Nazran is a
cityThe classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries.-Modern classification in Russia:...
in
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...
. It was a capital of the
Republic of IngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. The republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
in 1991–2000, before the town of
MagasMagas is the capital of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. The town was founded in 1995; it replaced Nazran as the capital of the republic in 2002, however accommodating still as little as 300 inhabitants...
was specially built as a new capital. Nazran is the largest city of Ingushetia; its population is estimated at 134,280 as of 2008.
Nazran was founded in the 18th century. After becoming a military fortress in 1817, Nazran saw large numbers of
IngushIngush may refer to:* The Ingush language* The Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus...
population moving into it. It acquired town status in 1967.
During the
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
period, Nazran was a
districtRayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry. It usually has a...
center within the
Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist RepublicThe Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, or Chechen-Ingush ASSR was an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR...
.
Nazran is a
cityThe classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries.-Modern classification in Russia:...
in
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...
. It was a capital of the
Republic of IngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. The republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
in 1991–2000, before the town of
MagasMagas is the capital of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. The town was founded in 1995; it replaced Nazran as the capital of the republic in 2002, however accommodating still as little as 300 inhabitants...
was specially built as a new capital. Nazran is the largest city of Ingushetia; its population is estimated at 134,280 as of 2008.
General
Nazran was founded in the 18th century. After becoming a military fortress in 1817, Nazran saw large numbers of
IngushIngush may refer to:* The Ingush language* The Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus...
population moving into it. It acquired town status in 1967.
During the
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
period, Nazran was a
districtRayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry. It usually has a...
center within the
Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist RepublicThe Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, or Chechen-Ingush ASSR was an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR...
. After Ingushetia was separated from
ChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , or, informally, Chechnya , sometimes referred to as Ichkeria, Chechnia, Chechenia or Noxçiyn, is a federal subject of Russia...
in 1991, the town became the Republic's capital. This brought about a sharp increase in population: while counting 18,246 inhabitants according to the
1989 CensusThe 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last and alledgedlly the most comprehensive one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
, during the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
Nazran had as many as 125,056 inhabitants.
Nazran continues to be the center of the Nazranovsky District, while itself being separate from it, holding the status of a town under the Republic's administration.
Nazran is located on the
M29 federal highwayThe Russian route M29, also known as the Caucasus Highway, is a trunk road that extends from Krasnodar to Chechnya and Dagestan, terminating at Russia's border with Azerbaijan. Its length is 1118 km....
and has a railway station on the
RostovRostov-on-Don is the city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia, located on the Don River, just 46 km from the Sea of Azov. Population: -Geography:...
-
BakuBaku , sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakou, is the capital, the largest city, and the largest port of Azerbaijan and all the Caucasus. Located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, the city consists of two principal parts: the downtown and the old Inner City...
line.
2004 rebel raid on Nazran
In 2004 a force of
ChechenChechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Nokhchii , which comes from the name of a large Chechen tribe, the Nokhchmekhkakhoi, and their homeland.The isolated mountain terrain of the Caucasus and the strategic value...
and ethnic Ingush rebels carried out a large-scale raid on Ingushetia, led by
Shamil BasayevShamil Salmanovich Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen separatist movement....
. The overnight attacks targeted fifteen official buildings in Nazran, and at least three towns and villages located on the Baku-Rostov highway that crosses the republic from east to west.
The raid lasted nearly five hours, and the assailants - said to number 200 to 300 - withdrew almost unscathed; the raiders apparently lost only two men during the attacks. The rebels killed 67 members of security forces, including the republic's Interior Minister Abukar Kostoyev, his deputy Zyaudin Kotiev, top prosecutors, and other officials; they also captured and looted the MVD's armory and police depots. 25 civilians, including a local
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
worker, were killed in the crossfire.
Federal Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev met with General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, the commander of Russia's Interior Ministry forces, and blamed them for the high number of deaths. Tikhomirov decided to resign after the meeting.
2008 protests
Widespread protests erupted in January 2008, with a strong government response. The disturbances appear to have been fueled by heavy-handed government and para-military activity, including abductions, arrests and murders. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Zyazikov.
2009 bombing
In August 2009, a suicide bomber drove a truck filled with explosives into the Nazran police headquarters. Russian news agenices reported that 20 were killed in the attack, and roughly 140 were wounded. It is believed that more bodies may still be in the rubble, yet to be found. The police headquarters was completely destroyed in the attack, including up to 30 police vehicles and munition stores.