The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a

republic 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 ...

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-ei ...

situated in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,980. The republic's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

is the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Vladikavkaz, located on the foothills of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

Mountains. Forming 65.1% of the republic's population as of 2010, the

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 ...

are an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

ethnic group native to the republic and neighboring South Ossetia. Ossetian is an east Iranian language descended from medieval Alanic and ancient Sarmatian. Unlike many groups in the

, Ossetians are predominantly

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

. However, almost 30% of the population adheres to Ossetian ethnic religion, generally called Uatsdin (Уацдин, "True Faith"), and a sizable

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

minority exists. Ethnic

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

and Ingush, who form a majority in neighboring

Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. ...

, form substantial minorities in the republic. The Ossetia region traces its history back to the ancient Alans, who founded the

Kingdom of Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (proto-Ossetians) that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania, from its independence from t ...

in the 8th century and adopted Christianity in the 9th century. The kingdom would fall to the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

in the 13th century, and by the 17th century would be under the nominal rule of

Safavid Iran Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

. From 1774 to 1806, Ossetia was slowly incorporated into 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 ...

, which would split the region into a northern part included in 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 ...

, and a southern one included in the

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

and

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbil ...

governorates. This partition would persist in the

Soviet period The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominanc ...

, where North Ossetia was made into the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, while South Ossetia became an autonomous oblast within the Georgian SSR. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the republic experienced internal conflict like in much of the North Caucasus. In 1992, a brief ethnic war between Ossetians and the predominantly Muslim Ingush population in the

Prigorodny District Prigorodny District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia: * Prigorodny District, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, an administrative and municipal district of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania A republi ...

took place. The republic has experienced spillover from the Chechen conflict, most notably in the form of the 2004 Beslan school siege. Proposals for Russia to annex South Ossetia in order to incorporate the two as one entity exist to this day.

Ossetian cuisine Ossetian cuisine ( os, Ирон хæринæгтæ ''Iron khɐrinɐgtɐ'') refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Ossetians. Ossetian pie Fydzhin ( os, Фыдджын, russian: Фыдджин) is a type of meat pie. Three pies ( os, ...

is distinguished as an integral aspect of Ossetian culture. Ossetian-style pies such as ''Fydzhin'' (a meat pie) are a quintessential component of Ossetian cuisine. The "three pies" concept holds special symbolic significance, and representing the Sun, Earth, and water.

Name

In the last years of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, as nationalist movements swept throughout the Caucasus, many intellectuals in the

North Ossetian ASSR The North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( os, Цӕгат Ирыстоны Автономон Советон Социалистон Республикӕ, Tsagât Ireštone Âvtonomon Šovêton Šotsiâlišton Rêšpublika; russian: ...

called for the revival of the name of Alania, a medieval kingdom of the Alans. The term "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 "Alania" was officially added to the republic's title (Republic of North Ossetia–Alania).

Geography

The republic is located in the

. The northern part of the republic is situated in the Stavropol Plain. 22% of the republic's territory is covered by forests. *''Area:'' *''Borders:'' **''internal:'' Kabardino-Balkaria (W/NW/N),

Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and i ...

(N),

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

(NE/E),

(E/SE) **''international:'' Georgia (including South Ossetia; Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Shida Kartli) (SE/S/SW) *Highest point:

Mount Kazbek Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus, located on the Russian-Georgian border - in Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia's Kazbegi District. At 5,034 m (16,515 ft) high, i ...

() *Maximum north–south distance: *Maximum east–west distance:

Rivers

All of the republic's rivers belong to the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

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.

is the highest point (5,033 m), with

Mount Dzhimara Mount Dzhimara or Jimara ( os, Джимарайы хох — ''Jimarayy khokh'', ka, ჯიმარა) is the second highest point of North Ossetia–Alania, a Russian republic, with an altitude of . It is located on the border between Russia ...

being the second-highest (4,780 m).

Natural resources

Natural resources include minerals (

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

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 ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

), timber, mineral waters, hydroelectric power, and untapped reserves of oil and gas.

Climate

The climate is moderately continental. *''Average January temperature'': *''Average July temperature'': *''Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

'': in the plains; over in the mountains.

History

Early history: Kingdom of Alania and Middle Ages

The territory of North Ossetia was first inhabited by Caucasian tribes. Some

Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

ic Alans settled in the region in the 7th century, forming the Kingdom of Alania. It was eventually converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

by missionaries from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

. Alania greatly profited from the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

which passed through its territory. At the time of the Mongol invasions of nearby Durdzuketia (modern

and

), the Kingdom of Alania was multiethnic and included Dzurdzuks in its population. After the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the

' and Tartars' repeated invasions decimated the population, now known as the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

was introduced to the region in the 17th century by

Kabard 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 t ...

ians.

