Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze, Dzaudzhikau, is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek River. The city's population was 311,693 as of the 2021 Census, making it one of the most populous cities in the North Caucasus region.
The city is an industrial and transportation centre. Manufactured products include processed zinc and lead, machinery, chemicals, clothing and food products.
Etymology
The name Vladikavkaz, derived from Russian, literally means 'ruler of the Caucasus'. The Ossetian name Dzæudžyqæu literally means 'Dzaug's settlement', where qæu ('village') is a cognate of the Khotanese Saka word āguv ('village') and the Avestan word gava ('district').
In 1911, Dmitry Rakovich wrote that the Ossetians prove that fortress was founded on the site of the Ingush village Zaur by the name of Vladikavkaz in the Ossetian language:
...by their name of Vladikavkaz Dzaudzhi-Kau, the Ossetians confirm this opinion, since Dzauag is a proper name Zaur, and Kau means a village; otherwise - the village of Zaur.
In 1931, at the suggestion of the Ingush Regional Executive Committee, the city of Vladikavkaz was renamed Ordzhonikidze in honor of the Soviet political and military leader Sergo Ordzhonikidze, who during the Civil War established Soviet power in the region.
In 1944, after the deportation of the Chechens and Ingush, the city of Ordzhonikidze was renamed the city of Dzaudzhikau, and in 1954 again Ordzhonikidze. In 1990, the city acquired a double name: Vladikavkaz in Russian and Dzaudzhikau in Ossetian.
History
The city was founded in 1784 as a Russian fortress at the entrance to the Darial Gorge near to the Ingush village Zaur, which had the purpose of serving as an outpost for the routes of communication between Russia and Georgia. But according to a lot of other sources, Vladikavkaz was founded on the site of the Ossetian village of Kapkai.
The Georgian Military Highway, crossing the mountains, was constructed in 1799 to link the city with Georgia to the south, and in 1875 a railway was built to connect it to Rostov-on-Don and Baku in Azerbaijan. Vladikavkaz has become an important industrial centre for the region, with smelting, refining, chemicals and manufacturing industries. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Vladikavkazsky Okrug of the Terek Oblast.
The city is one of the largest in the Russian-controlled Caucasus, along with Grozny, and was the capital of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, a Soviet Republic established after the annexation of the Mountainous Republic of the North Caucasus. It existed from 1921 to 1924 and comprised most of the modern-day territories of Chechnya, North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
Vladikavkaz was fought over in both the Russian Civil War and World War II. In February 1919, the anti-Communist Volunteer Army under General Anton Denikin seized the city, before being expelled by the Red Army in March 1920. In early November 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany tried unsuccessfully to seize the city but were repelled by the Soviet army. The Nazis left North Ossetia in January 1943.
On 26 November 2008, Vitaly Karayev, the mayor of Vladikavkaz, was assassinated by an unidentified gunman. On 31 December 2008, his successor, Kazbek Pagiyev, was also assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
Administrative and municipal status
The Administrative divisions of Vladikavkaz is composed of four districts.
- Zaterechny district
- Iristonsky district
- Promishlenny district
- Severo-Zapadny district
Vladikavkaz is the capital of the republic. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with six rural localities, incorporated as Vladikavkaz City Under Republic Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Vladikavkaz City Under Republic Jurisdiction is incorporated as Vladikavkaz Urban Okrug.
Transportation
The city is served by the bus network (marshrutkas). There are also tram (since 1904) and trolleybus (since 1977) networks, plus the main Vladikavkaz railway station.
The city is served by Beslan Airport located about 9 kilometres from the city.
The Georgian Military Road, which is a part of European route E117, starts in Vladikavkaz and it connects the city with the South Caucasus.
Population
According to the 1917 publication of the Kavkazskiy kalendar, Vladikavkaz had 73,243 residents in 1916, the national composition was as follows:
According to the results of the 2021 Census, the city population of Vladikavkaz was 311,338. The ethnic makeup of city's population was:
Sports
FC Spartak Vladikavkaz was an association football club based in Vladikavkaz, which won the Russian Premier League in 1995. The club folded in 2020, and was succeeded by FC Alania Vladikavkaz.
Vladikavkaz is home the Wrestling Academy of Aslan Khadartsev - the biggest wrestling academy in the South of Russia. It provides access to a number of facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, gym, personal dietitians, dorm rooms (which include a TV, comfortable beds, wardrobes, en-suite bathroom and showers), for 45 athletes and the main training hall, consisting of six mats- this academy is capable of hosting 250 wrestlers at one time.
Main sights
The Mukhtarov Mosque, built in 1906, dominates the city.
In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, 198 meters (650 ft) tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.
Education
Higher education
Religion
The city's primary religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which is followed by the majority of Ossetians, Russians and Georgians. The rest of the Ossetian population adheres to the next largest religion, Sunni Islam, and to Uatsdin, an Ossetian folk religion, which is followed by 29% of the population nationwide. The remainder follow Protestantism, Armenian Orthodoxy and other beliefs.
Twin towns and sister cities
Vladikavkaz is twinned with:
Geography
Climate
Vladikavkaz experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb/Dwb) with warm, wet summers and cold, drier winters (though very mild for Russia).
Notable people
- ANIVAR (born 1997), Russian videoblogger and singer of Armenian descent
- Serob Grigoryan (born 1995), professional footballer
- Arthur Stepanyan (born 1987), former professional football player
- Vazgen Safaryants (born 1984), boxer
- Miyagi & Andy Panda, rappers
- Barsegh Kirakosyan (born 1982), Russian-born Armenian football coach and a former defender
- Nikolai Baratov (1865–1932), Cossack ataman and Imperial Russian Army General during WWI and the Russian Civil War.
- Ivan Prokhanov (1869–1935), Russian, Soviet, and emigre religious figure, engineer, poet, preacher, theologian, and politician
- Nureddin Akhriev (1904–1987), Ingush historian, caucasologist, arabist, encyclopedist, orientalist, translator.
- Lyubov Streicher (1888–1958), composer and founding member of the Society for Jewish Folk Music
- Alexander Kemurdzhian (1921–2003), Soviet mechanical engineer, best known for designing Lunokhod 1, the first ever planetary rover for space exploration
- Norat Ter-Grigoryants (born 1936), Soviet and Armenian general, prominent in his role in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War
- David Baev (born 1997), World champion freestyle wrestler
- Svitlana Bilyayeva (born 1946), archaeologist
- Stanislav Buchnev (born 1990), Russian-Armenian footballer, member of the Armenia national football team
- Lado Davydov (1924–1987), Soviet soldier, Hero of the Soviet Union
- Murat Gassiev (born 1993), professional boxer, unified cruiserweight world champion
- Valery Gazzaev (born 1954), Russian football manager and former footballer
- Valery Gergiev (born 1953), Russian conductor and opera company director
- Kazbek Hudalov (born 1959), Soviet soldier
- Ilia II of Georgia (1933–2026), Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church
- Vitaly Kaloyev (born 1956), convicted murderer and former architect
- Aslan Karatsev (born 1993), Russian tennis player
- Dmitri Kobesov (born 1998), footballer
- Safarbek Malsagov (1868–1944), Russian general
- Oleg Penkovsky (1919–1963), Soviet military intelligence officer
- Issa Pliyev (1903–1979), Soviet military commander, twice Hero of the Soviet Union
- Vyacheslav Voronin (born 1974), Russian high jumper, gold medallist at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics