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North Ossetia-Alania

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The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (Респу́блика Се́верная Осе́тия–Ала́ния; Ossetic: Цæгат Ирыстоны Аланийы Республикæ) 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 as Căgat Irystony Alanijy Respublikă.

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

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.

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:

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: −5°C
  • Average July temperature: +24°C
  • Average annual precipitation: 400-700 mm in the plains, over 1,000 mm in the mountains.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

  • Population: 710,275 (2002)

    • Urban: 464,875 (65.5%)
    • Rural: 245,400 (34.5%)
    • Male: 336,035 (47.3%)
    • Female: 374,240 (52.7%)
  • Females per 1000 males: 1,114
  • Average age: 33.8 years

    • Urban: 34.2 years
    • Rural: 32.9 years
    • Male: 30.4 years
    • Female: 36.9 years
  • Number of households: 200,191 (with 690,806 people)

    • Urban: 143,397 (with 447,884 people)
    • Rural: 56,794 (with 242,922 people)
  • Vital statistics (2005)

    • Births: 7,894 (birth rate 11.2)
    • Deaths: 8,654 (death rate 12.3)

  • Ethnic groups

The Ossetian population of North Ossetia is predominantly Christian with a large Muslim minority, speaking Ossetic and Russian.

According to the 2002 Census, Ossetians make up 62.7% of the republic's population. Other groups include Russians (23.2%), Ingush (3.0%), Armenians (2.4%), Kumyks (12,659, or 1.8%), Georgians (10,803, or 1.5%), Ukrainians (0.7%), Chechens (3,383, or 0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. 3,283 people (0.5%) did not indicate their nationalities during the Census.

census 1926 census 1939 census 1959 census 1970 census 1979 census 1989 census 2002
Ossetians 139,120 (60.3%) 165,616 (50.3%) 215,463 (47.8%) 269,326 (48.7%) 299,022 (50.5%) 334,876 (53.0%) 445,310 (62.7%)
Russians 50,272 (21.8%) 122,614 (37.2%) 178,654 (39.6%) 202,367 (36.6%) 200,692 (33.9%) 189,159 (29.9%) 164,734 (23.2%)
Ingush 1,540 (0.7%) 6,106 (1.9%) 6,071 (1.3%) 18,387 (3.3%) 23,663 (4.0%) 32,783 (5.2%) 21,442 (3.0%)
Armenians 6,921 (3.0%) 8,932 (2.7%) 12,012 (2.7%) 13,355 (2.4%) 12,912 (2.2%) 13,619 (2.2%) 17,147 (2.4%)
Ukrainians 14,282 (6.2%) 7,063 (2.1%) 9,362 (2.1%) 9,250 (1.7%) 10,574 (1.8%) 10,088 (1.6%) 5,198 (0.7%)
Others 18,646 (8.1%) 18,874 (5.7%) 29,019 (6.4%) 39,896 (7.2%) 45,139 (7.6%) 51,903 (8.2%) 56,444 (7.9%)

Politics

The head of government in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania is the Head of the Republic. As of 2005, the head of the republic is Taymuraz Mamsurov. Mamsurov succeeded Alexander Dzasokhov, who voluntarily quit his post on May 31, 2005.

Economy

Despite the inevitable economic burden of a sizeable refugee population, North Ossetia is the most well-to-do republic in the northern Caucasus. It is the most urbanized and the most industrialized, with factories producing metals (lead, zinc, tungsten, etc.), electronics, chemicals, and processed foods.

Local agriculture focuses primarily on livestock, especially sheep and goats, and the cultivation of grains, fruit, and cotton.

Transportation

There is an airport in Vladikavkaz. Overall, the transport infrastructure is well-developed, with railroads and automobile roads being the principal means of transportation. The famous Georgian Military Road connects Vladikavkaz with Transcaucasia.

Culture

There are six professional theaters in North Ossetia-Alania. Also Ossetian State Philarmonia.

Education

The most important facilities of higher education include North Caucasus State Technological University, North Ossetian State University, North Ossetian State Medical Academy, and Mountain State Agrarian University; all located in Vladikavkaz.

Religion

The predominant religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity, followed by Islam. Many of the native rituals predate both faiths. According to the Ossetian Mufti Tavkazakhov 200,000 of the Ossetians are Muslim, which if true would mean that before the Ingush-Ossetian conflict North Ossetia had a predominantly Muslim population.

See also

References

External links

General

Education

Mass media



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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 18:45:40 PDT (GMT -0700)
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