Russian imperial rule (1806–1917)

Conflicts between the Khanate of Crimea and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

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. 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.

Soviet period (1917–1990)

The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in North Ossetia being merged into the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist 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 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it was subject to a number of attacks by Nazi German invaders unsuccessfully trying to seize Vladikavkaz in 1942. The North Ossetian ASSR declared itself the autonomous republic of the Soviet Union on 20 June 1990. Its name was changed to the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in 1994.

Russian Federation period (1990–present)

The

posed particular problems for the Ossetian people, who were divided between North Ossetia, which was part of the

, and South Ossetia, part of the Georgian SSR. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR abolished the autonomous Ossetian enclave amid the rising ethnic tensions in the region, which was further fanned by Moscow; a lot of the conflict zone population, faced with the ethnic cleansing, was forced to flee across the border to either North Ossetia or Georgia proper. As a result, some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia. Additionally, North Ossetia provoked the predominantly Ingush population in the

, which sparked the

Ossetian–Ingush conflict The East Prigorodny conflict, also referred to as the Ossetian–Ingush conflict, was an inter-ethnic conflict in the eastern part of the Prigorodny District in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, which started in 1989 and developed, in 199 ...

. The results of the conflict were that 7,000 Ossetians and 64,000 Ingush refugees had to flee their homes. On 23 March 1995, North Ossetia–Alania signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy. However, this agreement was abolished on 2 September 2002. Following the ''de facto'' independence of South Ossetia, there have been proposals in this state of joining Russia and uniting with North Ossetia. 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 wars around them. This notably manifested in the form of the 2004 Beslan school siege by Chechen terrorists.

Administrative divisions

Economy

In recent years, North Ossetia–Alania's economic development has been successful; the indicators of the republic's social and economic development between 2005 and 2007 revealed a stable growth of all sectors of the economy and major social parameters. The nature and climatic conditions of the republic contribute to the successful development of various economic sectors, which is compounded by the abundance of natural resources. Gross regional product pro capita of the region in 2006 was 61,000 rubles ($2,596) and increased 30% in the 2005–2007 time period. GRP pro capita in 2007 was 76,455 rubles. From 2005 to 2007, the average monthly wage in North Ossetia–Alania doubled, with the actual cash earnings increased by 42.5 percent. In terms of the average monthly wage growth, the Republic ranks first in the North Caucasus. The regional government's economic priorities include industrial growth, development of small enterprise, spas, and resorts, and strengthening the budgetary and tax discipline. The largest companies in the region include Elektrozinc, Sevkavkazenergo, Pobedit (tungsten and molybdenum producer). Fiagdon

Natural resources, agriculture, and industry

The most widespread resources are

- and

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 cut, ...

-containing complex ores. There are deposits of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, and

touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

. There is also a large availability of construction materials, such as

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

, and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

. The local oil deposit reserves are estimated at 10 million metric tons. The agricultural sector is varied and specializes in the cultivation of wheat, corn, and sunflowers; horticulture; viticulture; and cattle and sheep breeding. North Ossetia's industry is mainly concentrated in Vladikavkaz. Major companies located here include Elektrotsink, Gazoapparat, an instrument-making plant, Elektrokontraktor, a factory producing automotive electrical equipment, a large-panel construction complex, and companies in the food industry. The Sadonsky industrial center has grown around the mining and forest industries.

Tourism

Despite the proximity to Chechnya, North Ossetia is making efforts to develop its tourist industry. Projects under a program for spa, resort, and tourism development have been successfully implemented in the mountainous part of the republic, according to the head of the regional government. There are nearly 3,000 historical monuments in the Republic and more than half of its area is occupied by Alania National Park, the North Ossetia National Preserve, and game preserves. There are more than 250 therapeutic, mineral, and freshwater springs in the republic with estimated daily reserves of 15,000 cubic meters. Besides providing the basis for health spas, these mineral waters also have the potential to be bottled and sold. North Ossetian mineral waters are known for their unique qualities, as well as special mineral composition.

Infrastructure

In terms of its infrastructure, North Ossetia–Alania ranks second in the Southern Federal District and 10th in the nation. The republic has some of the most extensive telecommunication networks in the

region and in

. It ranks first in terms of its telecom network installations in the Southern Federal District. The republic ranks fourth in Russia in terms of its paved roads, and its expanding transport and logistics complex provides communication networks between Russia and the South Caucasus, as well as Central Asia. The complex includes two federal highways (

Georgian Military Road The Georgian Military Road or Georgian Military Highway (, 'sakartvelos samkhedro gza'' , os, Арвыкомы фæндаг 'Arvykomy fændag'' is the historic name for a major route through the Caucasus from Georgia to Russia. Alternative ...

connects Vladikavkaz with

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

) running across

the Greater Caucasus Range ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, two customs checkpoints for cars, a developed railway network, Vladikavkaz international airport, and well-equipped transport terminals.

