Nalchik ' onMouseout='HidePop("19696")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kabardian_language">Kabardian
The Kabardian language is closely related to the Adyghe language , both members of the Northwest Caucasian language family. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...
: Налшык;
BalkarThe Karachay-Balkar language is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars. It is divided into two dialects: Karachay which pronounces two phonemes as and , and Balkar, which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as and .- Alphabet :Modern Karachay-Balkar alphabet-Bibliography:*...
: Нальчик) is a city in the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
region of southern
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and capital of the
Kabardino-Balkar RepublicThe Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus...
.
Nalchik ' onMouseout='HidePop("19696")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kabardian_language">Kabardian
The Kabardian language is closely related to the Adyghe language , both members of the Northwest Caucasian language family. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...
: Налшык;
BalkarThe Karachay-Balkar language is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars. It is divided into two dialects: Karachay which pronounces two phonemes as and , and Balkar, which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as and .- Alphabet :Modern Karachay-Balkar alphabet-Bibliography:*...
: Нальчик) is a city in the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
region of southern
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and capital of the
Kabardino-Balkar RepublicThe Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus...
. The city is situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the
Caucasus MountainsThe Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region.The Caucasus Mountains are made up of two separate mountain systems:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and...
. It covers an area of . Population:
History
The territory of modern-day Nalchik was inhabited by native
BalkarsThe Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, the titular population of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern group of Turkic languages. Related to Crimean Tatar and Kumyk...
and Kabardians as far back as 1743, but the modern city dates from the early 19th century when the expanding
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
built a fort there in 1818; this date is seen at the top of the city's
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
. A military settlement was founded on the site in 1838. Nalchik remained relatively unimportant until after the
Russian Revolution of 1917The Russian Revolution is the collective term for the series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. In the first revolution of February 1917 the Czar was deposed and replaced by a Provisional government...
, when it was given the status of a city in 1921. It was promoted to become the administrative center of the Kabardian autonomous
oblastOblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
.
The city is named after the Nalchik River, on the shores of which it is located. The word "Nalchik" literally means "small horseshoe" in
KabardianThe Kabardian language is closely related to the Adyghe language , both members of the Northwest Caucasian language family. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...
(or Circassian, a
Northwest CaucasianThe Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Abkhazo-Adyghean, or sometimes Pontic as opposed to Caspian , are a group of languages spoken in the Caucasus region, chiefly in Russia , the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and Turkey, with smaller communities scattered throughout the...
language) and
Karachay-BalkarThe Karachay-Balkar language is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars. It is divided into two dialects: Karachay which pronounces two phonemes as and , and Balkar, which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as and .- Alphabet :Modern Karachay-Balkar alphabet-Bibliography:*...
(a
TurkicThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
language). It is a diminutive of
nal, the Turkic and
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
word for "horseshoe" derived from
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
(نعل) with the same meaning.
During
World War IIThe Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of war between the European Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland , and the Soviet Union which encompassed central and eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9...
, Nalchik was occupied by
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
and
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
between 28 October 1942 to 3 January 1943. The city was heavily damaged during the conflict. Nalchik's Jewish population, mostly "mountain Jews," remained unharmed, as they were able to blend in easily with their neighbors.
Nalchik was chosen the "second cleanest city of Russia" in 2003.
Ethnic groups
Population of the city include (2006 data):
- Kabardians (42.3%)
- Russians
The Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(28.3%)
- Balkars
The Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, the titular population of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern group of Turkic languages. Related to Crimean Tatar and Kumyk...
(Taulu) (15.2%)
- others (13.2%)
Economy and education
Nalchik is a balneological and mountain
climatotherapyClimatotherapy refers to temporary or permanent relocation of a patient to a region with a climate more favourable to recovery from or management of a condition...
resort, with several
sanatoriumA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, typically tuberculosis. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" and "sanatorium" .-History:The rationale for sanatoria was that before antibiotic treatments existed, a regimen of rest and good...
s. It also serves as an industrial center of the republic (non-ferrous metallurgy, light industry, construction materials manufacturing, machine building).
