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North Ossetia-Alania
The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (Респу́блика Се́верная Осе́тия–Ала́ния; Ossetic: Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). The direct romanization of the Russian name of the republic is ''Respublika Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya''. Its name in Ossetic transliterates (in the ISO 9-system) as ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston - Alani''.
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, ancestors of the modern-day Ossetians. The term of "Alania" quickly became popular in Ossetian daily life through the names of various enterprises, a TV channel, political and civic organizations, publishing house, soccer team, etc. In November 1994, the name of "Alania" was officially added to the republican title (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania).
History
Early history
The territory of North Ossetia-Alania was first inhabited by Caucasians tribes. Some Nomadic Alans settled in the region in the 7th century, forming the kingdom of Alania. It was converted to Christianity by Byzantine missionaries. Alania greatly profited from the Silk Road which passed through its territory.
After the Middle Ages, the Mongols' and Tartars' repeated invasions decimated the population, now known as the Ossetians. Islam was introduced to the region in the 17th century by Kabardians. 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 formed a military in the captial, Vladikavkaz, becoming the first Russia-controlled area in the northern Caucasus. By 1806, Ossetia was under complete Russian control.
Russian/Soviet rule
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.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in North Ossetia being merged into the Soviet Mountain 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. During World War II, it was subject to a number of invasions by Nazi Germany unsuccessfully trying to seize Vladikavkaz.
The North Ossetian SSR became the first autonomous republic 20 June 1990 of the Soviet Union, being renamed to the ''Republic of North Ossetia-Alania'' in 1991.
Post Soviet rule
The Soviet Union's collapse posed particular problems for the Ossetian people, which 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 Georgia abolished the autonomous Ossetian enclave amid the rising ethnic tensions in the region, and much of the population fled across the border to North Ossetia or Georgia proper. Some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia, sparking clashes with the predominantly Ingush population in the Prigorodny District. That led to the Ossetian-Ingush conflict.
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 war in neighboring Chechnya. The bloodiest incident by far was the September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, in which Chechen Muslim separatists of Shamil Basayev seized control of a school. In the firefight between the terrorists and Russian forces that ended the crisis, 335 civilians, the majority of them children, died.
Geography
The Republic is located in the northern 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-Balkar Republic (W/NW/N), Stavropol Krai (N), Chechen Republic (NE/E), Republic of Ingushetia (E/SE)
**''international:'' Georgia (including South Ossetia) (SE/S/SW)
*Highest point: Mount Dzhimara ()
*Maximum N->S distance:
*Maximum E->W distance:
Time zone
North Ossetia-Alania is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300(MSK)/+0400(MSD).
Rivers
All of the republic's rivers belong to the 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
*Sunzha River (278 km)
Mountains
All of the mountains located on the territory of the republic are a part of the Caucasus. Mount Dzhimara is the highest point (4,780 m), with Mount Ulipata being the second highest (4,638 m).
Natural resources
Natural resources include minerals (copper, silver, zinc), timber, mineral waters, hydroelectric power, and untapped reserves of oil and gas.
Climate
Climate is moderately continental.
*''Average January temperature'':
Source: Wikipedia