Demographics

Population: Number of refugees: 12,570 Life expectancy: File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -North Ossetia.png, Life expectancy at birth in North Ossetia File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -North Ossetia -diff.png, Life expectancy with calculated differences File:Life expectancy in Russia -North Ossetia.png, Life expectancy in North Ossetia in comparison with neighboring regions of the country

Settlements

Vital statistics

Ethnic groups

The majority of the population of North Ossetia are Christians who belong to the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, although there is also a

minority who are of Ossetian-speaking origin. According to the 2010 Census,

make up 65.1% of the republic's population. Other groups include

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

(20.8%), Ingush (4.0%),

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

(2.3%), Kumyks (2.3%),

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, ...

(1.3%),

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

(0.4%), Chechens (0.3%), and Caucasus Greeks (0.2%).

Languages

There are two official languages in North Ossetia: Russian, which is official in all Russian territory, and Ossetian. Ossetian is an

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...

language, belonging to the

East Iranian The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from c. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian diale ...

group. Ossetian is one of the few Iranic languages spoken natively in Europe. Russian, acting as a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

in the region, is an East Slavic language and as such also belongs to the Indo-European family, which means the two languages are related, albeit distantly.

Religion

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people, 49% of the population of North Ossetia–Alania adheres to the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, 10% declare to be unaffiliated

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

believers, 2% are either Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to churches or members of non-Russian Orthodox bodies. The second-largest religion is Ossetian ethnic religion, generally called Uatsdin (Уацдин, "True Faith"), a

Scythian religion The Scythian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Scythian cultures, a collection of closely related ancient Iranian peoples who inhabited Central Asia and the Pontic–Caspian steppe in Eastern Europe through ...

organized into movements such as the ''Atsætæ'' Church, comprising 29% of the population.

s constitute 15% of the population, and

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

the 1%. In addition, 1% of the population declares to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...

" and 3% to be

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

Education

The most important facilities of higher education include North Caucasus State Technological University, North Ossetian State University, North Ossetian State Medical Academy, and Mountain State Agrarian University – all in Vladikavkaz.

Politics

During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period, the high authority in the

was shared between three people; the first secretary of the North Ossetia

Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...

(CPSU) Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the Republic Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Republic administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament. The Charter of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania is the fundamental law of the region. The Parliament of North Ossetia–Alania is the republic's regional standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Republic's Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the krai Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia. The head of government in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania is the Head of the Republic. The current head of the republic is

Sergey Menyaylo Sergey Ivanovich Menyaylo (Russian: Сергей Иванович Меняйло, os, Меняйло Сергей Иваны фырт; born 22 August 1960) is a Russian politician. He has been acting Head of the Republic of North Ossetia since ...

. Taymuraz Mamsurov succeeded

Alexander Dzasokhov Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dzasokhov (russian: Александр Серге́евич Дзасохов) is the former head of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. Biography He was born 3 April 1934, in Vladikavkaz, graduated in 1957 from the Nort ...

as head on 31 May 2005 following the Beslan school siege.

Culture

There are six professional theaters in North Ossetia–Alania, as well as Ossetian State Philharmonia.

Gallery

File:A164 highway (Russia) 29 km (Republic of North Ossetia).jpg,

Transcaucasian Highway The Transcaucasian Highway (russian: Транскавказская автомагистраль) or TransKAM (ТрансКАМ) is a mountain highway in the South Caucasus region, connecting southern Russia and Georgia. Geography As the A164 hig ...

File:North Osetia Alania, road to Tskhinval - panoramio.jpg, Sculpture in honor of Uastyrdzhi Uastyrdzhi File:In Dargavs North Ossetia.jpg, Necropolis near settlement

Dargavs Dargavs ( os, Дæргъæвс, ''Dærğæws'') is a settlement in Prigorodny District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located on the Gizeldon River. Dargavs was a center of the Ossetian province of Tagauria. City of the Dea ...

File:Лезгор, Осетия, Село Лезгор в облаках, Ossetia.jpg, North Ossetian landscape File:Mineral lake ossetia.JPG, Mineral lake in the gorge of the river Ardon River

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania
* (archived
Official website of the Parliament of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania
* {{DEFAULTSORT:North Ossetia-Alania 1991 establishments in Russia North Caucasian Federal District North Caucasus Ossetia Regions of Europe with multiple official languages Russian-speaking countries and territories States and territories established in 1991