Demographics
Major ethnic groups comprising the town's population, as of 2002, are:
*
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 ...
: 91.1%
*
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
: 6.2%
Notable people
*
Stanislav Cherchesov
Stanislav Salamovich Cherchesov (russian: Станислав Саламович Черчесов, ; os, Черчесты Саламы фырт Станислав, Ĉerĉesty Salamy fyrt Stanislav; born 2 September 1963) is a Russian football ma ...
, association football manager and former player
*
Aslan Dudiyev
Aslan Muratovich Dudiyev (russian: Аслан Муратович Дудиев; born 15 June 1990) is a Russian professional football player. He plays as a right-back for FC Baltika Kaliningrad.
Club career
He made his Russian Premier League d ...
, professional association football player
*
Khetag Gazyumov
Khetag Gazyumov (also Gozyumov, os, Гозымты Русланы фырт Хетæг, ''Gozymty Ruslany fyrt Xetæg''; russian: Хетаг Русланович Гозюмов, ''Khetag Ruslanovich Gozyumov''; az, Xetaq Qazümov; born 24 April ...
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 ...