Nalchik is home to the following facilities of higher education:
- Kabardino-Balkar State University
- Kabardino-Balkar Institute of Business
- North Caucasian State Institute of Arts
- Kabardino-Balkar State Agricultural Academy
Sports
PFC Spartak NalchikPFC Spartak Nalchik is a Russian football club based in Nalchik. Spartak plays in Russian Premier League since 2006.- History :...
is a
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
club based in Nalchik, playing in the
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition. At the end of the season, two teams are relegated to the Russian First Division and replaced with the two top First Division teams....
. The
2008 World Women's Chess ChampionshipThe Women's World Chess Championship 2008 consisted of a tournament for the Women's World Chess Championship which took place from August 28 2008 to September 18 in Nalchik in Russia....
has also been held in Nalchik, 28 August - 18 September 2008.
October 2005 attack on Nalchik
On October 13, 2005, buildings in Nalchik associated with the Russian security forces were attacked by a large group of armed men. At least 136 people were reported to have been killed in the fighting.
October 13, 2005 was a Thursday, and while the city was shut down for the most part on Friday, October 14, the market partially reopened on Saturday, and the city was 'up and running' to almost full capacity on the following Monday.
Although the Western press largely blamed this attack on the Chechens, it was actually a local group,
Yarmuk JamaatYarmuk Jamaat is a militant Islamist organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal security forces in Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus...
, composed of
KabardianKabardian can refer to:* the Kabardian people of the Caucasus;* their Northwest Caucasian language, Kabardian;* a breed of horses originating from the same region....
and Balkar men who carried out the attack. The swell in security forces in and around Nalchik after these attacks was substantial.
Notable people
- Osman Mazukabzov, internet entrepreneur, creator of a variety of popular websites, including http://www.KavkazWeb.net, born 1976
- Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988....
, orchestra conductor, born 1938
- Dima Bilan
Dima Bilan is a Russian pop artist. Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no...
, famous Russian singer, born 1981
- Yefrem Amiramov, Poet, Musician, born in 1956
- Andrei Kolkoutine
Andrei Kolkoutine is a Russian artist. In 1982 Kolkoutine graduated from the Repin Academy of Arts in Leningrad. Currently he lives in southwestern Russia near Turkey. The medium is usually oil on canvas, but Kolkoutine has also made sculptures and graphic works...
painterPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
, born in 1957
- Eldar Kuliev
Eldar Kaisynovich Kouliev is a Russian film director and screenwriter. He was born in Frunze while Deportation of the Balkars to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by the order of Stalin to the family of Kaisyn Kuliev, an acclaimed Balkar poet. His younger brother Alim Kouliev is a Russian-American actor...
, film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
, screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
, born 1951
- Alim Kouliev
Alim Kaisynovich Kouliev is a Russian-American actor and director. Kouliev was born in Nalchik — a small city in USSR. His father was the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev. His older brother Eldar Kuliev is a Russian film director and a screenwriter, living in Moscow. His younger brother Azamat Kuliev...
, actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, theater director, born 1959
- Azamat Kuliev
Azamat Kaisynovich Kouliev is a Russian artist. Kouliev was born in Nalchik — a capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, to the family of acclaimed Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev. His older brother Alim Kouliev is a Russian-American actor living and working in Hollywood. His oldest brother Eldar Kuliev...
, painterPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
, born 1963
- Katya Lel, Singer, born in 1974
- Andrey Lefler, Singer, born in 1987
- Arsen Shomakhov, bluesman
Climate
- Winter (January taken as an average):
- Spring (April taken as an average):
- Summer (July taken as an average):
- Autumn (October taken as an average):
Sister Cities
AmmanAmman , sometimes spelled Ammann , is the capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a city of 2,525,000 inhabitants , and the administrative capital and commercial center of Jordan. It is also the largest city in Jordan. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world...
,
Jordan.
KayseriKayseri , named in classical antiquity as Mazaka or Mazaca, Eusebia, Caesarea Cappadociae, and later as Kaisariyah, is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
.
Reno-Places:United States*Reno, Nevada*Reno, Indiana*Reno, Ohio*Reno, Pennsylvania*Reno, Lamar County, Texas*Reno, Parker County, Texas*Reno County, Kansas*Reno Township, Michigan*Reno Township, MinnesotaCanada*Reno No...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
,
USA.
VladikavkazVladikavkaz is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is situated in the south-east of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, situated on the Terek River. Its population mostly consists of Ossetians, Russians, Armenians and Georgians...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
External links