North Ossetia–Alania, officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (South Ossetia) to the south, and the Russian federal subjects of Kabardino-Balkaria to the west, Stavropol Krai to the north, Chechnya to the east and Ingushetia to the southeast. Its population according to the 2021 Census was 687,357. The republic’s capital city is Vladikavkaz, located on the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.
The majority of the republic's population (68.1% as of 2021) are Ossetians, an Iranian ethnic group native to the republic and neighboring South Ossetia. Ossetian is an east Iranian language descended from the medieval Alanic and ancient Sarmatian languages. Unlike many ethnic groups in the North Caucasus, the majority of Ossetians are Christians, predominantly Eastern Orthodox. Almost 30% of the population adheres to Ossetian ethnic religion, generally called Uatsdin (Уацдин, "True Faith"), and there is a sizable Muslim minority. Ethnic Russians and Ingush, who form a majority in neighboring Ingushetia, form substantial minorities in the republic.
The Ossetia region traces its history back to the ancient Alans, who founded the Kingdom of Alania in the 8th century and adopted Christianity in the 9th century. The kingdom would fall to the Mongols in the 13th century. From 1774 to 1806, Ossetia was slowly incorporated into the Russian Empire, which would split the region into a northern part included in the Terek Oblast, and a southern one included in the Tiflis and Kutaisi governorates. This partition would persist in the Soviet period, when North Ossetia was made into the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian SFSR, while South Ossetia became an autonomous oblast within the Georgian SSR.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, 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 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 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, as nationalist movements swept throughout the Caucasus, many intellectuals in the North Ossetian ASSR 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, TV channels, 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).Shnirelman, Victor (2006). The Politics of a Name: Between Consolidation and Separation in the Northern Caucasus. Acta Slavica Iaponica 23, pp. 37–49.
History
Early history: Kingdom of Alania and Middle Ages According to Georgian sources, the Iberians and the ancestors of the Ossetians established contacts during the Iberian–Armenian War
Alania greatly profited from the Silk Road which passed through its territory.
According to the 10th-century historian Al-Masudi, indicates that the Alan kingdom stretched from Dagestan to Abkhazia.
In the 13th century the Mongols invaded Alania. In 1220, Genghis Khan sent his military leaders Subutai and Jebe on a campaign to reach “eleven countries and peoples”, among which were “Kibchayts” (Kipchak Turks), “Orosut” (Kievan Rus), “Serkesut” (Circassia), “Asut” (Alania).
In 1239 the capital of Alania, Maghas, and other cities were destroyed. After these events the Alans were forced to flee to the mountain gorges and leave the flat lands. Islam was introduced to the region in the 17th century by Kabardians.
Russian imperial rule (1806–1917) Conflicts between the Khanate of Crimea and the Ottoman Empire 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. The Georgian Military Road, which is still a crucial transport link across the mountains, was built in 1799 and a railway line was built from Vladikavkaz to Rostov-on-Don in Russia proper. In 1830, a military campaign led by General Ivane Abkhazi brought North Ossetia under tighter control of the Russian Empire. By 1830, 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.
An estimated 50,000 Ossetians left the Caucasus during the early 1860s as part of a greater migration of Muslims from the region to the Ottoman Empire due to Russia's activities there.Giorgi Chochiev, “Evolution of a North Caucasian Community in Late Ottoman and Republican Turkey: The Case of Anatolian Ossetians,” in Anthony Gorman and Sossie Kasbarian, eds., Diasporas of the Modern Middle East: Contextualising Community, Edinburgh, p. 106.
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, 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 dissolution of the Soviet Union posed particular problems for the Ossetian people, who were divided between North Ossetia, which was part of the Russian SFSR, 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.
Due to the large number of weapons in the hands of the Ossetian and Ingush population, the Ossetian-Ingush conflict flared up, due to which from 30,000 to 60,000 Ingush were forced to leave North Ossetia. 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.
Geography The republic is located in the North Caucasus. 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 (N), Chechnya (NE/E), Ingushetia (E/SE) international: Georgia (including South Ossetia; Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Shida Kartli) (SE/S/SW) Highest point: Mount Kazbek () Maximum north–south distance: Maximum east–west distance:
Rivers All of the republic’s rivers belong to the drainage basin 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 (75 km) Sunzha River (278 km)
Mountains
All of the mountains located on the territory of the republic are a part of the Caucasus. Mount Kazbek is the highest point (5,033 m), with Mount Jimara being the second-highest (4,780 m).
Natural resources Natural resources include minerals (copper, silver, zinc), 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 the plains; over in the mountains.
Politics
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the republic was shared between three people; the first secretary of the North Ossetia Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast 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. Taymuraz Mamsurov succeeded Aleksandr Dzasokhov as head on 31 May 2005 following the Beslan school siege.
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.Валовой региональный продукт на душу населения Федеральная служба государственной статистики 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).
Natural resources, agriculture, and industry